Auburn and Cayuga Correctional Facilities

Bruce Levitt

Bruce Levitt is a Professor in the Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University.

He served as Chair of the Department of Theater, Film & Dance from l986 to l995 during which time he oversaw the final phases of construction of the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. Levitt has directed over 100 university and professional productions. For six years he served as Producing Artistic Director of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, a free outdoor event that also provided educational programs to children throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. Dr. Levitt is a former chair of the New York State Council on the Arts Theatre Panel and was elected to membership in the National Theatre Conference in 2009. He teaches course in Shakespeare, Acting, Text Analysis, New Play Development, Prison Theatre, and the Arts in Incarceration. At Cornell Levitt has collaborated in community-based projects with the Lehman Alternative Community School, John O’Neal, Roadside Theatre, Urban Bush Women, Michael Keck, and members of the American Festival coalition. Levitt has been with PPTG for fourteen years, meeting with them weekly, assisting them on their journey of transformation through the use of theatre techniques. In 2016, Levitt was the inaugural recipient of Cornell’s Engaged Scholar Prize. He holds a Ph.D. in Theatre from the University of Michigan. He is the co-author of several articles and the subject of several interviews focused on his work with the Phoenix Players. His 2018 film, TONY, made with collaborator, Peter Carroll won “Best Documentary” in both the 2019 Top Shorts Film Festival and the NYC Short Documentary Film Festival. Since 2020 Levitt and the Phoenix Players have been members of the Arts, Justice, and Safety coalition, collaborating with others in the structuring of the organization and facilitating workshops that led to the filming of a theatre piece, BEFORE TIME/AFTER TIME, created with nine returned citizens.