Recent Essays

Bess Rowen reflects on two decades of exciting, experimental productions at the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival.

To celebrate the launch of I Don’t Know How They Do It!, column curator Anne G. Morgan and HowlRound co-director Ramona Rose King sit down to discuss the column’s origins, their own parenting journeys, and ways our field can better support artist caregivers.  

This month’s diarist is a dramaturg with a full-time job at an arts service organization and a toddler at home. With a strong support system and an even stronger commitment to getting up early, she makes time for playdates in between work travel and freelance projects. 

This month’s diarist has two kids under five and two jobs in different states. When a parent needs her, too, she begins to grapple with the added strain of “sandwich generation” responsibilities.

Every four years, Catholic seminaries across Nigeria come together for the All Saints Seminary Festival of Arts and Culture, which features theatre rooted in the cultures of Nigeria’s various ethnic groups. Israel Wepke sits down with Eseovwe Emakunu to discuss the process of making theatre with All Saints Seminary, Uhiele.

In May 2025, the International Presenting Commons (IPC) convened to discuss the state of international cultural exchange. Munroe Forbes Shearer reports on the convening, which pursued questions, resources, and actions to continue international work amid Trump administration policy shifts that threaten to disrupt it.

Outgoing HowlRound director Jamie Gahlon reflects on fifteen years of commons-based learning, organizing, discourse, and gathering with HowlRound Theatre Commons.

Beginning in January, HowlRound Theatre Commons will operate independently and with new leadership, as co-founder and director Jamie Gahlon steps into an advisory role and Ramona Rose King and Julia Schachnik assume the positions of co-directors.

Mrichchakatikam (The Little Clay Cart) is known globally, but it had never been performed in Koodiyattam until this year. Shereen Saif reflects on G. Venu’s adaptation of the classic play, which radically condensed the original and took creative liberties with plot, casting, and tradition.

Iranian Girlfriend explores the complex relationship between fact and fiction—a dynamic that played out in its journey from autobiographical essay to autofictional play. Creator SB Tennent discusses the play’s origins, process, and ambitions with Georgia Evans.