Aesthetics

The playwright Caridad Svitch on five fruitful, uncomfortable pieces of playwritting.

P. Carl affirms our need to democratize the theatre field, in the battle to define what constitutes good art.

Ayad Akhtar responds to the train of thought he began in his previous essay Dialogue and the Age of Industrial Storytelling (Or, A Defense of the Theater) by critiquing the thought processes which go into creating the mass produced story.

Matthew Gushick explains the necessity of having a sense of play in creating any kind of theater, and how it is the vital key in creating ultimate captivation in an auidence.

Elissa Adams offers a roadmap to those first jumping into the field of Theater for Young Audiences.

Ayad Akhtar on why theater, and by extention, dialoge, still matter in our age of ever eveloving, constant story making.

Natsu Onoda Power writes about the role of coincidence and fate in her career, and how the "choices" we make in our artistic journeys are hardly a matter of choice at all.

David Chapman draws attention to the ways we can continue to learn and be inspired from the multi-facted legacy of Václav Havel, first post-Soviet President of Czechoslovakia.

Karen Malpede discusses the necessity for true political theater in the United States.

Brandon Woolf describes what he learned from taking part in the Occupy Wall Street movement at University of California Berkley, and how that applies to creating theater that embraces Occupy's spirit of public openness.

P. Carl breaks down how the aesthetics, complexities, and high stakes in a play like Lisa D’Amour’s Detroit, create disruptive theatre.

Timothy Douglas writes about his resignation from Chicago’s Remy Bumppo Theatre Company.

Matthew Ocks examines the question of a playwright's duty to write a "topical" play.

Musical theatre composer Dave Malloy questions why musical theatre has become uncool and makes a case for authenticity in the theatre.

Miriam Weisfeld ruminates on whether art should hurt, examining the dynamics of visual art, theatre, and American culture.

P.Carl, a founder of HowlRound highlights some quotes from articles published in the first year of HowlRound.

This is a transcipt of Claudia Atkin's "catalyst speaker” speech she delivered on August 14, 2011 for NET’s National Ensemble Summit 2011: Rowdy, Radical, and Relevant!, using musical accopmiment.

P.Carl meditates on the power of saying Yes instead of No to new ideas.

From social media posts from interns, to the "important stuff" institutional leaders handle, what in orgnizational culture needs to change, so aspiring and creative minds are not stifled by rigid hierarchies.

From Horton Hears a Who, Jeni Mahoney connects the world of Dr. Seuss' book to the theatre world, drawing a line from Jo-Jo and Whoville to playwrights and artists.

Following up to a piece for the Brooklyn Rail on Gesamtkunstwerk, playwright Lydia Stryk contrasts the German practice with contemporary American theatricality and collaborative practices.

Following the 2011 Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas Conference, Aaron Malkin formulates how theatre artists can exceed “excellence” and make a commitment to “awesomeness”

A poem on being the perfect audience.

Richard Montoya, of the theater group Culture Clash, delivers his theatrical manifesto; one of outside the lines, in every way.

Jonathon Moscone, an American theatre director, examines the question of what purpose do theatres serve, and advocates for the abandoning of fear in governing theatrical choices, and the embracement of unease, so that we can create theatre that takes the real time to listen to the current of our lives.