Justin Harris Brings Love Of Theater Back Home

In recent weeks, Justin Harris and his fellow teaching artists and production team members of the Arts Academy at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center (WHBPAC) have been busy putting their young charges through the paces of full theatrical productions.

First came the Teen Theatre Troupe’s offering of the musical “Anything Goes” on January 21 and January 22, followed by the younger thespians — elementary and middle schoolers — who presented a production of “High School Musical 2” on February 4 and February 5.

And come March, the spring session of WHBPAC’s Arts Academy will begin with an Andrew Lloyd Webber theme and the youngest students, ages 5 to 7 (a.k.a. Little Phantoms), being introduced to Webber’s musicals, while students in grades two through eight will take part in “The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber” to learn songs and dances from his best known Broadway shows. Meanwhile, the Teen Theatre Troupe (grades nine to 12), will take on a full production of Mary Chase’s comedy classic “Harvey.”

For Harris, the Arts Academy manager, it’s his job to ensure that all aspects of the program are running smoothly, from obtaining rights to theatrical material to taking on the role as the production’s stage manager. But it turns out that working with kids in theater is very familiar terrain for him as he, too, got the acting bug as a youngster.

“I grew up in Riverhead, and I probably saw school day performances here. It’s a faint memory in my childhood,” Harris recalled during a recent phone interview. “I was a theater kid from the beginning. My first production was in Oliver Twist in RFCT [Riverhead Faculty and Community Theatre] in Riverhead. I was in first grade. I thought, ‘Hey that sounds interesting.’ So I auditioned.

“I was in the ensemble as an orphan, it snowballed from there.”

But that theatrical snowball has taken a most interesting route to get to where it is today. After graduating from Riverhead High School, Harris headed off to Brown University, where, despite his love for the stage, he earned a degree not in theater, but neuroscience.

“In a perfect world, maybe I would’ve just done theater in college,” he laughed. “But I knew the purpose of being a well-rounded person. I started my education as a chemical engineer, but it didn’t quite fit.

“Brown had an open curriculum. I was always interested in psychology and humanity so I turned it up a notch and decided that neuroscience it is,” Harris added. “Once I took my first class, I thought this seems right and I learned a lot about myself and being a human being.”

Though not exactly a career path that one would expect given his degree in science, for Harris, melding his college education with theater isn’t as incongruous as it might seem at first glance. After all, what is theater but the examination of the psyche and an exploration of all that motivates, inspires and challenges the human mind?

In fact, he has some intriguing ideas for merging the two disciplines.

“For most folks with science degrees, the mainstream path is to become a doctor of some kind. Certainly neurosurgeon is one of the more glamorous jobs you can obtain, but there’s also a lot of research,” said Harris of his degree. “For me, I don’t think I wanted to be a doctor, but what intrigued me was the opening to do other things, like being of service and helpful in any way I can.

“I’m connecting my love of theater and neuroscience because I’ve always been in awe of the mind, emotions and how people relate to each other and the growth from being a child to an adult,” he said. “I was thinking of going into research into the science of acting, definitely with people who are method actors.”

By way of example, Harris believes that neuroscience could be used to measure the emotional effect a role has on the mind of an actor through the use of MRIs.

“If you’re in a long running play on Broadway in a difficult, complex role, does your personality become aggressive if you’re playing an aggressive character?” he wondered. “Our bodies change and morph based on our thoughts and what’s happening around us. You’re submitting your emotional self to the condition.”

Shortly after graduating from Brown in 2015, where he also studied acting, directing, music and various dance styles, Harris returned to the East End to begin his professional career as a teaching artist with WHBPAC, and worked with students on their productions. He took a brief hiatus to go work in program management and audience development at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, before finding his way back to WHPBAC and what he loves best.

“In my heart of hearts, I love musical theater. I burst into random songs. My friends probably hate it, but that’s how I roll,” Harris said. “Definitely musical theater is what draws most people into theater life. It’s the glitz and glam. But truly as an artist, the acting, the words, the connection, the character is what most excites me — the creation and collaboration — that’s what gets me going.

“I feel like I’ve always had a joy in working with youth. My first job was as a camp counselor, so I’ve always done this type of gig,” he said. “What’s been special to me is imparting my experience and knowledge.”

Given the amount of disruption kids of all ages have endured over these last two years due to the pandemic, Harris feels that getting them out of Zoom rooms and back into the physical theater space with their peers has gone a long way toward improving the mental health and psyche of local youth.

“It’s something I think about. During this time, our goal with whatever program we had was to bring joy and allow kids to express themselves any way they can and weren’t able to,” he said. “In general, theater allows for emotional growth, but after being isolated and in quarantine for two years, you really get the sense of appreciation kids are having by being together and experiencing something where they can express themselves and release all the stuff that’s troubling them.

“I can sense that for some kids, focusing is definitely a struggle, or allowing themselves to open up because of the turmoil we’ve been through.”

Harris’s role in the Arts Academy goes far beyond making sure student productions run smoothly. He is also involved with WHBPAC’s newly created Cultural Equity Council, an initiative designed to build diverse audiences for the theater and develop programming that caters to underserved members of the community. That means not only providing opportunities for students of color to explore their theatrical talents on the WHBPAC stage, but also booking acts that expose audiences to a diverse range of talents and perspectives. A good example of that was the performance by Cimafunk, an Afro-Cuban musician, who performed at the theater last August.

“This committee is really focused on continuing that trend, expanding it, diversifying the audience and making sure we have actors representing all walks of life,” Harris explained. “Being in Westhampton Beach, we have a wide range of community members, but theater sometimes seems elitist and not made for everyone. The council wants to make sure everyone feels included and that the theater is a resource, not just a community house.

“That also includes the Arts Academy, and we want to make sure the youth have experiences they can grow from,” he added. “Growing up, I wasn’t in any acting classes. We’re focusing on helping families to know scholarships are available and finances should not be an obstacle in giving children enrichment. We just want them in the building and to have the experience.”

To that end, among the recent initiatives at WHBPAC is a collaboration with The Butterfly Effect Project, a Riverhead-based organization that creates safe spaces for children to dream and succeed. The founder of the Butterfly Effect Project, Tijuana Fulford, is now on the WHBPAC board and Harris recently introduced the youngest children from the program to musicals that offer Black narratives, including “Once on This Island” and “The Color Purple.”

“It’s so rewarding to see them light up and take ownership,” Harris said, adding that the theater’s executive director, Julienne Penza-Boone, worked with teens from The Butterfly Effect Project to write monologues. “A couple butterflies have started coming to our summer camp.”

The Cultural Equity Council is also working to bring in Latino students and audiences and has made an effort to expand the theater’s reach by creating bi-lingual materials.

“We’re increasing our visibility as a community resource,” Harris said. “Language is definitely an obstacle. I speak a little Spanish to get me by, we’ve still been able to get the kids here so they can have the same experience. We’re trying to create that for everyone. It’s a more complex and nuanced conversation to make sure we can open doors and create opportunities.”

Harris notes that his long-term goal is to ensure that what goes on inside WHBPAC is an accurate reflection of the wider world, complete with all its shades, complications and nuances.

“Theater is a vehicle for mirroring society. How we can also offer opportunities for personal connection of humanity? How can we invest in community?” he asked. “Whether it’s a panel of artists or community leaders talking about hard subjects, if we take ownership, there are things we can open up about ourselves.

“It’s about digging into the humanity. You’re never too old to learn something. It might be difficult but we can do it.”

Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center is at 76 Main Street, Westhampton Beach. To learn more about the Arts Academy, visit whbpac.org.

Spring 2022 classes:

NYSSMA Masterclass

Ages 10 to 18+

February 28 and March 7 (two classes)

Mondays 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Little Phantoms: Cats and Technicolor Dreamcoats

Ages 5 to 7

March 10 to May 26

Thursdays 4 to 5 p.m.

The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber

Grades 2 to 8

March 7 to May 23

Grades 2 to 5: Mondays 4 to 6 p.m.

Grades 6 to 8: Wednesdays 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Teen Theatre Troupe: “Harvey”

Grades 9 to 12

March 2 to May 5

Wednesdays and Thursdays 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.