Recent Essays

Playwright Gabriel Jason Dean and Director Lindsay Amer discuss "risky plays", queer characters and narratives, and young audiences.

This week's conversation topic is "Theatermakers, playwrights: What's the best way to get feedback?" and will be moderated by Angela Eden @angelaeden116—who like all of our moderators, authors, and content producers—self-selected to peer-produce on this commons-based platform! This hour-long Howl will take place on Thursday, June 26 on hashtag #newplay at 11am PDT (Vancouver) / 1pm CDT (Austin) / 2pm EDT (Toronto) / 18:00 GMT / 7pm BST (London).

Dani Snyder-Young writes about the 2014 Chicago Home Theater Festival, which places participatory performances inside private homes.

Sometimes, the best way to study a theory or philosophy is to implement it and learn from the results. This twelve-part series is the year-long account of one young artist’s efforts to start a new theater company and put into action what he has learned and is learning from the HowlRound and #newplay community.

Chance publisher and sound designer Fitz Patton talks with Cecilia Friederichs about the sudden end-of-season decision announced by the Tony Administration Committee on June 11, 2014, to eliminate the awards for sound design of a play and of a musical.

We as a nation, much like Shakespeare's plays, are brilliant at using camaraderie to: define masculinity, create and dehumanize an enemy, and to motivate our men and women towards violence. But after the “blast of war blows” in their ears, where is the blueprint for what to do after killing? Where are the speeches post-combat that teach men and women how to reconnect with their humanity?

We are building a shared vocabulary that may not ever fit into a dictionary or any static form, but will give us a foundation to work toward into the future. The playwrights and artistic directors, the artists, both established and emerging, all gathered at Tarragon Theatre not to shut out the harsh reality of making work in this day and age, but to huddle together and collaborate on what’s working and solutions to what’s not.

Martha Steketee interviews dramaturg Jill Rafson about the process of developing The Mysteries, described as “48 playwrights and 54 actors retelling the entirety of the Bible in a single night.”

Megan Reilly sheds insight on the gamification of theatre.