Howlround Theater Commons Home Page

Accessibility

Interested in making every aspect of theatre practice and participation accessible to people of all abilities? You've come to the right place! Here, you'll find content created by folks with disabilities as well as allies on what to do, what not to do, and how we can all do better. Go to this page to find out what HowlRound is doing.

The Latest

Livestreaming a Conversation: #DeafWoke
Video

Livestreaming a Conversation: #DeafWoke

A virtual consciousness-raising online talk show, led by Black and Native American Deaf host Mr. Antoine Hunter PurpleFireCrow

Thursday 11 February 2021
United States
Livestreaming a Conversation: #DeafWoke with Jubil Khan
Video

Livestreaming a Conversation: #DeafWoke with Jubil Khan

A virtual consciousness-raising online talk show, led by Black and Native American Deaf host Mr. Antoine Hunter PurpleFireCrow

Thursday 21 January 2021
United States
Streaming in the Just Transition
Essay

Streaming in the Just Transition

A Producer’s Guide to Measuring, Budgeting, and Lowering the Carbon Emissions of Livestreams and Video Conferences

by Vijay Mathew
7 January 2021
Livestreaming a Conversation: #DeafWoke
dancers performing against white background
Urban Jazz Dance Company
Video

Livestreaming a Conversation: #DeafWoke

A virtual consciousness-raising online talk show, led by Black and Native American Deaf host Mr. Antoine Hunter PurpleFireCrow

Thursday 11 February 2021
United States

Antoine Hunter presents #DeafWoke livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 11 February at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5). Guest to be announced.

Livestreaming a Conversation: #DeafWoke with Jubil Khan
dancers performing against white background
Urban Jazz Dance Company
Video

Livestreaming a Conversation: #DeafWoke with Jubil Khan

A virtual consciousness-raising online talk show, led by Black and Native American Deaf host Mr. Antoine Hunter PurpleFireCrow

Thursday 21 January 2021
United States

Antoine Hunter presents #DeafWoke with Jubil Khan livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 21 January at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

Grass growing out of an old laptop computer.
Streaming in the Just Transition
Essay

Streaming in the Just Transition

A Producer’s Guide to Measuring, Budgeting, and Lowering the Carbon Emissions of Livestreams and Video Conferences

7 January 2021

Vijay Mathew asks, and then offers ideas to approach, the question: "How will the performing arts field contribute to climate justice during the sixth mass extinction?"

a person handing over a ticket
Pay Equity
Essay

Pay Equity

What’s In It For Theatre Companies?

6 January 2021

Elsa Hiltner examines the value of pay equity in the theatre through a fresh lens: how it benefits companies.

a desert road leading toward mountains
Seuls en Scène Festival 2020 / Festival Seuls en Scène 2020
Essay

Seuls en Scène Festival 2020 / Festival Seuls en Scène 2020

The Show Must Go On / Le spectacle doit continuer

5 January 2021

Amelia Parenteau explores the most recent Seuls en Scène Festival, which took place in September 2020 on Zoom and had a programmatic mix of video recordings of live performance, “staged” readings, one making-of documentary, and a series of docutheatre work. / Amelia Parenteau explore l’édition du festival Seuls en Scène la plus récente, celle qui a eu lieu en septembre 2020 sur Zoom et a présenté une programmation variée avec des captations vidéo de performances, des lectures des pièces, une documentaire sur un processus de création et une série des travaux docu-théâtres.

blue graphic of actor onstage against yellow background
(Re)Imagine Accessible Theater (ASL interpreted & live captioned)
Seattle Rep
Video

(Re)Imagine Accessible Theater (ASL interpreted & live captioned)

A series by Seattle Rep that brings artists and community leaders together

Thursday 17 December 2020
United States

Seattle Rep presented (Re)Imagine Accessible Theater livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 17 December 2020 at 5 p.m. PST (Seattle, UTC -8) / 6 p.m. MST (Denver, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 8 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

a group of actors onstage
The Ableist Effects of Creating “Post-Pandemic Theatre” During a Pandemic
Essay

The Ableist Effects of Creating “Post-Pandemic Theatre” During a Pandemic

8 December 2020

Allie Marotta discusses how a new realm of accessibility opened up with remote performances but argues that the rush to return to in-person events is leaving disabled and high-risk populations behind.

un escaparate colorido
Moving an LGBTIQ+ Arts and Healing Space in Bogotá Online During the Pandemic/Trasladando a la virtualidad un espacio de artes y sanación LGBTIQ+ en Bogotá durante la pandemia
Essay

Moving an LGBTIQ+ Arts and Healing Space in Bogotá Online During the Pandemic/Trasladando a la virtualidad un espacio de artes y sanación LGBTIQ+ en Bogotá durante la pandemia

4 December 2020

Viviana Vargas shares what it’s been like transitioning their Bogotá-based arts, culture, and healing storefront, Balistikal, into an online space during the pandemic./Viviana Vargas comparte cómo ha sido la transición de su espacio físico en Bogotá, de arte, cultura y sanación, llamado Balistikal, a un espacio en línea durante la pandemia.

The Necessity of Pivoting
Essay

The Necessity of Pivoting

Interviews on the Future of our Field

16 November 2020

Janice Rabian shares the discoveries she made during her summer research project about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the theatre field and how leaders are pivoting after the murder of George Floyd.

two actors onstage
Towards a Fat Theatre
Essay

Towards a Fat Theatre

Reimagining Bodies Onstage

26 October 2020

Jeff Bouthiette notes that the pandemic has provided an opportunity to reevaluate and rethink everything about the way theatre is created in America, argues that this work has to include fat people, and offers suggestions for a way forward.

Cuban woman with headphones talking in a video conference.
How to Produce a Livestream Event, Part 2
Essay

How to Produce a Livestream Event, Part 2

A Beginner’s Guide to Using the Commons-based OBS Studio Live Broadcast Software

14 October 2020

HowlRound’s cultural strategist, Vijay Mathew, offers a part two to his guide on how to produce a livestream, this time focusing on the commons-based OBS Studio.

poster with pictures of Samantha Figgins, Antoine Hunter, and the event description text.
#DeafWoke: An Evening with Samantha Figgins
dancers performing against white background
Urban Jazz Dance Company
Video

#DeafWoke: An Evening with Samantha Figgins

Samantha shares her #DeafWoke journey as a Black Hard of Hearing woman and professional dancer

Thursday 17 September 2020
United States

Urban Jazz Dance Company presented #DeafWoke: An Evening w/ Samantha Figgins livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 17 September 2020 at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Spectrum Theatre Ensemble logo.
Spectrum Theatre Ensemble’s Neurodiversity New Play Festival
Spectrum Theatre Ensemble logo.
Spectrum Theatre Ensemble
Video

Spectrum Theatre Ensemble’s Neurodiversity New Play Festival

Premiering capstones for four new 10-minute plays, four public readings of works by playwrights on the spectrum, and panels on neurodiversity in the arts

Friday 31 July to Sunday 2 August 2020
United States

Spectrum Theatre Ensemble presented their Neurodiversity New Play Festival livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Friday 31 July to Sunday 2 August 2020.

Achy Obejas, Sean Gasper Bye, and Elizabeth Rose.
Queer Literature, Queer Legacies: Looking Toward the Future of LGBTQ Translation
black and white outline of a lion's head
Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers
Segal_Centre_Logo
Segal
Center
pen america in red text box
PEN World Voices
The Center for the Humanities logo.
Center for the Humanities
Video

Queer Literature, Queer Legacies: Looking Toward the Future of LGBTQ Translation

With Achy Obejas and Sean Gasper Bye

Tuesday 30 June 2020
United States

PEN America, the Center for the Humanities at CUNY Graduate Center, and the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library presented Queer Literature, Queer Legacies: Looking Toward the Future of LGBTQ Translation livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 30 June 2020 at 10:30 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 12:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 1:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 18:30 BST (London, UTC +1) / 19:30 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2).

illustration of baby with label "deaf"
A workshop performance of Please UNtranslate Me
IRT Theater
Video

A workshop performance of Please UNtranslate Me

Performed in American Sign Language with English subtitles

Monday 29 June 2020
United States

IRT Theater presented a workshop performance of Please UNtranslate Me written by Deaf playwright Monique Holt livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 29 June 2020 at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

zoom video chat of two people
Opening the Screen on “Live Video Theatre”
Essay

Opening the Screen on “Live Video Theatre”

10 June 2020

Peter J. Kuo discusses live video theatre—what it is and what it isn’t, the current difficulties and limitations around creating it, what it can do and how accessible it is, and more.

musician with guitar in front of colored background
Mass Cultural Council’s Universal Participation (UP) Award (ASL-interpreted)
orange background with white text M C
Mass Cultural Council
Video

Mass Cultural Council’s Universal Participation (UP) Award (ASL-interpreted)

Celebrating excellence in access and inclusion throughout the Commonwealth’s cultural sector

Monday 1 June to Friday 5 June 2020
Massachusetts

Mass Cultural Council presented the Universal Participation (UP) Award livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Monday 1 June to Friday 5 June 2020 at 8 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-8) / 10 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 11 a.m. EDT (Boston, UTC-4) / 4 p.m. BST (UTC+1).

Laurel Lawson and Diana Wyenn.
Directors Lab West Connects: Laurel Lawson and Diana Wyenn (ASL-interpreted)
Directors Lab West Logo.
Directors Lab West
Video

Directors Lab West Connects: Laurel Lawson and Diana Wyenn (ASL-interpreted)

Disability and Equity as Creative Forces

Tuesday 26 May 2020
United States

Directors Lab West presented Directors Lab West Connects: Laurel Lawson and Diana Wyenn livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 26 May 2020 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 19:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 20:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

an actor onstage
Reaching One Audience Member at a Time
Essay

Reaching One Audience Member at a Time

18 May 2020

Staff members at the Huntington Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts discuss their response to their theatre’s closure due to COVID-19: calling audience members and reading them monologues over the phone.

image of cracked land with text unsettling dramaturgy
Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Irreconcilable Spaces
colored earth
Unsettling Dramaturgy
Video

Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Irreconcilable Spaces

hosted by Unsettling Dramaturgy: Crip & Indigenous Dramaturgies

Friday 15 May 2020
United States

Unsettling Dramaturgy presented Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Irreconcilable Spaces livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 15 May 2020 at 3:15 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 5:15 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 6:15 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 20:15 p.m. BST (London, UTC+1) / 21:15 p.m. CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

Daylight lighting. The puppeteer, dressed in black, is sitting on a short black cube on a grey stage in front of bookshelves. The puppet, with white body and light blue costume, is sitting on the puppeteers knee. The puppet head, bald and painted off-white, is blocking the puppeteers face. The puppet's right leg is separate from the rest of its body, connected to the right leg and toes of the puppeteer. There is a large space between the two puppet legs. The gesture of the right hand of the puppet is raised
Puppetry and Disability Aesthetics
Essay

Puppetry and Disability Aesthetics

4 May 2020

Marina Tsaplina examines the complexity of the word “disability,” how puppetry can push forward disability justice, and disability aesthetics, offering what she deems a “grammar of animacy” for artists working with disability.

Stylized event promotion.
Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Prefigurative Spaces
colored earth
Unsettling Dramaturgy
Video

Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Prefigurative Spaces

hosted by Unsettling Dramaturgy: Crip & Indigenous Dramaturgies.​

Thursday 30 April 2020
United States

Unsettling Dramaturgy presented Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Prefigurative Spaces livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 30 April 2020 at 3:15 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 5:15 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 6:15 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 20:15 p.m. BST (London, UTC+1) / 21:15 p.m. CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

Spectrum Theatre Ensemble logo.
Neurodiversity Matters Conference
Spectrum Theatre Ensemble logo.
Spectrum Theatre Ensemble
Video

Neurodiversity Matters Conference

Topics include Opportunities & Challenges with Neurodiverse Inclusion, Sensory Friendly Awareness, and much much more!

Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 April 2020
United States

Spectrum Theatre Ensemble presented Neurodiversity Matters Conference livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 April 2020 at 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 12 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 18:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 19:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2)

a screen capture of an ASL interpreter and live captions for a presenter on a Zoom video conference that was livestreamed
How to Produce a Livestreamed Event
Essay

How to Produce a Livestreamed Event

A Producer’s Guide to the Tools and Embedded Values

14 April 2020

Vijay Mathew, HowlRound’s cultural strategist, offers a guide to producing and livestreaming events online.

graphic landscape with text unsettlign dramaturgy
Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Cripping Practice
colored earth
Unsettling Dramaturgy
Video

Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Cripping Practice

hosted by Unsettling Dramaturgy: Crip & Indigenous Dramaturgies ​​​​​​

Friday 10 April 2020
United States

Unsettling Dramaturgy presented Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Cripping Practice livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 10 April 2020 at 2 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 5 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).