COVID-19

Here, you’ll find content that directly engages with the COVID-19 pandemic. From work created digitally in response to the shutdown, like La Mama’s series Downtown Variety, to advice on digital gathering, teaching theatre, and making work, this is the space for conversation about this global crisis and how to move forward.

The Latest

We Can’t Build an Equitable Theatre While Ignoring COVID

Essay

We Can’t Build an Equitable Theatre While Ignoring COVID

by Taylor Leigh Lamb

21 March 2024

Affinity Spaces for MENA/SWANA and LGBTQIA+ Artists

Podcast

Affinity Spaces for MENA/SWANA and LGBTQIA+ Artists

by Marina Johnson, Nabra Nelson, Evren Odcikin, Andrea Assaf, Sara Razavi, Feras Hilal

13 December 2023

Fourth Annual Convening of the Middle Eastern North African Theater Makers Alliance (MENATMA)

Video

Fourth Annual Convening of the Middle Eastern North African Theater Makers Alliance (MENATMA)

Conversations About the Present and Future of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Theatre

Saturday 28 October and Sunday 29 October 2023

San Francisco, CA

The Future Is Now: Conversations with Selma Banich and Fatin Farhat

Simon

Dove

Podcast

The Future Is Now: Conversations with Selma Banich and Fatin Farhat

10 November 2021

In these episodes of The Future Is Now, CEC Artslink invites two of their Future Fellows, artist and activist Selma Banich and freelance cultural manager Fatin Farhat, to discuss how they envision the future of arts practice.

Arts Advocacy for Newbies: How to Break All the Rules and Create a New Paradigm

Brooke

Ishibashi

Essay

Arts Advocacy for Newbies: How to Break All the Rules and Create a New Paradigm

12 October 2021

Brooke Ishibashi, performer and co-founder of Be An #ArtsHero, shares her experiences organizing with and advocating for arts workers during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

A photo of a Zoom play with characters named Potential White Ally and Unapologetically Black Specialist with other people on screen for stage directions.

Two Hundred Digital Theatre Reviews and Counting

Essay

Two Hundred Digital Theatre Reviews and Counting

28 September 2021

When Ricky and Dana Young-Howze began reviewing digital theatre productions early in the COVID-19 pandemic, they weren’t expecting to build a tight-knit, global community. They share their journey into the digital theatre scene and reflect on what it has taught them.

Actors holding various bright-colored plants in the middle of a park with an audience circled around them.

Island Hopping in New York City for Theatre: How Live, In-Person Theatre Is Being Reimagined as it Reemerges

Jonathan

Mandell

Essay

Island Hopping in New York City for Theatre: How Live, In-Person Theatre Is Being Reimagined as it Reemerges

2 August 2021

Jonathan Mandell reflects on a number of live, in-person productions that have taken place in New York City over the course of summer 2021.

A woman drinking water and sitting down on a chair surrounded by other chairs and onstage "woods".

“Layers of Distance”: On Loop as a Pandemic Play

Kate

Purdum

Essay

“Layers of Distance”: On Loop as a Pandemic Play

13 July 2021

Kate Purdum shares the challenges and successes of creating a hybrid virtual and in-person production of On Loop at Barnard College.

Unrehearsed Futures

Embodied Poetics

Drama School Mumbai

CTDPS, Cape Town

Video

Unrehearsed Futures

Episode 12: Theatre, no longer the bastard child?

Thursday 24 June 2021

South Africa

Unrehearsed Futures: Theatre, no longer the bastard child? livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 24 June 2021 at 7 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 12 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 1 p.m. SAST (Cape Town, UTC +2).

Silenced Theatres in 2021: Illiberal Democracies & Effects of COVID-19

European Theatre Convention

Video

Silenced Theatres in 2021: Illiberal Democracies & Effects of COVID-19

ETC International Theatre Conference | The Week of New European Drama

Thursday 10 June 2021

Europe

The European Theatre Convention presented the panel Silenced Theatres in 2021: Illiberal Democracies & Effects of COVID-19 happening within the context of ETC International Theatre Conference and The Week of New European Drama. This panel will livestream for the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network on Thursday 10 June at 10 a.m. CEST (Berlin, UTC +2) / 11 a.m. EEST (Bucharest, UTC +3) / 9 a.m. BST (London, UTC +1).

Nine actresses in soccer uniforms with most of them doing goofy gestures. Some have orange peels in their mouths.

Maybe There’s More Than Enough: Escaping the Scarcity Mindset in Nonprofit Theatre

Alix

Rosenfeld

Essay

Maybe There’s More Than Enough: Escaping the Scarcity Mindset in Nonprofit Theatre

10 June 2021

Alix Rosenfeld offers suggestions for nonprofits seeking to move out of a scarcity mindset, embrace a spirit of abundance, and build pathways to a more ethical and equitable ecosystem.

event poster for the our theatre ecology.

Our Theater Ecology

TCG

Video

Our Theater Ecology

TCG's 2021 National Conference Online

Thursday 13 May to Friday 21 May 2021

United States

Theatre Communications Group presented their 2021 National Conference: Our Theatre Ecology livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Thursday 13 May to Friday 21 May 2021.

SEGAL TALKS with Abhishek Majumdar (India)

Segal

Center

Video

SEGAL TALKS with Abhishek Majumdar (India)

Join us for a conversation about curating, producing and presenting theatre and performance in the Time of Corona

Wednesday 12 May 2021

India

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented SEGAL TALKS with Abhishek Majumdar (India) livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 12 May 2021 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Two actors, standing behind two other actors, with one hand on their mouths. The actors with their mouths covered have both arms out.

Returning to Theatre with Enthusiastic Consent

Andrew

Pearson

Essay

Returning to Theatre with Enthusiastic Consent

11 May 2021

Andrew Pearson uses consent as a framework to discuss retuning to in-person theatre after the pandemic.

Image of group of people marching in streets in Malawi

What Is the Way Forward for Theatre in Malawi, During and After the Pandemic?

Misheck

Mzumara

Essay

What Is the Way Forward for Theatre in Malawi, During and After the Pandemic?

4 May 2021

Misheck Mzumara looks at the way the COVID-19 pandemic has affected theatre in Malawi and thinks through what comes next.

six performers on a stage with watery blue silks

Learning from the Leaders

Luane

Davis Haggerty

Essay

Learning from the Leaders

Deaf Theatre Innovations in the Time of COVID-19

3 May 2021

Luane Davis Haggerty shares successes, learnings, and innovations from the Deaf theatre community over the past year of pandemic performance.

Covid Monologues

illustration of a carrot with orange text single carrot theater.

Single Carrot Theatre

Video

Covid Monologues

Where science meets theatre to build community resilience and relevancy for theatre in unusual times.

Tuesday 20 April 2021

United States

Single Carrot Theatre presented Covid Monologues: a series of fictionalized stories responding to peer-reviewed research about the social and societal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in America, livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 20 April 2021 at 3 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 5 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 6 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Covid Monologues

Single Carrot Theatre

Video

Covid Monologues

Where science meets theatre to build community resilience and relevancy for theatre in unusual times.

Tuesday 13 April 2021

United States

Single Carrot Theatre presented Covid Monologues livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 13 April 2021 at 3 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 5 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 6 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Image of four tableaus with people experiencing time passing.

Letters From Warsaw

Essay

Letters From Warsaw

24 March 2021

Marta Keil and Grzegorz Reske share letters from the past and the future, from June 2020 to June 2029, detailing the changes to the theatrical landscape in their hometown of Warsaw, Poland.

overhead shot of people walking on sidewalk with long shadows.

Opening Ceremony & Walking Mass

CultureHub

Video

Opening Ceremony & Walking Mass

The opening ceremony of Re-Fest to commemorate the one year mark of the pandemic hitting the U.S.

Friday 12 March 2021

United States

CultureHub presented Opening Ceremony & Walking Mass with Re-Fest livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 12 March 2021 at 9 a.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 11 a.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 12 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

Adapting to Pandemic Regulations

Merve

Essay

Adapting to Pandemic Regulations

A New Way of Performance Watching for an Old Classic

4 March 2021

Merve Parla shares her experience with Netherlands-based dance company Club Guy & Roni’s recent production of Swan Lake, an interactive experience with both offline and online components.

a large group sitting in a circle watching a staged reading

How Sustained Support for Playwrights Impacts Artistry

Essay

How Sustained Support for Playwrights Impacts Artistry

National Playwright Residency Program Evaluation 2020

1 March 2021

Alexis Frasz and Holly Sidford of Helicon Collaborative share their findings from the most recent assessment of the National Playwright Residency Program.

Three Costume Designers Meet for Tea on the Edge of a Cliff

Essay

Three Costume Designers Meet for Tea on the Edge of a Cliff

24 February 2021

Lux Haac, Dominique Fawn Hill, and Deb Sivigny, three costume designers from around the United States, get together to talk about how they bring their values and identities into their individual practices, the importance of not tying their creativity to work, and more.

overlapping collage of plays featuring kate mcgee's lighting designs

Industry or Community

Masha

Tsimring

Essay

Industry or Community

What Are We Going Back To?

23 February 2021

Masha Tsimring talks about pay equity in the design world, the upsides and downsides of freelancing, how COVID-19 has affected designers, and more.

The Technological Theatre Experimenters

Jared

Mezzocchi

Essay

The Technological Theatre Experimenters

18 February 2021

In envisioning of the future, Jared Mezzocchi begins by questioning: “What if theatre’s identity is not lost in the digital, but instead is enhanced in it?”

a person looking to their right, a projection of a photograph covers their face.

Return to Our Stories: Festival Artists Showcase

CAATA

Campo Santo

Youth Speaks

Video

Return to Our Stories: Festival Artists Showcase

Part of Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists’ ConFest Virtual Series

Monday 8 February 2021

United States

Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA) presented the conversation Virtual Series to Discuss COVID-19 and Its Effects on the Work of APA Artists livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 8 February 2021 at 1 p.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC-10), 2 p.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC-9), 3 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC-8), 4 p.m. MST (Denver, UTC-7), 5 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC-6), 6 p.m. EST (New York, UTC-5).

Sometimes the Best Technology is Relationships

Essay

Sometimes the Best Technology is Relationships

A Conversation with Complex Movements

15 January 2021

In the last conversation of the Performing the Internet series, curator Kate Bergstrom sits down with three members of the Detroit-based artist-activist collective Complex Movements—Sage Crump, ill weaver, Wes Taylor—to talk about intentional engagement in a virtual world.

Where We’re At: COVID-19 and the Community

CAATA

Generic Ensemble Company

Video

Where We’re At: COVID-19 and the Community

Part of Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists’ ConFest Virtual Series

Monday 11 January 2021

United States

Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA) presented the conversationWhere We’re At: COVID-19 and the Community livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 11 January 2021 at 1 p.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC-10), 2 p.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC-9), 3 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC-8), 4 p.m. MST (Denver, UTC-7), 5 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC-6), 6 p.m. EST (New York, UTC-5).