Ryan Hope Travis is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance and an award-winning filmmaker, theatre-maker, writer, director, and actor whose interdisciplinary practice spans film, performance, and devised theatre. His work has received multiple awards and has been presented at regional theatres and film festivals throughout the United States and Europe. As an actor, he has appeared in HBO’s Watchmen and Apple TV’s Manhunt, as well as in a range of theatre, film, and commercial productions. He is the founder of Arcable, a film and theatre production company dedicated to work rooted in social commentary. Travis’s creative and scholarly work explores theatre and film as sites of historical recovery and cultural memory. His research focuses on African American theatre and performance, the re/membering of forgotten histories, and the capacity of performance to reclaim, archive, and heal. His scholarship has appeared in Theatre Topics, a leading journal in the field.
Research Areas
- African American Theatre and Performance
- Historical Recovery and Cultural Memory
- Theatre as a sites of Reclamation, Archiving, and Healing
Select Creative Works
- Land in Freedom – Arcable Film+Theatre & New Sequence Films. Co-Director and Producer.
- Cocoa in the Dark – Arcable Film+Theatre. Director, Writer, and Cinematographer.
- Watchmen – HBO. Role of Jerry. (11-time Emmy Award-Winning Series)
- Manhunt – AppleTV+. Role of Civil War Hero.
- Scarlet Winter – AppleTV+. Role of Richie.
- New Berry – Hippodrome Theatre/Arcable Film+Theatre. Director, Deviser, and Co-Writer.
- Fast Blood – World Premiere Drama by Emmy Award-winner Judy Tate. Role of Lazarus. (Best Actor in a Play Nomination by Broadway World CNY)
- Lady He Free – Playwright. (Finalist for Miami University’s 2020-2021 season)
- 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)
- Normies + wIErdOs – Director, Cinematographer, and Editor. (Won Bronze and outstanding achievement in acting awards)
- Pupae – Arcable Film+Theatre. Director, Writer, Cinematographer, and Editor. (Official selection for numerous film festivals, including the Academy Award-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival)
- A Shout in Salty Water – Commissioned One-Man Play. Roles of Self and Fathers.
- Taught Poetry/Performance Masterclass – Stargate Theatre/Manhattan Theatre Club.
Awards and Affiliations
- UF Gulf Scholars Grant, Bob Graham Center for Public Service
- Jay and Dr. Sue Newman Research Award
- CAME Ideas Lab Research Award
- Best Feature Documentary, East Village New York Film Festival
- Silver Award: Feature Documentary, Paris Film Awards
- Best Narrative Feature, Denton Black Film Festival
- Debut Film Award, Detroit Black Film Festival
- Bronze Award, Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival
- Grand Jury Prize, United Kingdom Motion Picture Festival
- Commission, New York State Council on the Arts
- Community Service Award, African American Studies Department, Syracuse University
- National Association for Speech and Dramatic Arts Award
- The Gifford Foundation Grant
- Advancing Racial Justice Grant, Offices of the President and Chief Diversity Officer, University of Florida
- Beyond Colgate Grant, Office of the Dean of Faculty, Colgate University
- Three-time College of Fine Arts Faculty Travel Grant, Florida State University
- College of the Arts Work-In-Process Award, University of Florida
- Six-time College of the Arts Research Award, University of Florida
- Affiliate Faculty | Center for Arts, Migration + Entrepreneurship and the Water Institute
- Member, American Society for Theatre Research
- Member, SAG-AFTRA
- Member, AEA
Education
- Ph.D. Theatre and Performance Research, Florida State University (Anticipated Graduation Fall 26)
- M.F.A. Theatre, University of Florida
- M.A. Pan African Studies, Syracuse University
- B.A. African World Studies, Fort Valley State University