What considerations are at play when adapting and translating works for the stage? Content in this section explores work that is adapted from one form into another, or is translated between languages. A great place to start is the Translating the Future series, in which renowned translators from around the world discuss their craft.
The Latest
Video
Ukrainian Drama Showcase
Theatre Festival of Staged Readings and Artist Talks
Saturday 9 May and Sunday 10 May 2026
New York City
Essay
Slow-Motion Gives Forced Migrants the Chance to Move at Their Own Speed
by Dmitrii Zenkov
15 April 2026
Video
Symposium and Book Launch for Latin American Plays in Translation
Six New Plays Translated for an English-Language Audience
Featuring Elizabeth Lowe, Matthew Harrington, and Larissa Kyzer
Tuesday 9 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 A Manifesto For Our Time livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 9 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).
Lawrence Schimel in conversation with Daniel Hahn, and moderated by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Tuesday 2 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 Translating for the Future: Children’s Literature in Translation livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 2 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).
Forrest Gander in conversation with Raquel Salas Rivera.
Tuesday 26 May 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 Global Ecopoetics: Poetry, Translation, Climate Change & Public Health livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 26 May 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).
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 Translating the Uncertain Present livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 19 May 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).
Co-sponsored by 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
Tuesday 12 May 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 present Translating the Future Week 1: From 1970 to 2020: Translation Transformations: David Bellos in conversation with Karen Emmerich livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 12 May 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).
A Hip Hop remix of Alice in Wonderland that explores the concepts of structural violence, anti-blackness, memory, and self-discovery.
Friday 8 May 2020
Takoma, Washington, USA
The University of Puget Sound’s Projects in Dramaturgy: “Politics & Praxis of Rememory” class presented the virtual reading of Aaliyah in Underland by Wind Dell Woods on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 8 May 2020 at 12 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 2 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 3 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 20:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 21:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).
Barbara Fuchs and Rafael Jaime argue that beyond the English-language theatrical canon lies a rich corpus of classical work that remains remarkably hospitable to women, focusing their discussion on two playwrights: Ana Caro and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.
Caribbean Playwrights Challenge the Monolith of French Identity / Les dramaturges caribéens disputent l’identité française monolithique
13 January 2020
Amelia Parenteau discusses the Actions Caribéennes Théâtrales festival, which brought together francophones, francophiles, and theatre folks from around the world to witness staged readings of six French Caribbean plays in English translation. / Amelia Parenteau parle du festival Actions Caribéennes Théâtrales (ACT), qui a rassemblé des francophones, francophiles et gens de théâtre de partout dans le monde pour assister aux lectures publiques de six pièces franco-caribéennes traduites en anglais.
Matthew McMahan talks to playwright Herbert Siguenza about branching out as a solo writer after years as a member of Culture Clash, writing bilingual comedy, and more.
Reflecting on the International Collaboration behind WITKACY / Two-Headed Calf
19 December 2019
Amanda Shank, associate artistic director of California’s CalArts Center for New Performance, talks about bringing an international, cross-cultural collaboration to life with Warsaw’s STUDIO teatrgaleria.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in the Age of Neurodivergence
20 November 2019
Leon J. Hilton explores the recent production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest created by Spectrum Theatre Ensemble, a company dedicated to making theatre with and for neurodiverse artists and communities.
Juan Recondo looks at Luis Alfaro’s reimaging of Euripides’s Medea, in which the title character is a Mexican undocumented immigrant who arrived in New York after facing the horrors of the border.
Emily Garside discusses Y Brain/Kargalar, in which the playwright, Turkish refugee Meltem Arikan, who settled in Wales, explores her conflicting identities.
Tim Collingwood talks about the importance of creating “ability-positive” theatre so that people with different ability statuses have the chance to see themselves represented on stage.
David Dudley explores the story behind John Cage’s Theater Piece No. 1 and discuses SITI Company’s recent production of it, which was conceived and directed by Anne Bogart.
An Interview with Elise Vigier / Retour de Baldwin en France : Une interview avec Elise Vigier
18 February 2018
An interview with Elise Vigier who staged her adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1979 novel, Just Above My Head at the Maison des Arts de Creteil near Paris. / Une interview avec Elise Vigier, qui a monté son adaptation d’un roman de 1979 de James Baldwin, Harlem Quartet, à la Maison des Arts de Creteil, près de Paris.
Translating An Enemy of the People with Dr. Paul Walsh
23 October 2017
Dr. Paul Walsh of the Yale School of Drama joins us to discuss his work translating Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People for the opening production of the Yale Repertory Theatre's 52nd season.
