Hannah Hart, internet personality, comedian, author, LGBTQ advocate, and actress best known for starring in My Drunk Kitchen, a weekly YouTube series in which she cooks something while intoxicated, will visit Penn State Berks on Friday, April 27, 2018, at 7 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium.
The talk will be followed by a NOISE concert featuring The Cabaret All-Stars Drag Entertainers and the We Are Reading dancers at 8 p.m. in the same location. The concert will be held in collaboration with the National Day of Silence, a day of activism to spread awareness of voices (of LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities) that are lost or made silent due to harassment, bullying, prejudice, and discrimination. Both events are free and open to the public and individuals with disabilities are welcome.
My Drunk Kitchen began in March 2011, while Hart was chatting with a friend over webcam. She recorded herself drinking wine while attempting to make a grilled cheese sandwich without any cheese. Hart uploaded the video to YouTube as My Drunk Kitchen. Within a few days the video had accumulated 100,000 hits. Viewers began asking for another “episode” of the video, and Hart complied. By July 2011, My Drunk Kitchen had 800,000 hits, earning Hart a YouTube partnership.
In 2013, Hart launched her first scripted format YouTube series, Hello Harto: The Tour Show, a project that helped distribute food to local communities across the country. These efforts in turn created Hannah’s philanthropic community ‘Have A Hart Day,’ an international, year-round initiative which encourages young leaders to volunteer their time in their own communities. Hart was recognized by The White House for her ability to mobilize youth through this initiative and she was invited to lead a discussion about millennial engagement with President Obama.
In 2015, Hart was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30. Her first book My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking, and Going with Your Gut, was based on her popular web series and spent six weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Her sophomore book Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded debuted at number four on the New York Times bestseller List. Last year, Hart starred in Legendary Digital Media’s film Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, a superhero action film with female-centric characters based on the popular 70s series of the same name. She also co-produced and starred in Lionsgate’s comedy Dirty 30, which released in theaters and on digital platforms. She recently announced her first-book deal with Lionsgate and plans to produce an LGBTQ rom-com as the first project under the new deal. Additionally, Hart will soon be sharing her experiences dining across America in her own food and travel show set to air on the Food Network later this year.
Penn State Berks reserves the right to limit the photography and/or recording of any program. The permitted or prohibited activities during a particular program will be announced at the beginning of the event and/or included in the printed program. All media requesting interviews and/or access to photograph and/or tape any program must contact the Office of Strategic Communications at 610-396-6053.
These events are sponsored by the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series, the Berks Arts & Cultural Endowment, and the Communications Arts and Sciences degree program. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.
