Self Advocacy and Social Change Within College Campuses

Geoffrey Kershner, AD of the resident theatre company at Sweet Briar College, considers the complicated intersection of art and our racial history and the responsibility of the artist.

Elizabeth Horn reflects on how in the aftermath of #MeToo, it is more important than ever to teach the next generation of theatremakers ideas of consent, respect, and how to advocate for themselves as artists.

Theatre student Abigail Warhus talks about feeling stuck at university and taking her education into her own hands.

Aaron Hunt on new musical development in Chicago, Illinois.

Ezra LeBank reimagines how theatres at universites should interact with their audiences. 

Kim Peter Kovac on the changing landscape of Theater for Young Audiences, and the opportunities that presents.

Alex Ates reflects on the creation of The Shakespearean Jazz Show, and how Emerson College provided the perfect opportunity for his brainchild to grow.

Artistic Director Joan Lipkin discusses the inspiration and process for “Dance the Vote,” a voting registration campaign in St. Louis, Missouri that included performances by local artists. 

What are female acting students learning in the classroom? Educator and director Katherine McGerr discusses how gender parity in theatre starts in the classroom.

Matthew Gray offers support from the academic arena for HowlRound contributor Seth Lepore’s charge that university theatre departments are not readying the next generation of theatre artists.

Meg Taintor shares insight on creating opportunities for college students to interact with professional theatremakers.

Sarah Coleman talks about the stigma of "sweetness" that surrounds TYA, and the idea that creating plays for children is no child's play.

The neglect of playwriting as a genre in what I’ll lovingly call the creative writing industrial machine—poetry, fiction, and non-fiction/memoir are the ruling three—hasn’t escaped conference organizers. They actively encourage pitches for playwriting panels, which are typically in short supply. This year, this poet and part-time playwriting instructor made a point of attending as many theater-related panels as possible. It was an incredibly heartening experience, mainly due to the emphasis placed on the benefits of incorporating playwriting into creative writing and literature classrooms.

Theater for students of color is needed in the University: to speak about these issues and at the same time to break the “Berkeley Bubble” by showing that issues students study about in their classes—including, race, class and gender—have a real impact on campus life.