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Emily K. Harrison

Emily K. Harrison is a theatre-maker, educator, and cat mom.

Emily K. Harrison is the Producing Artistic Director of square product theatre, a Boulder, Colorado-based ensemble theatre company (Traditional territories of the Hinóno'éí (Arapaho), Cheyenne, and Ute Nations) and an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY (Traditional territories of the Onyota’a:ka, the People of the Standing Stone, recognized in New York as the Oneida Indian Nation). Originally from East Texas, Harrison earned an MFA in Performance from the Savannah College of Art & Design, a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Bachelor's in Acting and Writing from Emerson College.

Harrison’s work focuses primarily on the creation and development of new and innovative works of American theatre and an exploration of American mythology, violence, and disaster in performance. In addition to her work with square product, Harrison has collaborated on projects with Buntport Theater, Hoarded Stuff Performance, Screw Tooth, Joanna & the Agitators, OffCenter @ The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the Texas Shakespeare Festival, and the Boulder International Fringe Festival. Previous academic appointments include visiting, lecturer, and guest artist engagements at Sewanee: The University of the South, Whitman College, Brunel University London (UK), the University of Colorado Boulder, Naropa University, and the University of Northern Colorado.

She was honored with a True West Award in 2016, was featured as part of Westword’s "100 Colorado Creatives" series as well as a Colorado Creatives Redux, and was recognized by The Denver Post as a 2011 Pathmaker, one of only seven individuals working in an arts field to receive the honor.

Teaching Theatre episode teaser
On Devising in the Classroom
Podcast

On Devising in the Classroom

16 April 2024

More and more theatre departments are incorporating devising into their training. This highly collaborative process allows students to generate their own work, giving them ownership of the final product. Theatre professors Andy Paris (North Carolina School of the Arts) and Emily K. Harrison (Hamilton College) discuss their process, how they engage students, and the benefits of allowing students agency in the creation of their own work. 

Children performing onstage
The Challenges of Challenging Work with Emily K. Harrison of square product theatre
Podcast

The Challenges of Challenging Work with Emily K. Harrison of square product theatre

From the Ground Up Podcast Episode #3

11 February 2019

In episode three of the From the Ground Up podcast, Emily K. Harrison of square product theatre stresses the importance of creating space for radical inquiry by making work that provokes challenging conversations.