Design

Lighting designers Annie Wiegand and Michael Maag discuss how being part of the Deaf and disability community intersects with their design work.

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

Kate Freer and Porsche McGovern begin their series, Design (in a Time of Reckoning), with an opening essay about how theatremakers are currently being presented with a chance to reimagine the way the art form is made and how designers are an essential part of the solution.

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?”

Heidi Coleman and Patrick Jagoda discuss alternate reality games (ARG) as a means of motivating audiences to take action, what goes into creating ARGs, game-based improvisation, and more.

Porsche McGovern shares the results of the sixth year of her study on who designs and directs in LORT theatres by pronoun.

Michelle Souza looks at how costume designers and educators can dismantle the status quo of Western-focused, chronological teaching of historical garments and move toward a pedagogy that acknowledges and honors diversity, intersectionality, and globalism.

Charlie Peters, who has spent the early days of the pandemic thinking about and experimenting with how physical comedy can (and can’t) live online, shares what he’s learned.

Elsa Hiltner discusses equity issues for designers in the theatre industry and offers tips for how artists can work together to change the system.

Irina Kruzhilina discusses the importance of visuals as a means of expression in politically and socially engaged theatre.

James Montaño discusses The Donkey Show, cross-gendered performances vs. drag, camp as an aesthetic concept, and more.

Shari Caplan discusses Opera del West’s recent production of Cendrillon at the Boston Center for the Arts.

David Z. Saltz—director, installation artist, and teacher of digital performance—talks about the early days of digital media in theatre and the six main roles it plays in live performance.

Mallory Kay Nelson and Michael Maag talk about the low number of full-time designers working in theatre; the realities of costume, lighting, and projection design as a disabled artist; and how delegation is a skill they’ve both had to master.

Talleri A. McRae and Mickey Rowe, co-founders of the National Disability Theatre, introduce their series “The Future of Theatre is Accessible,” talk about some key takeaways from the upcoming articles, and discuss how language is a barrier to inclusion.

D.R. Baker examines some of the realities of artists working in the American theatre and explores how empathy can be harnessed to make the industry a more positive place to work.

Daniel Jackson talks about creating an interactive DIY lighting system—that the audience partially controlled—for a recent production that took place almost entirely in the dark.

Gaven Trinidad examines the recent exhibition Dance We Must: Treasures from Jacob’s Pillow and wrestles with cultural appropriation vs. cultural appreciation when it comes to costume design throughout history.