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

Answering the Call to Pause

Essay

Answering the Call to Pause

On Deciding to Postpone Due to COVID-19

2 April 2020

David Dower and David Howse—artistic director and executive director of ArtsEmerson, respectively—talk with artist Toshi Reagon about the decision to postpone her show due to COVID-19, and how that decision came from a place of power and progress.

SEGAL TALKS: Thomas Ostermeier (Berlin, Germany)

Segal

Center

Video

SEGAL TALKS: Thomas Ostermeier (Berlin, Germany)

Daily Live Online Conversations with US and Global Theatre Artists

Wednesday 1 April 2020

Berlin, Germany

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented SEGAL TALKS: Thomas Ostermeier, (Berlin, Germany) livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 1 April 2020 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 5 p.m. BST (London, UTC+1).

Lost Works

Essay

Lost Works

What Could Have Been

1 April 2020

Kristin Idaszak and Kristen Osborn invite you to pay tribute to the work you have lost due to the recent theatre closures.

hand sanitizer labeled "don't touch the art"

Come Together: The Art of Gathering in a Time of Crisis (ASL & Captioned)

Video

Come Together: The Art of Gathering in a Time of Crisis (ASL & Captioned)

an #ArtistResource talk with Bryan Joseph Lee

Tuesday 31 March

United States

Livestreamed the #ArtistResource panel Come Together: The Art of Gathering in a Time of Crisis on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 31 March 2020 at 8 a.m. HST (Honolulu, UST-10) / 10 a.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC-8) / 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

three artists portraits: Mok Chiu Yu, Hanchen Feng, Shuyi Liao

SEGAL TALKS: Mok Chiu Yu (Hong Kong) + Hanchen Feng and Shuyi Liao (Beijing, China)

Segal

Center

Video

SEGAL TALKS: Mok Chiu Yu (Hong Kong) + Hanchen Feng and Shuyi Liao (Beijing, China)

Daily Live Online Conversations with US and Global Theatre Artists

Tuesday 31 March 2020

Hong Kong

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented SEGAL TALKS: Mok Chiu Yu (Hong Kong) + Hanchen Feng and Shuyi Liao (Beijing, China) livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 31 March 2020 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 5 p.m. BST (London, UTC+1).

SEGAL TALKS: Taylor Mac & Kristin Marting

Segal

Center

Video

SEGAL TALKS: Taylor Mac & Kristin Marting

Daily Live Online Conversations with US and Global Theatre Artists

Monday 30 March 2020

New York City

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented SEGAL TALKS: Taylor Mac & Kristin Marting livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 30 March 2020 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 5 p.m. BST (London, UTC+1).

three people looking at a large projection of a person's face

Lessons in Online Theatremaking from New Paradise Laboratories’ Whit MacLaughlin

Essay

Lessons in Online Theatremaking from New Paradise Laboratories’ Whit MacLaughlin

30 March 2020

Alex Ates speaks with Whit MacLaughlin—the experimental theatremaker who ventured into the online realm before it became our norm—about the intersection between digital technology and live performance and pedagogy.

Financial Strategies for Freelance Artists in a Time of Crisis (ASL & Captioned)

Video

Financial Strategies for Freelance Artists in a Time of Crisis (ASL & Captioned)

an #ArtistResource talk with Amy Smith

Thursday 26 March 2020

New York City

Livestreamed the #ArtistResource panel Financial Strategies for Freelance Artists in a Time of Crisis on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 26 March 2020 at 8 a.m. HST (Honolulu, UST-10) / 10 a.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC-8) / 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

Teaching Performing Arts During the Pandemic

Tracy C.

Davis

Essay

Teaching Performing Arts During the Pandemic

23 March 2020

Tracy C. Davis talks to instructors at Northwestern University about how they are preparing to teach acting and dance—quintessentially embodied forms dependent on human-to-human observation and whole-body involvement—online.

Emergency Preparedness and Response: COVID-19 and the Arts Ecosystem (ASL interpreted)

Grantmakers in the Arts

Video

Emergency Preparedness and Response: COVID-19 and the Arts Ecosystem (ASL interpreted)

A Grantmakers in the Arts Webinar

Thursday 19 March 2020

United States

Grantmakers in the Arts presented the webinar Emergency Preparedness and Response: COVID-19 and the Arts Ecosystem livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 19 March 2020 at 4 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 3 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 2 p.m. MDT (Denver, UTC-6) / 1 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles, UTC-7) / 12 p.m. AKDT (Anchorage, UTC-8) / 10 a.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC-10).

image of cleaning wipes with the word "Don't Touch The Art"

Artists In a Time of Global Pandemic (ASL & Captioned)

HowlRound Theatre Commons

Video

Artists In a Time of Global Pandemic (ASL & Captioned)

For US-Based Freelance Artists and Cultural Workers in all Disciplines

Monday 16 March 2020

United States and the World

HowlRound and a group of artists, arts administrators, and others from around the US discussed how COVID-19 is impacting freelance artists. The panel was livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 16 March 2020.

American sign language interpretation and live captions are available.

Lumbering Toward the New

Todd

London

Essay

Lumbering Toward the New

17 March 2020

In this virtual keynote, Todd London reflects on the nature of new work and the social cooperation inherent to making theatre.

Keynote by Todd London for the 5th Annual ORIGINKC: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL

KCRep

Video

Keynote by Todd London for the 5th Annual ORIGINKC: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL

at Kansas City Repertory Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri

Saturday 14 March 2020

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Repertory Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri presented a keynote by Todd London from the 5th Annual ORIGINKC: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 14 March at 8 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 10 a.m. CDT (Kansas City, UTC-5) / 11 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

balcony view of a large group sitting in two concentric circles

Ways of Gathering in the Age of COVID-19

HowlRound

Theatre Commons

Essay

Ways of Gathering in the Age of COVID-19

A Guide to Livestreaming on HowlRound TV

12 March 2020

The HowlRound team shares a primer on livestreaming, in the hopes that people will consider using HowlRound TV as an alternative or enhancement to in-person gatherings.

Parallel Tracks 2.0

Nikki

Shaffeeullah

Series

Parallel Tracks 2.0

Parallel Tracks 2.0 gathers diverse voices of Canadian theatre artists and producers to explore the ways in which anti-oppressive approaches are part of our creative work, in live spaces as well as digital ones. Originally commissioned by and presented in partnership with Toronto's Undercurrent Creations, conversations about care, community engagement, and consent take centre stage in this series. From navigating ethics in contracting, to intergenerational storytelling, this series reflects on ways of gathering and collaborating in online creative spaces. This series is in part supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

a person seated at a desk with multiple screens

Theatre in Quarantine / Teatro en Cuarentena

Carl(os)

Roa

Series

Theatre in Quarantine / Teatro en Cuarentena

Stories of Radical Adaptation, Survival, and Resistance from Colombian Theatre Artists / Cuentas de adaptación radical, supervivencia y la resistencia de artistas de teatro colombianos

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on many artists’ livelihoods, but especially performance and theatre artists. From the lens of a group of queer artists, this series offers a hyper-specific look at how artists living in Bogotá have been surviving and adapting during the pandemic. / COVID-19 ha hecho estragos para los sustentos de muchas artistas, especialmente artistas de performance y teatro. De los perspectives de un grupo de artistes cuir, esta serie se ofreca una vista hiperespcífica de cómo artistas viviendo en Bogotá ha estado sobreviviendo y adaptando durante la pandemia.

ArtsEquator's Burning Questions

Arts

Equator

Series

ArtsEquator's Burning Questions

Now more than ever, we need artists to challenge assumptions and imagine new futures.

This series of four talks, organised by ArtsEquator, attempts to ask some big questions. Being in the middle of an unpredictable global crisis precludes easy answers. Burning Questions offers a space for regional voices to dialogue and discuss some of the unasked questions facing the arts community.