Recent Essays

In Between Two Knees, the 1491s use comedy to destabilize rigid ideas of history. Sebastián Eddowes Vargas discusses the Perelman Performing Arts Center production, highlighting the narrative and political potency of laughing in the face of trauma.  

Yaşam Özlem Gülseven interviews Davit Khorbaladze about his play UNLOVE: an experimental work based on his personal documentary material about the loss of love during a time of global crisis and the identity crisis that followed. The two explore how UNLOVE and the rest of the “UN-” trilogy highlights the shocking resemblance between intimate experiences and global events.

Kaneza Schaal shares the community practices she witnessed at her aunt’s home in Rwanda, and how theatremakers should embrace these practices when we create work together.

After being asked to share his thoughts on the future of international touring, Why Not Theatre founder Ravi Jain offers some of what he’s learned about engaging “new” audiences and building lasting relationships between artists and presenters.

Hana Sharif reflects on lessons learned during the dramatically shifting theatrical landscape in recent years, and the necessity of artistic leaders embracing abundance during this moment. 

Ashley Malafronte reflects on the 2024 Under the Radar Symposium, which convened global theatre artists, producers, and presenters in New York City for a day of keynotes and discussions that surfaced the issues plaguing the international performing arts sector, as well as the emergent paths that could strengthen it.

Tímea Éva Bogya, dramaturg and project manager for Independent Theater Hungary and critic for Színház Magazine, and Márton Illés explore questions for theatremakers to ask themselves before portraying Roma communities on stage to ensure authentic representation. 

Noémi Herczog, theatre critic and scholar based in Hungary and Romania, explores the question of how critics should be writing about Roma theatre. Should they take the social position of the Roma into account, or write purely about the art itself?   

Taylor Leigh Lamb argues that building the equitable theatre industry requires robust COVID precautions with steps like masking, air filtration, and advocacy within our theatrical spaces.