In his essay “Translations: The Distinction Between Social and Civic Practice and Why I Find It Useful,” Michael Rohd defines civic practice as “activity where an artist employs the assets of his/her craft in response to the needs of non-arts partners as determined through ongoing relationship-based dialogue. The impulse of what to make comes out of the relationship, not an artist-driven proposal.” You’ll find lots of content putting these ideas into action in this section.
Anne Hamburger, founder of En Garde Arts, talks about the beginnings of her company, and, with it, the beginnings of site-specific theatre in New York City.
Tita Anntares examines different ways of building empathy in audiences through two recent plays, The Courtroom and To My Unborn Child, and a panel discussion hosted by the Center for Constitutional Rights.
A Study on the Performing Arts and Climate Change Engagement
27 March 2019
Carolyn Reeves looks at multiple barriers to climate change engagement and addresses how the performing arts—and especially theatre—can help overcome them.
Lucy Latham talks about the work London-based organization Julie’s Bicycle is doing in encouraging the creative community to act on climate change and environmental sustainability.
Nan van Houte expresses a desire for funding bodies to take their responsibility and support cultural democracy without compromising the existing subsidies for the arts.
Lyn Gardner, theatre critic for the Guardian, looks at how several British theatre companies are redefining their mission and expanding in ways to be of greater benefit to their communities.
Mariela Lopez looks at the importance of prison theatre in Mexico: the quality of work, its impact on inmates, and how the public can support. / Mariela Lopez analiza la importancia del teatro carcelario en México: la calidad de las obras, su impacto en los internos, y cómo el público puede apoyar.
The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City presented a conversation with choreographer Michael Kliën livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Monday 3 December 2018 at 5:30 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 7:30 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 8:30 p.m. EST (New York).
Borderlands Theater in Tucson, Arizona presented a series of panel discussions around their production of Sanctuary by Milta Ortiz, based on real people and events Sanctuary chronicles the Tucson birth of the 1980’s Sanctuary Movement, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Sunday 9 September to Thursday 20 September.
Georgina Young-Ellis looks at the history of the innovative Mexican theatre company Teatro Línea de Sombra, its connection to Portland, Oregon, and two of their projects: Amarillo and Rebuilding Small Territories.
Art2Action, Inc. and Pangea World Theater are proud to present an extraordinary conversation, featuring several of the international theater directors who are participating in the 2018 National Institute for Directing and Ensemble Creation—including world-renowned dramaturg Rustom Bharucha, Syrian director Kholoud Sawaf, recent recipient of the Order of Canada Margo Kane, director of Nicaragua’s most important theater Lucero Millan, South African theater professor and Zulu artist Ntokozo Madlala, and more. Tune in for a revolutionary global conversation!
Amelia Parenteau explores the value of bringing theatre and the humanities into the medical field through the collaboration between Philadelphia’s Lantern Theater Company and the Sidney Kimmel Medical College.
Playwright Michelle Tyrene Johnson and director Claire Syler discuss their collaboration on The Green Duck Lounge, a play that delves into Kansas City, Missouri’s civil rights history.
CALLING UP organized a digital exchange with artists nationally responding to our ongoing crisis of gun and racial violence facilitated by Vidhu Singh, artist in residence at Brava Theater, and Claudia Alick, Executive Director of CALLING UP, livestreamed from commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 7 June from 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. EDT (New York).
Mihaela Drăgan interviews Sandra and Simonida Selimovic of Mindj Panther about their show Roma Armee, and the activist work they are doing in Austria to fight against Roma oppression.
Theatre activist Hjalmar Jorge Joffre-Eichhorn reflects on the founding of the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization, a political theatre group that has been working together for over ten years to create social change.
IETM - International network for contemporary performing arts presented three keynotes from the IETM Porto Plenary Meeting 2018 livestreamed on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 26 April, Friday 27 April, and Saturday 28 April. Share your impressions and join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #IETMPorto.
Victory Gardens Theater presents a Town Hall: #NeverAgainChicago archived on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 15 April at 7:30 p.m. EDT (New York) / 6:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 4:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco).
Holly L. Derr writes about recent cases of sexual harassment in the American theatre, and asks when and how institutions and abusers will truly be held accountable.
Sara Brookner interviews the steering committee of the Berkshire Leadership Summit, which brought together a hundred present and future US and Canadian women leaders to discuss equity and advancement in the theatre field.
Arts educator Hannah Sachs talks about how introducing Theatre of the Oppressed to her students in the Czech Republic helped address xenophobia in the classroom, and slowly began to change the culture of the school for the better.
