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Interviews

This section collects all HowlRound content that takes the form of an interview between two or more theatremakers. Interested in contributing your own interview? Here are our interview guidelines and best practices!

The Latest

Innovating Theatre with Tiffany Vega
Podcast
Innovating Theatre with Tiffany Vega
by Yura Sapi, Tiffany Vega-Gibson
2 May 2024
On Reinventing the Canon
Podcast
On Reinventing the Canon
by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, Yizhou Huang, Nathan Davis
30 April 2024
Elevating Indigenous Perspectives with Rhiana Yazzie
Podcast
Elevating Indigenous Perspectives with Rhiana Yazzie
by Yura Sapi, Rhiana Yazzie
18 April 2024
A portrait of the guest Ivyon E. against a galaxy background with the Building Our Own Tables logo to the left.
Funding Accountability
Podcast

Funding Accountability

With Iyvon E. of The Parsnip Ship

1 September 2021

Yura Sapi sits down with Iyvon E., artistic director of The Parsnip Ship, a podcast play company that amplifies bold artists for audiences who crave accessible stories and storytellers.

Clint and Lindsay wearing semi-formal attire and smiling in front of a background with "Playwrights" all over it.
The Design of Change
Essay

The Design of Change

31 August 2021

Lindsay Jones and Clint Ramos discuss the intersection of art and activism, as well as the paths they take to create meaningful change for the next generation of theatremakers.

The guest, Teresa Coleman Wash, smiling and wearing a red shirt against a galaxy background.
Being a Neighborhood Resource Center and Owning Our Tables
Podcast

Being a Neighborhood Resource Center and Owning Our Tables

With Teresa Coleman Wash of Bishop Arts Theatre Center

25 August 2021

Yura Sapi speaks with Teresa Coleman Wash, the founding artistic director of Bishop Arts Theatre Center, whose mission is to create a diverse and vibrant arts community while creating sustainable opportunities for local and emerging artists through performances and education.

Strong Foundations and Groundings & Solidarity
Podcast

Strong Foundations and Groundings & Solidarity

With Quanice Floyd of Art Administrators of Color

11 August 2021

Yura Sapi talks with Quanice Floyd, founder of Arts Administrators of Color Network, whose mission is to empower artists and arts administrators by providing tools and resources to advocate for equity, inclusion, access, and diversity in the arts.

A headshot of the guest, Kyoung Park, against a space-designed background.
Peacemaking Theatre
Podcast

Peacemaking Theatre

With Kyoung Park of Kyoung's Pacific Beat

28 July 2021

Yura Sapi sits down with Kyoung H. Park of Kyoung’s Pacific Beat, a peacemaking theatre collective dedicated to working with artists, non-artists, and local communities to transform experiences of oppression into peace messages through public performance.

 
 
A headshot of Michelle A. Banks against a galaxy backdrop with the logo for Building Our Own Tables to the left.
Creating a Platform for BIPOC, Deaf, and Hard-of-Hearing Artists
Podcast

Creating a Platform for BIPOC, Deaf, and Hard-of-Hearing Artists

With Michelle Banks of Visionaries of the Creative Arts

21 July 2021

Yura Sapi sits down with Black, Deaf artist Michelle Banks to talk about Visionaries of the Creative Arts, an organization Michelle co-founded, dedicated to responding to the critical needs of d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing artists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, in Washington, DC.

Lara Parmiani wearing a black top and holding out a banana in front her like a gun.
“You can’t do revolution on your own”: Lara Parmiani on the Migrant Woman Experience in British Theatre
Essay

“You can’t do revolution on your own”: Lara Parmiani on the Migrant Woman Experience in British Theatre

19 July 2021

verity healey sits down with Italy-born, UK-based theatremaker Lara Parmiani to talk about the migrant woman experience in Britain and its representation, or lack thereof, on British stages.

Creating New Mediums and Hustle Culture
Podcast

Creating New Mediums and Hustle Culture

With Parmida Ziaei of Seda Iranian Ensemble

7 July 2021

In this episode of Building Our Own Tables, host Yura Sapi discusses Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble, the first Iranian theatre company in Seattle, with co-founder Parmida Ziaei.

A headshot of Maurice Parent against a galaxy background. The Building Our Own Tables logo is left of Parent.
Co-Productions and Rethinking Leadership
Podcast

Co-Productions and Rethinking Leadership

With Maurice Parent of the Front Porch Arts Collective

30 June 2021

In this episode of Building Our Own Tables, Yura Sapi talks about leadership in theatre with Black actor and educator Maurice Parent, a co-producer of the Collective.

Community Organizations and Partnerships
Podcast

Community Organizations and Partnerships

With Samson Syharath and Dmae Lo Roberts of Theatre Diaspora

23 June 2021

In this episode of Building Our Own Tables, host Yura Sapi discusses Theatre Diaspora with co-founders Samson Syharath and Dmae Lo Roberts.

A picture of puppets on stage.
La Máquina Real / La Máquina Real
Essay

La Máquina Real / La Máquina Real

Reviving a Baroque Puppet Tradition / Recupera los títeres de una tradición perdida

8 April 2021

Emilio Williams sits down with Jesús Caballero to talk about the lost puppetry genre called la máquina real and Jesús’s company in Spain that works to reimagine this Baroque art form. / Emilio Williams entabla una conversación con Jesús Caballero sobre un género de teatro de títeres olvidado de nombre la máquina real y los esfuerzos de Jesús y su compañía en España por recuperar esta tradición barroca.

Red Eye Theater's seven artistic directors.
Collective Leadership
Essay

Collective Leadership

A Conversation with Red Eye’s Artistic Directors

1 April 2021

The co–artistic directors of Red Eye Theater in Minneapolis talk about shifting to a collaborate leadership model with a horizontal structure and consensus-based process, backdooring their way into traditional funding structures and resources, and more.

headshots of the authros
Moving the Field Forward Faster at American Regional Theatres
Essay

Moving the Field Forward Faster at American Regional Theatres

10 March 2021

Robert Barry Fleming, executive artistic director of Actors Theatre, and Courtney Sale, artistic director of Merrimack Repertory Theatre, converse about structural racism and systems of oppression, what can be learned from theatre for young audiences, the possibilities in a post-COVID world, and more.

two actors onstage
The Perpetual Crises Engulfing British Theatre
Essay

The Perpetual Crises Engulfing British Theatre

An Interview with Migrant Theatre Director Alex Istudor

8 March 2021

verity healey speaks with Alex Istudor, the Romanian-born director who lives and works in the UK, about the challenges of migrant theatremakers, different attitudes towards creating shows between the UK and continental Europe, and more.

four people posing for a photo outside in a city
Sharing the Load
Essay

Sharing the Load

Adapting to the Pandemic in a Shared Leadership Role

2 March 2021

In a conversation that took place in November 2020, Meropi Peponides and Yury Urnov discuss stepping into shared leadership roles, adapting during the pandemic, paying salaries to actors, and more.

The backstage area of a theatre, with a red curtain on a raised platform. There are random props and items strewn about. A woman in a 1940s outfit is standing at stage left. Down on the lower level is a ghost light. The entire stage is covered in textured, selective lighting.
Illuminating the Careers of Disabled Lighting Designers
Essay

Illuminating the Careers of Disabled Lighting Designers

25 February 2021

Lighting designers Annie Wiegand and Michael Maag discuss how being part of the Deaf and disability community intersects with their design work.

an actor onstage
Three Costume Designers Meet for Tea on the Edge of a Cliff
Essay

Three Costume Designers Meet for Tea on the Edge of a Cliff

24 February 2021

Lux Haac, Dominique Fawn Hill, and Deb Sivigny, three costume designers from around the United States, get together to talk about how they bring their values and identities into their individual practices, the importance of not tying their creativity to work, and more.

an actor onstage
Alternate World Design During the Pandemic and Beyond
Essay

Alternate World Design During the Pandemic and Beyond

11 February 2021

Heidi Coleman and Patrick Jagoda discuss alternate reality games (ARG) as a means of motivating audiences to take action, what goes into creating ARGs, game-based improvisation, and more.

two people posing for a photo seated in front a marbled grey background
Knowing It’s Time to Go / Savoir quand partir
Essay

Knowing It’s Time to Go / Savoir quand partir

A Conversation on Passing the Torch of Artistic Leadership / Discussion sur le passage du flambeau de la direction artistique  

4 February 2021

David Dower and Martin Faucher discuss leaving their leadership positions at Boston’s ArtsEmerson and Montreal’s Festival TransAmériques, respectively; the balance between artistic responsibility and activist responsibility as artistic leaders; passing the torch to the next generation; and more. / David Dower, directeur artistique du ArtsEmerson de Boston, et Martin Faucher, codirecteur général et directeur artistique du Festival TransAmériques de Montréal, discutent de leur départ respectif, de l’équilibre entre la responsabilité artistique et la responsabilité militante en tant que directeur artistique, du passage du flambeau à la prochaine génération, et plus.

an empty audition room
Identity-Conscious Casting
Essay

Identity-Conscious Casting

Moving Beyond Color-Blind and Color-Conscious Casting

2 February 2021

Text-based director and adaptor Lavina Jadhwani chats with casting director Victor Vazquez about her shift from using “color-conscious casting” to “identity-conscious casting,” the importance of casting being seen as part of a show’s design and dramaturgy, and more.

zoom screenshot
Whose America and Whose Dreams?
Essay

Whose America and Whose Dreams?

26 January 2021

Zeina Salame sits down for a conversation with Leila Buck and Tamilla Woodard to talk about their most recent creative collaboration, American Dreams, online audience interaction, and more.

Nydia Simone and Blactina
Podcast

Nydia Simone and Blactina

Building Our Own Table Episode #4

20 January 2021

In this episode of Building Our Own Tables Podcast, host Viviana Vargas discusses amplifying Afrolatinx and Caribbean stories with an emphasis on women through media and entertainment with Blactina founder Nydia Simone.

seven actors onstage
"What does it mean to be a woman of color and in leadership?"
Essay

"What does it mean to be a woman of color and in leadership?"

A Conversation with Nicole Brewer and Sophia Skiles

19 January 2021

Sophia Skiles, the incoming head of acting for the Brown/Trinity MFA program, and Nicole Brewer, who recently joined the acting faculty at the Yale School of Drama, dive deep into a conversation about what it means to be a woman of color in leadership.

a group onstage
Sometimes the Best Technology is Relationships
Essay

Sometimes the Best Technology is Relationships

A Conversation with Complex Movements

15 January 2021

In the last conversation of the Performing the Internet series, curator Kate Bergstrom sits down with three members of the Detroit-based artist-activist collective Complex Movements—Sage Crump, ill weaver, Wes Taylor—to talk about intentional engagement in a virtual world.

an actor onstage
Write the Software and Let the World Have It
Essay

Write the Software and Let the World Have It

Forty Years of Internet Performance

14 January 2021

In this article for the Performing the Internet series, Miller Puckette and Onyx Ashanti get together for a conversation about the changing landscape of multimedia technology in the arts, how technologically mediated performance practices have taken on new relevance in the post-COVID era, and more.