Arkansas Roots, National Stages: Meet Director DeLance Minefee
- ACT News
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
The Jacksonville native and New York-based artist returns home to direct Hands on a Hardbody at ACT.
There is something special about welcoming an Arkansas artist home—especially when their career has carried them from Central Arkansas to stages across the country and around the world.
Argenta Contemporary Theatre is proud to welcome DeLance Minefee as the guest director of Hands on a Hardbody, running August 26–September 6. Originally from Jacksonville, Arkansas, and now based in New York City, DeLance brings decades of experience as an actor, director, educator, dancer and storyteller to a musical about ordinary people holding on for one extraordinary chance.
DeLance earned his BA in Theatre Arts, with minor studies in dance, from Henderson State University before receiving his MFA in Acting from the American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theatre Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University. His career has included work at MCC Theater, The Public Theater, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Syracuse Stage, the Wilma Theater and the American Repertory Theater.
His New York credits include Shit. Meet. Fan. at MCC Theater, Tiny Beautiful Things at The Public Theater and HONKY Off-Broadway. His television appearances include Raising Kanan, Law & Order: SVU, Godfather of Harlem, Blue Bloods, Hunters, New Amsterdam, The Sinner and Luke Cage.
But DeLance’s story did not begin in New York. His early career included numerous productions at Arkansas Repertory Theatre, including A Soldier’s Play, Dreamgirls, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Anything Goes, Damn Yankees and The Wizard of Oz. He also served as assistant director of Living History at the Historic Arkansas Museum and toured the Mississippi Delta as a storyteller.
Even as his career expanded nationally, DeLance continued building connections with artists and communities in his home state. He is one of the producers of The 24 Hour Plays: Little Rock, which brings Arkansas-connected writers, directors, actors and theatre artists together to create and perform six new plays in a single day while supporting local organizations.
That commitment to ensemble and community makes him an exciting match for Hands on a Hardbody.
Inspired by the acclaimed documentary, the musical follows ten Texans competing to win a brand-new pickup truck. The rules appear simple: keep at least one hand on the truck, and the last contestant standing wins. As the hours pass, the competition reveals the dreams, disappointments and determination each person has brought with them.
With its country, rock and gospel-infused score, Hands on a Hardbody is funny, energetic and deeply human. It is also a true ensemble piece—one in which physical storytelling, trust and the relationships among the performers are essential.
In our video interview, DeLance talks more about his journey from Jacksonville to New York, what it means to return home as a guest artist, how his experience as a performer influences his work as a director and what he recognizes in the people and world of Hands on a Hardbody.
DeLance Minefee’s return to Central Arkansas brings together the many chapters of his artistic life: his Arkansas beginnings, national career, multidisciplinary training and continued investment in the artists and communities that shaped him.
Hands on a Hardbody runs August 26–September 6 at ACT!
Comments