Recent Essays

Armando Huipe, new Latinx Theatre Commons producer, announces the next four years of programming which include the Creative Renewal Retreat, a Comedy Carnaval, and furthering the internal work of anti-oppression, coalition building, and combating colorism.

Kirsten Bowen reflects on Slovakia’s 2019 International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra, which was programmed based on the theme “faces of freedom.”

Linnea Valdivia discusses the weight of reviews in theatre, the failure in arts journalism to approach queer stories with respect and empathy, how a critic should react if they misgender an artist, and more.

Carlos Murillo and Kira Obolensky talk about their National Playwright Residency Program residencies, creating work for a specific theatre’s audience, playwrights not being part of the sea change of artistic director turnover, and more.

Lama El Homaïssi reflects on her experience working with American Repertory Theater on their musical We Live in Cairo, diving into representation in storytelling, the oral Hakawati tradition, and more.

Early career arts manager Al Heartley speaks with Jennifer Bielstein, executive director of American Conservatory Theater, about active listening, how to balance focusing on the details with looking at the bigger pictures, management values, and more.

Rachel Spencer Hewitt, founder of the Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL), talks about putting PAAL’s handbook of best practices for parent support into action in collaboration with New York City’s the Playwrights Realm.

Mickey Rowe, co-founder and co–executive director of National Disability Theatre, talks about the difficulties of being a single parent with disabilities and working in theatre.

Nicole Brewer talks about the term “child friendly,” reconstructing the issue of parent support as an issue of race and racism, supporting parent-artists with an anti-racist lens, and more.