HartBeat Ensemble

09/12/2026

Austin Arts Center at Trinity College presents
HartBeat Ensemble in a Trinity College Resident Theater Company production of A LESSON FROM ALOES
by Athol Fugard
Directed by Vernice Miller
Featuring Brian K. Jennings, Rebecka Jones & Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr.

1963, South Africa. Three friends and anti-Apartheid activists reunite before one must leave the country forever. What ensues is a powerful drama of loyalty, betrayal and survival.

Tickets & Information: HartBeat-Ensemble.org or Trincoll.edu/Austin-Arts-Center/

09/10/2026

A LESSON FROM ALOES Playwright Athol Fugard discusses South African politics, races and Apartheid in his plays. A very insightful conversation worth checking out before you see the play! Tickets & Info: Hartbeat-Ensemble.org

09/04/2026

Meet the director of A LESSON FROM ALOES

VERNICE MILLER (she/they) is a Jamaican-born, Afro-Caribbean theatre artist whose work spans continents and is guided by an unwavering faith in the arts as a common language of transformation and hope. Vernice is a proud member of HartBeat Ensemble, where she has directed "Possessing Harriet" by Kyle Bass and "Bee Trapped Inside the Window" by Saviana Stanescu. Recent directing credits include "Where We Stand" by Donnetta Lavinia Grays (HartBeatEnsemble and WAM Theatre), "Verses at Work" (Voices International Festival, Jersey City, NJ), "Blood Orange" (Et Alia Theater Company, NYC), and "Mr. Joy"(Chester Theatre Company, Chester, MA). Her work has been presented throughout the United States and internationally. For the past three years, Vernice has served as Producing Director of Keen Teens, the educational arm of the Obie and Drama Desk Award-winning Off-Broadway Keen Company. Alongside Joann Maria Yarrow, she is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of A Laboratory for Actor Training Experimental Theatre Company (ALAT) in New York City.

Austin Arts Center at Trinity College presents
HartBeat Ensemble's
A LESSON FROM ALOES by Athol Fugard, directed by Vernice Miller
A Trinity College Resident Theater Company Production
October 8-17
Tickets & Information: HartBeat-Ensemble.org

09/02/2026

Meet the cast of A LESSON FROM ALOES

GODFREY L. SIMMONS, JR. (Steve Daniels) New England: HartBeat Ensemble: "My Children! My Africa!," "The Trump Card" and "Possessing Harriet;" Hartford Stage: "It’s A Wonderful Life: A Radio Play," "All My Sons," and "Two Trains Running" (CT Critics Nom); TheaterWorks Hartford: "The Old Settler," "Circus Fire" (CT Critics Best Ensemble); Chester Theatre: "Mr. Joy" (Berkie Award); Silverthorne Theatre: "Bulrusher." Off-Broadway: Epic Theatre Ensemble: "A More Perfect Union," "Widowers’ Houses" (co-adapted), "Einstein’s Gift," "MacBeth;" Playwrights Horizons: "Betty’s Summer Vacation;" Primary Stages: "The Old Settler" (Audelco Award); Working Theater: "Free Market." Theatre Companies: HartBeat Ensemble, Hartford—Artistic Director; Civic Ensemble, Ithaca, NY—Co-Founding Artistic Director; Epic Theatre Ensemble—former Producing Artist in charge of New Artist Development; Ensemble Studio Theatre—Lifetime Member. Teaching Current: Trinity College—Visiting Lecturer; Cornell University, Binghamton University, John Jay College, Marymount Manhattan College, UConn Hartford. Godfrey is a member of Actors' Equity Association.

Austin Arts Center at Trinity College presents
HartBeat Ensemble's
A LESSON FROM ALOES by Athol Fugard, directed by Vernice Miller
A Trinity College Resident Theater Company Production
October 8-17
Tickets & Information: HartBeat-Ensemble.org

08/31/2026

As we enter rehearsals for our upcoming production of Athol Fugard's A LESSON FROM ALOES which explores the tensions between anti-Apartheid activists. Learn more about the background of the racist system of Apartheid in South Africa and the resistance movement against it.

08/28/2026

Meet the cast of A LESSON FROM ALOES

BRIAN K. JENNINGS (Piet Benzuidenhout) serves as Assistant Professor of Theatre at the Hartt School Theater. A longtime member of Hartbeat Ensemble, he has directed multiple productions of Jimmy and Lorraine and "Ebeneeza: A Hartford Holiday Carol." As an actor, he developed and performed the role of Det. Nick Carter in "Flipside." Recent projects have included directing "Measure for Measure" for Capital Classics' Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival and "The Laramie Project" at the Hartt School. Other acting work has included an extended stretch as a Voicing Actor with National Theater of the Deaf, numerous regional productions, Off Broadway and network television. Brian is a member of Actors' Equity Association.

Austin Arts Center at Trinity College presents
HartBeat Ensemble's
A LESSON FROM ALOES by Athol Fugard, directed by Vernice Miller
A Trinity College Resident Theater Company Production
October 8-17
Tickets & Information: HartBeat-Ensemble.org

08/26/2026

Learn more about our upcoming production of Athol Fugard's A LESSON FROM ALOES with Artistic Director Godfrey L. Simmons Jr. and Austin Arts Center at Trinity College Executive Director Deborah Goffe. Thanks to Valley Shore Community Television's ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT WITH DEBORAH GILBERT for having us on!

Watch Arts & Entertainment with Deborah Gilbert - HartBeat Ensemble

06/27/2026

TODAY at 3pm & 7:30pm!

HartBeat Ensemble's Summer 2026 Youth Play Institute presents
THE FLOYDIANS
by Kyle Bass
Directed by Vernice Miller

Garmany Theatre at Austin Arts Center
Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT

To mark the fifth anniversary of the police murder of George Floyd, a diverse group of teens creates a new religion around their martyr. As they try to come up with the last verse of the final chapter of their sacred text (Floydians 9:29), division, shifting alliances and the deeply personal threaten the group’s cohesion, testing their faith in the possibility of a just society and a hopeful future. This one-act play written for teenage performers is a meditation on martyrdom and the pursuit of justice.

Support our young artists by attending this FREE event! Reserve tickets here:
https://events.leapevents.com/event/the-floydians or join us at the door!

Presented with support from North Hartford Ascend.