fbpx Recent Essays | HowlRound Theatre Commons

Recent Essays

This is a repository of written content, sorted by most recent to oldest. Enjoy!

A group of people watch a presented projected on a screen.
The Latinx Theatre Commons’s Next Cycle of Programming
Essay

The Latinx Theatre Commons’s Next Cycle of Programming

18 March 2024

The LTC will produce five convenings focusing on new Latinx musicals, Latinx actor training, and more between 2024 and 2027.

Two people pose in graduation attire.
Teaching Dramaturgy as a Creative Practice 
Essay

Teaching Dramaturgy as a Creative Practice 

13 March 2024

Jessica Elaine Ellison challenges training programs to position dramaturgs as creatives. Through this framing, these programs have the opportunity to expand and innovate in the way that embraces the expansiveness of dramaturgs working in the field. 

Two actors perform onstage.
Recovery, Witness, and Peer-to-Peer Support
Essay

Recovery, Witness, and Peer-to-Peer Support

8 March 2024

Multidisciplinary theatre artist Regina Victor (Pharoah) and playwright and director Sean Daniels discuss navigating being in recovery from addiction within the theatre industry, what recovering artists need, and the power of witnessing.

Five actors in suits stand in front of TVs reading The Iraq Inquiry
How LUNG Is Breathing Radical Joy into Theatre in the United Kingdom
Essay

How LUNG Is Breathing Radical Joy into Theatre in the United Kingdom

5 March 2024

verity healey speaks to Matt Woodhead and Helen Monks, co-directors of LUNG, about LUNG’s work making campaign theatre that uses verbatim theatre strategies and associated political work to explore issues impacting the United Kingdom.

Three actors rehearse a scene with large pieces of blue fabric.
Recasting, Restorying, and Restructuring Shakespeare for Liberation
Essay

Recasting, Restorying, and Restructuring Shakespeare for Liberation

4 March 2024

Educator Rainier Pearl-Styles recounts their experience of devising a show in response to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, using tenets of Paolo Freire’s theory of liberatory education. Through recasting, restorying, and restructuring, the participants were able to use Shakespeare as a tool for understanding power and identity.  

A group of people ask questions to a panel.
Towards a Sustainable Theatre Model
Essay

Towards a Sustainable Theatre Model

27 February 2024

Scott Walters, author of Building a Sustainable Theater: How to Remove Gatekeepers and Take Control of Your Artistic Career, sits down with Munroe Shearer to discuss the ways artist-owned theatres can succeed and best serve their communities. 

A group of performers sing around a piano onstage.
Curating Openings in the Theatre of María Irene Fornés
Essay

Curating Openings in the Theatre of María Irene Fornés

26 February 2024

Dramaturg Anna D. Novak and director Juliana Frey-Méndez discuss their collaborative dramaturgical process for Fefu and Her Friends, written by María Irene Fornés. Together they crafted a process that embraced the play’s mysteries and made space for everyone’s analysis.

A row of actors read from scripts on music stands.
What Makes St. Louis a Flourishing Ecosystem for New Plays and Cooperative Production Models
Essay

What Makes St. Louis a Flourishing Ecosystem for New Plays and Cooperative Production Models

13 February 2024

Jacob Juntunen traces the collaborative network of theatres and theatremakers in St. Louis that share resources and make the city a rich environment for new play development. 

Two actors stand onstange, one in a pink dress and the other in a t-shirt using a cane.
Autistic Artists Should Be Telling Autistic Stories
Essay

Autistic Artists Should Be Telling Autistic Stories

12 February 2024

Megan Lummus shares her experience as the first openly autistic director to direct a professional production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. She explores why it is important to have autistic artists taking the lead on sharing autistic stories, and what theatremakers can do to make sure productions are accessible. 

Chris Myers sits at a table at the East Village Zine fair.
That Which We Call a Struggle: A Response to Ife Olujobi’s “$5000”
Essay

That Which We Call a Struggle: A Response to Ife Olujobi’s “$5000”

5 February 2024

Theatremaker and political educator Chris Myers writes a companion piece to Ife Olujobi’s “$5000.” He explains the structural reasons behind Ife’s struggle to gain more money for playwrights, why this struggle belongs to us all, and the organizing it will take to change it. 

Or Browse By Topic

Diversity, Inclusion, Visibility

Ideas & Research

Form, Genre, Style

Vocation & Careers

Language

By Country

U.S. by State