Harry Waters Jr.

Professor Harry Waters, Jr. created the role of Belize in the first production of Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. He is most famous for his portrayal of Marvin Berry in the movie Back to the Future, which earned him a Gold Record for his rendition of “Earth Angel.” Television acting credits include Adventures in Wonderland, among other guest-starring roles. He worked as an actor on and off Broadway, and reputable theaters such as Mark Taper Forum, Arizona Theater Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Theatre Works, American Conservatory Theater (ACT), and the San Jose Repertory Theatre. In the Twin Cities, he has appeared at The Guthrie, Penumbra Theater Company, Mixed Blood, Ten Thousand Things Theater, Pangea World Theatre, Park Square, Pillsbury House and Theatre, and Dark & Stormy Theatre. Mr. Waters has directed numerous productions in the Twin Cities and nationally, among them Waiting for Giovanni at New Conservatory Theatre Company in San Francisco and Bulrusher at Sonoma State University. At Macalester College, Harry Waters, Jr. directed Runaways, Proof, Angels in America Part I: Millennium Approaches, The Colored Museum, Tartuffe, In the Blood, The Laramie Project, Cabaret, The Cradle Will Rock, and URINETOWN. Mr. Waters received his MFA in Directing from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and holds a Meisner Acting Technique Teaching Certification with Larry Silverberg.

Areas of Teaching Expertise

Acting, American Realism
African American Theatre
Community-based Theatre

Macalester Courses

THDA 120, Acting I
THDA 210, Community-based Theatre
THDA 263, African American Theatre
THDA 294, Hip Hop Performance
THDA 360, Acting II ​
THDA 694, Independent Study — multiple offerings.​

Selected Productions

​Theatre, Actor
Angels in America, World Premiere  (1991)
First Picture Show, ACT/Mark Taper Forum (2000)
Ragtime, Park Square Theatre​ (2001)
Safe At Home, Mixed Blood Theatre (2017)
​Good Person of Szechuan, Ten Thousand Things Theatre​ (2018​)

Film and Television, Actor
​What A Country, Independent​ (1987)
​Back to the Future I and II, Universal Pictures (1985-89)
Adventures in Wonderland, Disney Channel (1991-93_

Theatre, Director
​Bulrusher, Sonoma State University (2017)
Crack in the Sky, History Theatre Raw Stages (2017)
Waiting for Giovanni, New Conservatory Theatre Center​ (2011)

Professional Affiliations

Actors Equity Association
Screen Actors Guild
American Federation of Television and Radio Artistes
Playwrights’ Center, Board Member
Black Arts Movement, member