Recent Essays

Carlos Morton discusses Luis Valdez’s latest play, Valley of the Heart, what the Mexican philosopher José Vasconcelos calls la raza cosmica, and being part of a mixed-race family himself.

Scott Harman reflects on acting students’ increased sensitivity to traumatic material, how that plays out in classrooms, and what teachers can do to create safe spaces where their students can thrive.

Trevor Boffone examines Isaac Gómez’s new play La Ruta, which focuses on the feminicides in Mexico, and talks about the growing canon of Latinx theatre that dramatizes and theorizes on gendered violence.

Kinan Valdez and Jacob G. Padrón talk about growing up in a theatre family, leadership in the Latinx community, the skills needed to be the artistic leader of a company, and more.

Maximilian Kempf discusses climate change theatre through the lens of the Anthropoligists’ show This Sinking Island.

Mona Merhi reflects on four productions at France’s 2018 Avignon Festival that were created based on real-life events, people, or documentary material and questions whether staging documents is an ethical process.

Daniel Jackson talks about creating an interactive DIY lighting system—that the audience partially controlled—for a recent production that took place almost entirely in the dark.

Andrea Kovich talks about the importance of disability representation on Seattle’s stages and Sound Theatre Company’s recent work in that area.

Todd London celebrates the work of playwright and performer Daniel Alexander Jones.