Recent Essays

Steven Dietz asks what the perfect audience for a play would look like.

Cheryl West tells of her own experience writing theatre for young audiences surrounding the topic of race, and how children are a lot more well-equipped to process difficult topics than we think they are. Are we holding children back by trying to censor programming "for their own good?"

Gabriel Jason Dean writes about TYA, and what themes we do and do not allow children to experience onstage. But when is sheltering and censoring more of a burden than a benefit for young theatregoers?

Under the idea that children’s stories are for all ages, Finegan Kruckemeyer expresses the need for stories to show the complexities of emotions that the youth experience.

Elissa Adams offers a roadmap to those first jumping into the field of Theater for Young Audiences.

Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder chronicles her adventures as a mother and playwright at the Alabama Shakespeare Festivals's Southern Writers' Project.

Submit and vote on the topic for the next Weekly Howl.

Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder continues her series on being a playwright and mother at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Southern Writers' Project. This installment: developing a new play while parenting your child should surely come with a stage manager.

Jamie Gahlon has asked theatre artists from around the country to talk about their personal search for an artistic home. Tlaloc Rivas continues this series.