fbpx aparenteau | HowlRound Theatre Commons
Profile picture for user aparenteau
Connect:
Amelia Parenteau

Amelia Parenteau is a freelance writer, translator, and theater maker based in Washington, D.C.

An alumna of Sarah Lawrence College, she has worked with TCG, Ping Chong + Company, The Lark, The Civilians, the French Institute Alliance Française, Voyage Theater Company, The Park Avenue Armory, and 600 HIGHWAYMEN in New York; People's Light in Pennsylvania; the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut; Théâtre du Soleil in France; and Intramural Theater and No Dream Deferred in New Orleans. Productions: Tussaud/Antoinette, Jody Christopherson (2021 + 2023, IRT); America is Hard to See, Life Jacket Theatre Company (2018, HERE); (Projection) (2017, Dixon Place); Liminal (2015, New York International Fringe Festival). She is a board member of the FENCE International Translation Network, and she has been published online in Asymptote Literary Magazine, Contemporary Theatre Review, Culturebot, and Extended Play and in print in American Theatre Magazine. Find her work at www.amelia-parenteau.com.

Four performers seated at a table look upward at a worm prop.
New Orleans’s Intramural Theater Centers Consent in Their Devising Model
Essay

New Orleans’s Intramural Theater Centers Consent in Their Devising Model

19 December 2023

Amelia Parenteau details the devising process of Intramural Theater, sharing how the company creates a safe and supportive container for artists to tap into their wildest expressions and devise theatre that is wacky, surreal, and layered.

A group of actors perform in a dimly lit space.
On Translating Nobel Laureate Jon Fosse’s Works for American Audiences
Essay

On Translating Nobel Laureate Jon Fosse’s Works for American Audiences

11 December 2023

Amelia Parenteau sits down with Sarah Cameron Sunde, who has translated and directed six of Jon Fosse’s plays, to mark the occasion of Fosse being awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature. Their conversation pays tribute to Sarah and Jon’s longstanding creative relationship, examines the plays’ Norwegian context as it is translated internationally, and uplifts the need for American audiences to see more dramatic work in translation.

A group of people surrounds a table serving food in a festive setting.
On Producing an International Tour During a Global Pandemic
Essay

On Producing an International Tour During a Global Pandemic

24 July 2023

Amelia Parenteau chronicles the process of translating Eva Doumbia’s Autophagies from French to English and producing its tour in the United States, a project that unfolded across four years.

Two performers embracing in the middle of the stage.
Black Southern Playwrights Take Center Stage
Essay

Black Southern Playwrights Take Center Stage

27 April 2023

Amelia Parenteau introduces the We Will Dream: New Works Festival, a festival showcasing new plays by Black playwrights originating from or working in the American South.

Screenshot of a zoom meeting.
From Awareness to Action: Facilitating Change in the American Theatre
Essay

From Awareness to Action: Facilitating Change in the American Theatre

13 June 2022

Lauren E. Turner, producing artistic director of No Dream Deferred, sits down with Amelia Parenteau to discuss their recent experiences in anti-racist facilitation work through No Dream Deferred’s service, Equity and Justice for Institutional Change.

Two clowns in lab coats make a patient laugh.
Clowning for a Cause: Healthcare Clowns Offer Opportunities for Holistic Healing
Essay

Clowning for a Cause: Healthcare Clowns Offer Opportunities for Holistic Healing

8 March 2022

Although healthcare clowns have existed for more than forty years, their work isn’t widely understood. Amelia Parenteau discusses the substantial patient benefits that healthcare clowns provide while diving into their history and current practices.

a desert road leading toward mountains
Seuls en Scène Festival 2020 / Festival Seuls en Scène 2020
Essay

Seuls en Scène Festival 2020 / Festival Seuls en Scène 2020

The Show Must Go On / Le spectacle doit continuer

5 January 2021

Amelia Parenteau explores the most recent Seuls en Scène Festival, which took place in September 2020 on Zoom and had a programmatic mix of video recordings of live performance, “staged” readings, one making-of documentary, and a series of docutheatre work. / Amelia Parenteau explore la dernière édition du festival Seuls en Scène, qui a eu lieu en septembre 2020 sur Zoom et qui a présenté une programmation variée, avec des captations vidéo de performances, des lectures de pièces, un documentaire sur un processus de création et une série de docu-théâtres.

a group of actors onstage
Hold on Tightly, Let Go Lightly
Essay

Hold on Tightly, Let Go Lightly

What We Can Learn from Career Transitions Between Medicine and Theatre

24 November 2020

Amelia Parenteau examines the essential nature of both artists and medical workers—who heal body and soul, mind and spirit—and shares how some have navigated their career transitions between the two fields.

two performers in red costumes with a backdrop of the moon.
"French and Yet Never French Enough" / « Français, mais jamais assez français »
Essay

"French and Yet Never French Enough" / « Français, mais jamais assez français »

Caribbean Playwrights Challenge the Monolith of French Identity / Les dramaturges caribéens disputent l’identité française monolithique

13 January 2020

Amelia Parenteau discusses the Actions Caribéennes Théâtrales festival, which brought together francophones, francophiles, and theatre folks from around the world to witness staged readings of six French Caribbean plays in English translation. / Amelia Parenteau parle du festival Actions Caribéennes Théâtrales (ACT), qui a rassemblé des francophones, francophiles et gens de théâtre de partout dans le monde pour assister aux lectures publiques de six pièces franco-caribéennes traduites en anglais.

lauren e. turner seated at a table
The American Theatre Was Killing Me
Essay

The American Theatre Was Killing Me

Healing from Racialized Trauma in an Art Workspace

18 November 2019

Amelia Parenteau speaks with Lauren E. Turner about racialized trauma in American theatre, Lauren’s experience with it, and healing.

three different frames of a dancer
New to New Orleans / Venant d’arriver à la Nouvelle Orléans
Essay

New to New Orleans / Venant d’arriver à la Nouvelle Orléans

Three Theatremakers’ Impressions on Parades versus Protests / Les impressions de trois femmes de théâtre des parades et des manifestations

23 May 2019

Amelia Parenteau, along with theatremakers Eva Doumbia and Marie Houdin, explores the similarities and differences of parades and protests.

a group of actors carrying another actor
Bringing French Theatre to Princeton / Amener le théâtre français à Princeton
Essay

Bringing French Theatre to Princeton / Amener le théâtre français à Princeton

20 November 2018

Amelia Parenteau explores the importance of the Seuls en Scène French Theater Festival in Princeton, New Jersey, and discuses the themes and productions at this year’s festival. / Amelia Parenteau explore l’importance du festival de théâtre français Seuls en Scène de Princeton, dans le New Jersey, et discute des thèmes et des productions du festival de cette année.

people sitting at a table
The City of Brotherly Love Presents
Essay

The City of Brotherly Love Presents

The Empathy Project

12 July 2018

Amelia Parenteau explores the value of bringing theatre and the humanities into the medical field through the collaboration between Philadelphia’s Lantern Theater Company and the Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

Baldwin’s Back in France
Essay

Baldwin’s Back in France

An Interview with Elise Vigier / Retour de Baldwin en France : Une interview avec Elise Vigier

18 February 2018

An interview with Elise Vigier who staged her adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1979 novel, Just Above My Head at the Maison des Arts de Creteil near Paris. / Une interview avec Elise Vigier, qui a monté son adaptation d’un roman de 1979 de James Baldwin, Harlem Quartet, à la Maison des Arts de Creteil, près de Paris.

Interview with Werewere Liking of the Theatre Company Village Ki-Yi M'Bock / Interview avec Werewere Liking du Village Ki-Yi M’Bock
Essay

Interview with Werewere Liking of the Theatre Company Village Ki-Yi M'Bock / Interview avec Werewere Liking du Village Ki-Yi M’Bock

8 January 2018

An Interview with Werewere Liking founder of the Theatre Company Village Ki-Yi M'Bock in Côte d’Ivoire. / Une interview avec Werewere Liking, la fondatrice du Village Ki-Yi M'Bock en Côte d’Ivoire. 

Elements of Oz
Essay

Elements of Oz

Pay Attention to the Men Behind the Curtain

17 January 2017

Amelia Parenteau deconstructs the use of technology in The Builders Association’s production of Elements of Oz, an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, presented at 3LD in New York City.