Contact

rht21@fsu.edu
FAB 321
www.ryanhopetravis.com

Ryan Hope Travis is an actor, director, writer, theatre-maker, and filmmaker; and Assistant Professor in Performance at the School of Theatre.

RHT has guest starred on the 11-time Emmy Award-winning series Watchmen and the AppleTV+ series Manhunt. Additional credits include work in film, regional theater, voiceover, and commercials for BET and others. His work as a multi-hyphenate filmmaker (i.e. writer/director/cinematographer) has world premiered at film festivals in Los Angeles, NYC, Miami, Austin, the United Kingdom, and the Academy Award-qualifying, Atlanta Film Festival.

As a theatre-maker, RHT has written, directed, produced, and/or devised over 45 productions. New Berry, a play he recently devised and directed, received its world premiere at the Hippodrome Theater, an Equity playhouse in Central Florida. Inspired by a mass lynching that occurred in Newberry, FL in 1916, the play became a site for reconciliation for descendants and community members.

In addition to artistic production, RHT has served as Executive Artistic Director of the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company in Syracuse, NY and Youth Project Director at Peace Over Violence in Los Angeles, CA. He is Founder and Lead Maker of Arcable, a film and theatre production company dedicated to producing works of art rooted in social commentary.

Education

M.F.A. Theatre, University of Florida
M.A. Pan African Studies, Syracuse University
B.A. African World Studies, Fort Valley State University

Teaching Areas

Performance, Solo Performance, Devised Theatre

Research Areas

1. Theatre as a site for social activism and community organizing
2. African and African American Diasporic Theatre and Performance
3. Performance as Research

Select Creative Works

Currently in Post-Production: Cocoa in the Dark, debut feature film by Ryan Hope Travis. Inspired by actual events, the film follows an 18-year-old who navigates fatherhood, high school, then eventually a 7-year prison sentence for a crime he didn’t commit.

1. Manhunt – AppleTV+. Role of Powathan Beaty
2. Watchmen – HBO. Role of Jerry (11-time Emmy Award-Winning Series)
3. New Berry – Hippodrome Theater/Arcable Film+Theatre. Director, Deviser, and Co-Writer.
4. Fast Blood – World Premiere Drama by Emmy Award-winner Judy Tate. Role of Lazarus. (Best Actor in a Play Nomination by Broadway World CNY)
5. Lady He Free – Playwright. (Finalist for Miami University’s 2020-2021 season)
6. Scarlet Winter – Role of Richie. (Selected as the prestigious opening film at the Syracuse International Film Festival)
7. if the world could hear my voice – Co-Director, Cinematographer, and Editor. (Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture)
8. Normies + wIErdOs – Director, Cinematographer, and Editor. (Won outstanding achievement in acting awards)
9. Pupae – Arcable Film+Theatre. Director, Writer, Cinematographer, and Editor. (Official selection for three competitive film festivals, including the Academy Award-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival)
10. A Shout in Salty Water – Commissioned One-Man Play. Roles of Self and Fathers.
11. Taught Poetry/Performance Masterclass – Stargate Theatre/Manhattan Theatre Club

Awards and Affiliations

1. Bronze Award, Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival
2. Grand Jury Prize, United Kingdom Motion Picture Festival
3. Commission, New York State Council on the Arts
4. Community Service Award, African American Studies Department, Syracuse University
5. National Association for Speech and Dramatic Arts Award
6. The Gifford Foundation Grant
7. Advancing Racial Justice Grant, Offices of the President and Chief Diversity Officer, University of Florida
8. Beyond Colgate Grant, Office of the Dean of Faculty, Colgate University
9. College of Fine Arts Faculty Travel Grant, Florida State University
10. College of the Arts Work-In-Process Award, University of Florida
11. College of the Arts Research Award, University of Florida, 2021 and 2022
12. Member, SAG-AFTRA
13. Member, Actors’ Equity Association