UA Little Rock Alum Produces Upcoming Little Rock Theatre Productions
UA Little Rock alumnus Keith Harper’s career as a producer is picking up steam as he is producing two upcoming productions in Little Rock.
Harper graduated from UA Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in theater arts in December 2019. As an undergraduate student, he was heavily involved in theater and cinema.
“My time as a student was very fun, full of opportunities to network, and adventurous,” Harper said. “I felt like I left with a family.”
Since then, he’s been acting, producing, and directing in various productions. This summer, he made his debut at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts as a puppeteer performing in “The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show.” He made his debut this June at the Arkansas Repertory Theater performing “Clyde’s.”
Harper is producing Dominique Morisseau’s play, “Skeleton Crew,” which will run Aug. 10-13 at the University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College.
“Skeleton Crew” is the third production in Morisseau’s Detroit cycle trilogy. At the start of the Great Recession, one of the last auto stamping plants in Detroit is on shaky ground. Each of the workers must make choices on how to move forward if their plant goes under. It’s a powerful and tense story of survival, power dynamics, and hard decisions.
“I chose to produce ‘Skeleton Crew’ because many of the issues that took place during the Great Recession are still happening today,” Harper said. “Job security is still an issue. We have actors and screenwriters on strike right now. History repeats itself, and I think there are lessons we should analyze as we try to take the next step forward.”
Harper will also play one of the characters in this ensemble, Dez, which he describes as an “ambitious young man with dreams of starting his own shop. He’s a young hustler who is playful, street-savvy, and flirtatious.”
In addition to “Skeleton Crew,” Harper is producing the first play in the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts new Sparking Dialogue Through Drama Series, which uses the performing arts to start family conversations about socially relevant topics. Designed for adults and children to attend together, this program begins with a stage reading of Candrice Jones’ play “Cynthia’s Place” on Sept. 9 followed by a discussion with a panel of artists and experts.
“Cynthia’s Place” is a 10-minute play commissioned by the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts that follows two kids on a grand time-traveling adventure to meet Althea Gibson, a multi-talented American tennis player and professional golfer best known for being the first Black person to win a Grand Slam tennis title. Jones is an award-winning playwright, and “Cynthia’s Place” is her first foray into writing theatre for young audiences.
