About Farah

Farah Lawal Harris is a multidisciplinary artist, community leader, and public speaker whose work centers on overcoming obstacles, holistic wellness, and hip-hop. As the Artistic Director of Young Playwrights' Theater, she shapes bold artistic visions, produces high-quality performances, and builds spaces where artists feel safe to explore their creative potential. A fixture in DC’s theatre ecosystem, she has written plays produced by the Kennedy Center and Arena Stage, co-chaired the DC Theatre Summit, and served on Theatre Washington’s Advisory Board, Helen Hayes Award Adjudication Committees, and advocacy group Not in Our House DC. She created the decade-long Silence is Violence performance series at Young Playwrights’ Theater, which blends artistry, activism, intergenerational conversations, and sustainable funding to elevate stories that matter. Farah is a proud Kilroys List playwright and three-time recipient of the Arts and Humanities Program Fellowship grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Farah moves fluidly between theatre, poetry, and digital media. As a writer and performer, she brings emotional clarity, positive energy, wisdom, and intellectual insight to every project. Across her social media platforms, Farah shares her creativity, wellness journey as a breast cancer survivor, and hip-hop analyses with over 100,000 viewers every month. She is a proud graduate with Honors from the University of Maryland, College Park with two Bachelor of Science degrees in Criminology & Criminal Justice and African American Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Performance (2008).

Farah gives infinite thanks to God, her Ancestors, family, friends, and the following teachers, mentors, and artists who poured into her: Mr. & Mrs. Habeeb K. and Beatrice O. Lawal, Mrs. Vickie Adamson, Ms. Andrea Richards Scott, Scot Reese, Rhodessa Jones, Leslie Felbain, The Saartjie Project, Wild Women Theatre, Thembi Duncan, Erika Totten, Ebony Noelle Golden, Denise “Yogi D” Davidson, The Queen Po and the late and great Dr. Walter “Skip” Dallas, Toni Morrison, and Ntozake Shange.