Brenda Bakker Harger

Brenda Bakker Harger is a Professor of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), where she teaches improvisational acting and leads diverse interdisciplinary projects. She holds an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University and is an accomplished theatre director and improviser with national and international performance experience.

Education

• MFA, Carnegie Mellon University

Research Interests

Harger's work bridges theatre, improvisation, and technology to create innovative interactive experiences. She directs an award-winning theatre company at CMU that uses live interactive theatre to address controversial workplace and classroom issues. Current projects include developing a Night of the Living Dead game prototype with George Romero, virtual representations of the Pittsburgh Children's Museum puppet collection, and emotion-conveying interactive robots. Her research focuses on applying improvisational methods to generate believable virtual characters, with theatrical works premiering at the Humana Festival and Ensemble Studio Theatre.

Awards

Her theatre company is recognized as award-winning, though specific honors are not detailed in the source material.

Advising and Grants

No information regarding student advising or research grants was provided in the source text.

Labs and Teams

Harger leads CMU's interdisciplinary theatre company and has directed collaborative projects with George Romero, the Pittsburgh Children's Museum, and corporate entities through the Carnegie Bosch Institute for executive training.