HowlRound at Emerson College Announces Gahlon As Director
[Boston, MA – July 11, 2018] HowlRound, a free and open platform for theatremakers worldwide located at Emerson College, proudly announces Jamie Gahlon as its new director. Gahlon is a co-founder of HowlRound and most recently served as its interim director following the departure of co founder/director P. Carl in November 2017. Previously, she was senior creative producer.
HowlRound began as part of the American Voices New Play Institute (AVNPI) at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, before its move to Emerson College in Boston in 2012. It originally launched as an online journal, which was created to amplify the voices of artists and issues that were chronically underrepresented and unheard in theatre.
David Dower, vice president, Emerson College and co-founder and contributing editor of HowlRound, said, “Jamie has been an intrinsic partner in the visioning, innovation, growth, and management of HowlRound. I'm delighted to see her step into this leadership role and look forward to working closely with her as we move the whole discussion and community forward.”
Award-winning playwright and co-founder of the Latinx Theatre Commons, Karen Zacarías, also had praise for Gahlon’s selection. “I have had the incredible pleasure of working with Jamie Gahlon over many years. She is an innovative and savvy producer, a fierce advocate for artists and new work, and a beacon in new ways of building inclusive and sustainable practices to usher in a new stage of theatre.”
Zacarías credited Gahlon as a leading supporter of the Latinx Theatre Commons, and for leading HowlRound to its current position as the theatrical vanguard of tangible action and philosophical discourse in local, regional, national, and international arenas.
Gahlon said of her appointment, “Over the past seven years, it has been a privilege and a joy to work at HowlRound to amplify voices that need to be heard and hold space for the often difficult but critical discourse we need to advance the field. I'm honored to continue this work in a new leadership role, supported and spurred on by our incredible team: Vijay Mathew, Ramona Ostrowski, Abigail Vega, J.D. Stokely, and May Antaki.”
About Jamie Gahlon
Gahlon has more than a decade of experience, most recently as HowlRound senior creative producer, running day-to-day operations and producing all HowlRound programming including the online journal, HowlRound TV, the World Theatre Map, Convenings, HowlRound’s ongoing collaboration with the Latinx Theatre Commons, and the National Playwright Residency Program. She is also a co-creator of the World Theatre Map. Prior to her work at HowlRound, Gahlon helped launched the American Voices New Play Institute at Arena Stage and the NEA New Play Development Program. She has also worked for New York Stage & Film and the New Victory Theatre. She is a proud member of the Latinx Theatre Commons Steering Committee, a core producer for the Jubilee, and a think tank member for the Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics. Gahlon holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service with a focus on Culture & Politics from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
About HowlRound
HowlRound is a free and open platform for theatremakers worldwide that amplifies progressive, disruptive ideas about the art form and facilitates connection between diverse practitioners. HowlRound seeks to democratize the arts by effectively modeling the transformative power of commons-based practice. HowlRound is a “commons”—a social structure that invites open participation around shared values. HowlRound’s tools and programs include an online journal, HowlRound TV, the World Theatre Map, the Latinx Theatre Commons, documenting the impact of playwright residencies through the National Playwright Residency Program, and inperson convenings. All HowlRound content is peer produced by the community it serves. Founded in 2011, HowlRound operates inside the Office of the Arts at Emerson College. howlround.com
About Emerson College
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, opposite the historic Boston Common and in the heart of the city’s Theatre District, Emerson College educates individuals who will solve problems and change the world through engaged leadership in communication and the arts, a mission informed by liberal learning. The College has 3,780 undergraduates and 670 graduate students from across the United States and 50 countries. Supported by state-of-the-art facilities and a renowned faculty, students participate in more than 90 student organizations and performance groups. Emerson is known for its experiential learning programs in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, the Netherlands, London, China, and the Czech Republic. The College has an active network of 39,000 alumni who hold leadership positions in communication and the arts. For more information, visit emerson.edu.