Trinity Welcomes HartBeat Ensemble as the College’s Resident Theater Company
Trinity College and HartBeat Ensemble—the Hartford-based professional theater company—have formed a partnership that will bring HartBeat to Trinity’s Austin Arts Center as its Resident Theater Company through at least 2028.
HartBeat Ensemble, under the leadership of Artistic Director Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. and Managing Director Rhoda Cerritelli, held successful engagements of Jimmy & Lorraine: A Musing in 2024 and Where We Stand in 2025 at Austin Arts Center.
Simmons, who also is a visiting lecturer in theater and dance at Trinity, said, “HartBeat Ensemble is thrilled to announce our collaboration with Trinity College and its Austin Arts Center. After joining the Trinity faculty, I had a greater appreciation for the College’s commitment to the community and to the arts. The students, faculty, and staff truly embraced our first two productions, and we look forward to more and deeper connections that will bring artists, the Hartford community, and the Trinity population into conversation.”
HartBeat’s residency at Trinity will include productions, workshops, community outreach programs, internships for Trinity students, and presentations of work and artists in the spirit of HartBeat’s commitment to social justice theatre. In addition, Trinity College will provide space and opportunities for HartBeat’s Youth Play Institute, as well as a new play development program.
The residency will be inaugurated with an encore production of Citizen James, or The Young Man Without a Country, by playwright Kyle Bass, running February 12 through 21, 2026, at the Austin Arts Center’s intimate Garmany Theatre. This solo show, starring James Alton and directed by HartBeat Ensemble member Joann Maria Yarrow, finds Baldwin—a young author and activist—at the pivotal moment when he contemplates leaving behind the racism of the United States to find refuge in Paris.
Deborah A. Goffe, executive director of the Austin Arts Center and artist-in-residence in theater and dance, added, “We at the Austin Arts Center, and Trinity College more broadly, are excited to formally launch this partnership with HartBeat Ensemble. I’ve witnessed HBE’s work over many years and have been inspired by their commitment to locality, artistic excellence, and well-honed community-building processes. I look forward to collaborating with the HBE team to develop and expand mutually beneficial programming that bridges campus and Greater Hartford communities, provides access to HartBeat’s artistic and social processes, and draws connections across disciplinary, social, and conceptual boundaries on campus in ways only the arts can.”
About Citizen James, or The Young Man Without a Country:
Young James is an unknown aspiring “Negro” writer whose first novel has yet to be published. He awaits his flight, having just left his family with the news of his decision to flee America for refuge in Paris. He speaks no French. He has a one-way ticket and $40 in his pocket. Witness James Baldwin as he decides he must do something to save himself from the violent reality of racist America in 1948, a decision that sets him on the path to becoming a brilliant, powerful, and prophetic voice of the Civil Rights era and beyond. Citizen James is a bridge that connects the past to now. The play premiered in August 2024 at Syracuse Stage, where it was produced in partnership with 100 Black Men of Syracuse, Inc.
Tickets for Citizen James are $30 for General Admission; $25 for senior citizens and non-Trinity students; admission for Trinity students and faculty/staff is free with ID or a Trinity email address. No one is turned away for lack of funds. The production runs February 12 through 21 with performances scheduled as follows: Thursday, February 12, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, February 13, at 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, February 14, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, February 19, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, February 20, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, February 21, at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale through Austin Arts Center, HartBeat-Ensemble.org, or at the door (subject to availability).
This production has been made possible in part by support from J. Walton Bissell Foundation; Department of Economic and Community Development, CT Office of the Arts; Greater Hartford Gives Foundation; and Travelers.
