Richard Powers Hardt has been acting, directing, designing and writing for the theatre in Arizona since 1976. His production of Fountain Hills Theatre’s, Shakespeare in Love recently garnered 6 ariZoni Theatre Award nominations, including a directing nomination for Richard and Outstanding Overall Production. Richard has directed over 100 productions for many of the theatres in the valley, including TheaterWorks, Mesa Encore Theatre, Theatre Artists Studio and the Black Theatre Troupe among many others.
His favorite acting credits include, Bill French in Grand Horizons, Phinneas Fogg in Sweeney Todd, Charlie Fox in Speed the Plow, Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and Dr. Carasco in Man of La Mancha. As a director, Richard’s favorite additional credits include, God of Carnage and Rabbit Hole for Ghostlight Theatre, Doll House 2, The Christians and Grand Concourse for Theatre Artists Studio, Dark of the Moon, All Through the Night and Almost Maine for TheaterWorks.
Richard and several other artists recently started a new company theatre company, the 5th Wall Playhouse, which operates out of the Peoria Center for the Arts. Richard was chosen Artistic Director and co-directed their first production, Topdog/underdog.