ABOUT

Stage, Television and Film
For the past couple of seasons Stephanie has embodied some diverse roles stepping in and out of a range of ages, social economic statuses and plumbing the gamut of emotional depths. In such roles as: Faye in Skeleton Crew at Baltimore Centerstage; Louise in Seven Guitars at Yale Repertory Theater; Mrs. Breedlove in The Bluest Eye at the Guthrie Theater; Katharine in Mothers and Sons at Cincinati Playhouse and Adelaide and Aunt Glo in Wild With Happy at Baltimore Centerstage, Stephanie has enjoyed the opportunity of breathing life into an array of multifaceted characters.  In the play, Iced Out Shackled and Chained at the National Black Theatre, Stephanie delved into the roots of internalized oppression among African Americans.  Here she embodied enslaved characters in the 19th century and in the next moment morphed into a character in the here and now, bringing the past and present together. On and off the stage, Stephanie has examined the residue of slavery and history on contemporary life. Even as Wiletta in Trouble in Mind at Milwaukee Repertory Theater and as Rose in Fences at Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Arden Theater, Stephanie says she was fueled by the history of the African American woman’s unique journey in America. Particularly in the stories of ordinary woman, who found creative ways to survive, Stephanie has found the backbone of her characters.
Having worked extensively in Regional Theaters across the country her work spans the spectrum of theatrical genres from playing: The Fool in King Lear at Portland Stage to playing Aunt Ester in Gem of the Ocean at Milwaukee Repertory Theater to playing both the King of France and Mistress Quickly in King Henry V with Classical Theatre of Harlem and Zora Neale Hurston in The Tale of Madame Zora at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. (See complete resume below)
She has appeared on Broadway and in principle roles on the following television shows: Bull, The Last OG, Luke Cage, Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Louie, Broad City, and all the Law and Order shows.  She can be seen in the upcoming movies: Submission and OG. Other film credits include principal roles in: The Delivery Man, The Invasion, No Reservations, Finding Forrester and several independent films. (See her complete television and film credits on IMDB.)
Stephanie appears in a Digital Initiative Program produced by Baltimore Centerstage entitled, My America Too, where she performs the piece, Taurus Tornedo. 50 of the country’s leading playwright were asked to answer the question: What is my America? (View Stephanie Berry performs Taurus Tornado on You tube or on the Baltimore Centerstage website.)

Obie Award
One of her greatest creative challenges was as author and actor in her one-woman production, The Shaneequa Chronicles: The Making of a Black Woman. Stephanie won an OBIE award, AUDELCO and New Voices Award with Harlem Stage for this coming of age story about an African American woman’s evolution growing up in urban America.

Personal Background and Community Engagement
Born and bred in Harlem, Stephanie, the youngest of four, was raised in a family of community activists. Her nuclear family was part of a tight knit extended family that came together around crises, celebrations and annual thanksgivings. One could find a stranger eating at one of the large dinner tables sharing food, swapping stories or solving problems in the community. It was common for her to watch her mother break up fights on the neighborhood streets, intercede in police stops with neighborhood youth, take a group of kids to a cultural event or preach to local drug dealers about the political entrapment of the drug trade in urban communities. She was raised in a community Village where there was a collective sense of responsibility for one another. Stephanie experienced her coming of age during the era of the Vietnam War.  In America, this prolonged fight to stop communism and the number of black youth drafted, propagated anti-war protests, peace marches, and fueled battles on college campuses for Black Studies and to end the war. This era would also bring about a heroin epidemic that plagued urban communities. Stephanie found her voice in the movement for justice and empowerment: organizing workers, free breakfast programs for children, women’s rights, and the arts.
Stephanie seeks to continue that legacy of humanity and compassion through her work as an artist. In 1984 she co-founded a community based organization, Blackberry Productions Theater Company. The company has developed and produced a repertoire of original works and community forums that give a platform for marginalized voices and pressing issues in the community and celebrate the world of imagination to inspire hope.

Original Works

Along with fellow community artists, she has developed and written such works as: Wild Women, examining the journey elder women, Surviving the Rhythm and Blues of Life, which illuminates the social political dynamics that spurred the music known as rhythm and blues; and Flying Fables, a musical folktale celebrating diverse cultures and universal truths. Most recently, Stephanie wrote Sarah Sings a Love Story, a three- character musical play that chronicles and celebrates the extraordinary love affair forged between a couple who have been married for over 30 years along with the music, travails and life of Sarah Vaughan. She performs a storytelling show called Mississippi, Sassafras and Myrrh bringing to life traditional tales and original contemporary stories.

Stephanie is developing a new theater piece with music with her company entitled, March On. Based on interviews of persons who went to the historic March on Washington in 1963, March On recreates that day and the historic events that sparked the Civil Rights Movement. The piece will be presented at the Apollo Theater in 2018, which marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As a member of the Harlem Arts and Culture Initiative, Stephanie is part of a growing effort to document the changing face of Harlem and to preserve its history.  Over the past few years, she has been conducting and collecting interviews from a cross-section of people living, working or those who own businesses in Harlem, to creatively examine the impact of gentrification.
 
TCG/Fox Fellow
Stephanie is a recipient of the Theatre Communications Group/Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship. This award, entitled, “Distinguished Artist,” acknowledges her life’s diverse and groundbreaking work in the arts as an actress, producing artistic director and teacher. She has dedicated her life’s work to Civil and Human Rights and has successfully used the arts to champion both. Her time as a Fox Fellow allowed her to expand her thinking on the array of tools that can be used to bridge the gap between lived experience and theatrical expression.

AWARDS AND CITATIONS

Making a Difference Local Hero for PS 123. 2014
 In Community Works' Making a Difference program the hero interview is a pivotal piece of the     students' learning--the opportunity to meet and learn from an individual who makes a difference     in their community. Students learn about the honoree’s “path” towards becoming who they are     today.  

Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship Award for “Distinguished Achievement.” Administered by the Theatre Communication Group. 2009/2010 recipient.

HARLEM IS….Theatre:  Honoree, April 2006
Launched in early 2003, “Harlem Is” is a multimedia, intergenerational living-history exhibit celebrating and documenting Harlem’s cultural importance.  The exhibit chronicles the neighborhood’s evolution from 1600 to the present, and annually honors those who have made major contributions to the community. Stephanie Berry honored for her work with Blackberry Productions Theater Company. HARLEM IS exhibitions include: The Museum of the City of New York, Aaron Davis Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Library.

Barrymore Award Nomination, 2005
Best Lead Actress in the play Fences by August Wilson at Philadelphia Theatre.

Harriet Tubman Award: Honoree, November 2005
Presented by the Law & Policy Group for outstanding contributions in providing cultural programming for schools and community groups, and developing original works for the African American Theatre Community. Stephanie Berry honored for her work with Blackberry Productions Theater Company.

OBIE Award for THE SHANEEQUA CHRONICLES for “Best Performance” – 2001

AUDELCO Award for THE SHANEEQUA CHRONICLES for “Best Solo Performance”- 2001

New Plays Fund Grant Award, Aaron Davis Hall, 1999

North Star Fund Frederick Douglass Award: Honoree, 1999 and 1993
For Outstanding Contribution to the Struggle for Political, Social and Economic Justice.