Chris Harder

Actor

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Chris is an actor, director and theatre maker dedicated to artistic risk and the creation of new work.  He has received multiple nominations and Drammy Awards for Outstanding Performance in Portland and is two time Regional Arts and Culture Council grants recipient. He was an original member of the Sowelu Theater Ensemble for seven seasons where, in addition to acting, he led theatre workshops and residencies with adult inmates at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility and Columbia River Correctional Institution in Oregon. He was an ongoing mentor with The Haven Project for five years where he guided young writers through the process of playwriting and continued the process with Playwrite Inc., Sojourn Afield and The Young Players. He has continued to direct, teach, and create original plays through Portland Playhouse, Oregon Children’s Theatre and Portland Center Stage. At Artists Repertory Theatre he was Interim Director of Education (2007) and teaching artist with the “Actors to Go” school immersion program for several seasons.  Chris teaches acting as a faculty member of the Portland Actors Conservatory and co-directed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime as well as multiple Graduate Showcases. He offers private classes and coaching as a Resident Artist here at Artists Rep.

As an actor Chris has performed in a numerous plays and world premier workshops with nationally recognized playwrights and professional companies including; Portland Center Stage, Third Rail Repertory, Portland Playhouse, Portland Shakespeare Project, CoHo Productions, Profile Theatre, Shaking The Tree, Sojourn Theatre, Stark Raving Theatre, Well Arts, Red Door Project, Sun Valley Shakespeare and Portland Civic Theatre Guild.  As a writer, Chris developed and performed two original solo shows (The Centering and Fishing For My Father) touring to both Edmonton and Boulder International Fringe Festivals. In film and television Chris has worked with Academy Award winners Gus Van Sant, Harrison Ford and Timothy Hutton.  He is a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Actors Equity Association.

Chris received his Bachelors degree from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He trained intensively in Meisner technique with Barry Hunt via William Esper, studied Viewpoints and Composition with Kim Weild of SITI Company and deepened the tools and his practice as a core member of Sowelu Theatre Ensemble for seven seasons.  Chris has continued his professional development through ongoing physical training in movement, clown, puppetry, yoga, and Alexander techniques.  In 2014 Chris was awarded a RACC grant and scholarship to participate in the month-long intensive with Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox, MA where he deepened his training in Linklater voice, movement, clown, stage fight and classical text. He is an avid fly fisherman and loves the outdoors.