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Acting & Performance

This section contains content on the craft of acting, created by performers of all types.

The Latest

The State of Acting Training in Canada
Essay

The State of Acting Training in Canada

A Summary of the Results from Got Your Back’s 2018 National Survey

by Sarah Robbins, Neil Silcox, Jennifer Wigmore
3 November 2019
Livestreaming a performance of The Trojan Women at La MaMa in New York City
Video

Livestreaming a performance of The Trojan Women at La MaMa in New York City

with the Great Jones Repertory Company and artists from The Trojan Women Project’s work in Guatemala, Cambodia and Kosovo

Friday 13 December 2019
New York City
The PRELUDE 2019 Festival
Video

The PRELUDE 2019 Festival

at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center

Thursday 3 October - Saturday 5 October
New York, New York
cambodian actor on stage
Livestreaming a performance of The Trojan Women at La MaMa in New York City
La MaMa Logo
La MaMa
CultureHub Logo
CultureHub
a crowd of people hugging each other
The Trojan Women Project
Video

Livestreaming a performance of The Trojan Women at La MaMa in New York City

with the Great Jones Repertory Company and artists from The Trojan Women Project’s work in Guatemala, Cambodia and Kosovo

Friday 13 December 2019
New York City

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and CultureHub present a performance of The Trojan Women as a part of the Trojan Women Project Festival livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Friday 13 December 2019 at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC-8) / 6 p.m. CST (Guatemala City, UTC-6) / 7 p.m. EST (New York, UTC-5) / Saturday 14 December at 00:00 UTC+0 / 01:00 CET (Prishtina, Kosovo, UTC+1) / 07:00 ICT (Phnom Pen, UTC+7).

The State of Acting Training in Canada
Essay

The State of Acting Training in Canada

A Summary of the Results from Got Your Back’s 2018 National Survey

3 November 2019

Sarah Robbins, Neil Silcox, and Jennifer Wigmore share findings from Got Your Back Canada’s national survey on actor training in the country.

yellow cartoon car with pink text PRELUDE 2019
The PRELUDE 2019 Festival
Segal_Centre_Logo
Segal
Center
Video

The PRELUDE 2019 Festival

at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center

Thursday 3 October - Saturday 5 October
New York, New York

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented the PRELUDE 2019 Festival livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network from Thursday 3 October to Saturday 5 October 2019.

two actors onstage
Gravity and Responsibility in Film, TV, and Choreography
Essay

Gravity and Responsibility in Film, TV, and Choreography

25 September 2019

Choreographer Malik Nashad Sharpe and film & TV director Liza Johnson talk gravity, abstraction and risk, ethics, and more.

a person with a large bean bag over their head standing alone in the desert
Bring the Conversation
Essay

Bring the Conversation

On Twitter, What We Leave Behind, and Processing Trauma

23 September 2019

Demi Nandhra and Rajni Shah talk about their performance practices, social media, mental health, ego, and more.

illustrations of elderly artists with the text that says RosenKabarett
RosenKabarett Anniversary Performance
collage of older actors onstage with multicolored text varsta 4
4th Age Community Arts Centre
green circle next to black text centrul national al dansului
National Dance Centre
Video

RosenKabarett Anniversary Performance

by 4th Age Community Arts Center in Bucharest, Romania

Wednesday 18 September 2019
Bucharest, Romania

4th Age Community Arts Center presented the RosenKabarett Anniversary Performance livestreaming from Bucharest, Romania on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Wednesday 18 September at 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 16:00 UTC +0 / 5 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 18:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2) / 19:00 EEST (Bucharest, UTC +3).

Roma woman posing as the Statue of Liberty with a US flag as a her dress.
Performance of American Gypsy by PARADAIZ
gold triangle with crescent moon over black background
PARADAIZ
green circle next to black text centrul national al dansului
National Dance Centre
Video

Performance of American Gypsy by PARADAIZ

Bucharest, Romania

Thursday 12 September 2019
Bucharest, Romania

PARADAIZ in Bucharest, Romania presents a performance of American Gypsy livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Thursday 12 September at 11 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 15:00 UTC+0 / 17:00 CET (Berlin, UTC+2) / 18:00 EEST (Bucharest, UTC+3). 

an actor onstage
We Have Suffered Enough
Essay

We Have Suffered Enough

The Cost of Performing Trauma for Women of Color

12 September 2019

Melisa Pereyra talks about how suffering goes hand in hand with being a woman of color actor, how trauma is held in the body, and how audiences react when stories lack grief.

a slide comparing the number of white directors versus directors of color from 2007-2017
Playwrights of Color, White Directors, and Exposing Racist Policy
Essay

Playwrights of Color, White Directors, and Exposing Racist Policy

29 August 2019

Nicole Brewer examines a prominent racist policy in theatre—when plays written by people of color are staged by white directors—through the lens of actors, theatregoers, and playwrights themselves.

A performance of TRANSom
black stair steps with ground floor theatre text
Ground Floor Theatre
Video

A performance of TRANSom

at Ground Floor Theatre in Austin, Texas

Sunday 25 August 2019
Austin, Texas

Ground Floor Theatre presented a performance of TRANSom livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Sunday 25 August 2019 at 3 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 5 p.m. CDT (Austin, UTC-5) / 6 p.m. EDT (Boston, UTC-4) / 20:00 UTC+0.

two acting pedagogy textbooks
Whiteness, Patriarchy, and Resistance in Actor Training Texts
Essay

Whiteness, Patriarchy, and Resistance in Actor Training Texts

Reframing Acting Students as Embodied Critical Thinkers

13 August 2019

Amy Steiger reflects on some of the classic acting texts—which are overwhelmingly written by cis white men and use colonialist, binary, and patriarchal language and narratives—and how teachers should be approaching them today.

musicians performing in a band
A performance of The Canción Cannibal Cabaret
colored tile
Guadalupe Theater
Video

A performance of The Canción Cannibal Cabaret

at the Guadalupe Theater in San Antonio, Texas

Saturday 27 July 2019
San Antonio, Texas

Aztlan Libre Press in San Antonio, Texas presented a performance of The Canción Cannibal Cabaret & Other Songs by award-winning author and performance poet Amalia Leticia Ortiz, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Saturday 27 July at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York) / 03:00 UTC+0.

A performance of Alice's Wonderland
The VORTEX
Video

A performance of Alice's Wonderland

at the VORTEX in Austin, Texas

Friday 26 July 2019
Austin, Texas

The VORTEX in Austin, Texas presented Alice’s Wonderland by Ingrid Oslund, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Friday 26 July at 6 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 9 p.m. EDT (New York) / Saturday 27 July at 02:00 UTC+0. 

a group of people running in a circle
Thinking About Space in Invited and A Doll’s House at Germany’s Our Stage Festival
Essay

Thinking About Space in Invited and A Doll’s House at Germany’s Our Stage Festival

23 July 2019

verity healey examines the concept of theatrical space as it applies to two shows that were presented at Germany’s Our Stage festival in May: Invited and A Doll’s House.

two actors onstage
Provoked and Triggered
Essay

Provoked and Triggered

Content Warnings and Student Spectators

21 July 2019

Professor Christin Essin talks about problematic staging of gendered violence at a production she recently brought her students to and the importance of content warnings and taking care of survivors in theatrical works.

a lone dancer against a black background
A Manifesto for Staging Gendered Violence
Essay

A Manifesto for Staging Gendered Violence

11 July 2019

Sharanya shares her thoughts on restaging gendered violence, including how the representation of sexual violence has the power to be scripted and also to script, the importance of de-spectacling violence, and more.

actors onstage
Staging Sexual Assault Responsibly
Essay

Staging Sexual Assault Responsibly

Lessons from The Changeling

10 July 2019

Charlene V. Smith talks about asking hard questions around the interpretation of early modern English classics, Brave Spirits Theatre’s production of The Changeling, and five tips for dealing with sexual assault in art responsibly.

two actors
Controlling the Narrative
Essay

Controlling the Narrative

Gendered Violence on the Contemporary Stage

7 July 2019

Nora J. Williams launches the staging gendered violence series, talks about the importance of creating responsible cultural representations of assault, and introduces the contributors of the series.

The World Reads Jan Kochanowski poster
The World Reads Jan Kochanowski from New York, Athens, Warsaw, London, Madrid, Los Angeles
red adama mickiewicza logo
Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute logo
Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute
Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw log
Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art
Video

The World Reads Jan Kochanowski from New York, Athens, Warsaw, London, Madrid, Los Angeles

A project of Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute, and Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, Poland

Sunday 30 June 2019
International

The World Reads Jan Kochanowski from New York, Athens, Warsaw, London, Madrid, and Los Angeles on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Sunday 30 June.

A performance of black girl love: an adaptation project
The VORTEX
Video

A performance of black girl love: an adaptation project

at the VORTEX in Austin, Texas

Friday 21 June 2019
Austin, Texas

The VORTEX in Austin, Texas presented black girl love: an adaptation project livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 21 June 2019 at 6 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 9 p.m. EDT (New York) / Saturday 22 June at 02:00 UTC+0.

two acting books
#MeToo and the Method
Essay

#MeToo and the Method

13 June 2019

Holly L. Derr looks at the history of the Method, where it deviates from Stanislavsky’s System, and the connection between the Method and the behavior called out by #MeToo.

an actor against a projection of rain
Modes of Media in Digital Performance
Essay

Modes of Media in Digital Performance

5 June 2019

David Z. Saltz—director, installation artist, and teacher of digital performance—talks about the early days of digital media in theatre and the six main roles it plays in live performance.

A performance of Chickens in the Yard: a new play by Paul Kruse
The VORTEX
Video

A performance of Chickens in the Yard: a new play by Paul Kruse

at the VORTEX in Austin, Texas

Saturday 1 June 2019
Austin, Texas

The VORTEX proudly presented Chickens in the Yard, a new play by Paul Kruse, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 1 June 2019 at 6:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 8:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 9:30 p.m. EDT (New York).

text unprecise unpredictable unpredicted unpreferred unprefixed
A performance of Unpredicted
black and white park bench graphic
Váróterem Projekt
zug logo
Zug
Video

A performance of Unpredicted

by Váróterem Projekt (Waiting Room Project) in Cluj, Romania

Thursday 30 May 2019
Cluj, Romania

Váróterem Projekt presents a performance of Unpredicted livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Cluj, Romania on Thursday 30 May at 1 p.m. EDT (New York UTC-4) / 17:00 UTC+0 / 6 p.m. BST (London UTC+1) /  19:00 CEST (Budapest, UTC+2) /  20:00 (Cluj, UTC+3).

prestopi festival logo
A performance of Sorry by Via Negativa and Sploh Institute (Slovenia)
prestopi crossings festival logo
Prestopi / Crossings
Video

A performance of Sorry by Via Negativa and Sploh Institute (Slovenia)

Prestopi / Crossings: The 4th International Festival of Independent Performing Arts

Wednesday 15 May 2019
Maribor, Slovenia

A performance of Sorry by Via Negativa and Sploh Institute (Slovenia) at Prestopi / Crossings: The 4th International Festival of Independent Performing Arts in Maribor, Slovenia livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Wednesday 15 May 2019 at 20:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2) / 21:00 EEST (Bucharest, UTC +3) / 7 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 18:00 UTC +0 / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).