Acting & Performance

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

The Latest

The Art and Craft of Intimacy Direction

Essay

The Art and Craft of Intimacy Direction

by Holly L. Derr

30 January 2020

A performance of the Regional Premiere of Click by Jacqueline Goldfinger

Video

A performance of the Regional Premiere of Click by Jacqueline Goldfinger

at the VORTEX in Austin, Texas

Friday 24 January 2020

Austin, Texas

Performing Knowledge: What Does Learning Feel Like?

Video

Performing Knowledge: What Does Learning Feel Like?

at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City

Thursday 12 December 2019

New York City

Intimacy Director Tonia Sina expressing an idea with her arms and hands in a rehearsal with two actors

The Art and Craft of Intimacy Direction

Holly L.

Derr

Essay

The Art and Craft of Intimacy Direction

30 January 2020

Holly L. Derr examines the history of the intimacy choreography movement in the United States and speaks to several of the artists behind it all.

A performance of the Regional Premiere of Click by Jacqueline Goldfinger

The VORTEX

Video

A performance of the Regional Premiere of Click by Jacqueline Goldfinger

at the VORTEX in Austin, Texas

Friday 24 January 2020

Austin, Texas

The VORTEX presented the Regional Premiere of Click by Jacqueline Goldfinger, currently nominated for the 2020 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the 2020 LAMBDA Literary Award, and the 2020 James Black Tait Memorial Prize. Livestreamed on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 24 January 2020 at 9 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-8) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-7) / 6 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles, UTC-5).

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

La MaMa

CultureHub

The Trojan Women Project

Video

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 presented a performance of The Trojan Women as a part of the Trojan Women Project Festival livestreamed 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).

Performing Knowledge: What Does Learning Feel Like?

Segal

Center

Video

Performing Knowledge: What Does Learning Feel Like?

at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City

Thursday 12 December 2019

New York City

The Martin E. Segal Center presented Performing Knowledge: What Does Learning Feel Like? livestreamed on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 10 December 2019.

A man is sitting holding a phone up to his ear while a toddler sleeps on him. The toddler is holding a rainbow colored stuffed animal.

Redefining “Radical” In Terms of How We Support Parents

Mickey

Rowe

Essay

Redefining “Radical” In Terms of How We Support Parents

4 December 2019

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.

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

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.

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

Brailescu

vlad

ionescu

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

National Dance Centre

Brailescu

vlad

ionescu

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).

We Have Suffered Enough

Melisa

Pereyra

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

Nicole

Brewer

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

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.

Whiteness, Patriarchy, and Resistance in Actor Training Texts

Amy

Steiger

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.

A performance of The Canción Cannibal Cabaret

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.

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

verity

healey

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.

Provoked and Triggered

Christin

Essin

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

Sharanya

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.

Staging Sexual Assault Responsibly

Charlene

Smith

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.

Controlling the Narrative

Nora J.

Williams

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 from New York, Athens, Warsaw, London, Madrid, Los Angeles

Adam Mickiewicz Institute

Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute

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.

#MeToo and the Method

Holly L.

Derr

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.