Recent Essays

Cassidy Dawn Graves writes about the anti-capitalist narrative present in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and the significance of producing the musical in 2018.

Olivia D’Ambrosio, Producing Artistic Director of Bridge Repertory Theater in Boston, Massachusetts discusses how the company's early ambitions led to challenges, and how they're learned to course-correct.

Leilani Squire explores the healing power of writing through her experience of working with veterans to write a play about their time at war and sharing their stories with the community.

Playwright Renée Darline Roden talks about her travels to Israel and Palestine to gain inspiration for a new play and encountering what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie calls “the danger of a single story.”

Journalist and filmmaker Michelle Memran reflects upon the easy beginning, the messy middle, the focused concluding months, and MOMA premiere screening of her documentary dreamscape film The Rest I Make Up about her great friend, the beloved playwright and teacher María Irene Fornés.

Playwright Paco José Madden explores what it means to be produced by student-run theatre companies: the pros and cons, what factors to consider, and how a playwright can make the best of their experience in a similar setting.

Playwright Michelle Tyrene Johnson and director Claire Syler discuss their collaboration on The Green Duck Lounge, a play that delves into Kansas City, Missouri’s civil rights history.

Jonathan Mandell writes about The Boys in the Band, The Gentleman Caller, and 217 Boxes of Dr. Henry Anonymous, and discusses their portrayal of gay male characters.

Elana Gartner, founding co-chair of the International Centre for Women Playwrights 50/50 Applause Award, interviews Chilean playwright Sally Campusano about women in theatre in her home country.

Todd London celebrates playwright Carlyle Brown, who recently won the William Inge Theater Festival’s award for Distinguished Achievement in the American Theater.