Dramaturgy

The Latest

Into Abolitionist Theatre: A Guidebook for Liberatory Theatre-making

Video

Into Abolitionist Theatre: A Guidebook for Liberatory Theatre-making

A virtual book launch event

Wednesday 1 May 2024

Teaching Dramaturgy as a Creative Practice 

Essay

Teaching Dramaturgy as a Creative Practice

by Jessica Elaine Ellison

13 March 2024

Curating Openings in the Theatre of María Irene Fornés

Essay

Curating Openings in the Theatre of María Irene Fornés

by Juliana Frey-Méndez, Anna D. Novak

26 February 2024

madeline sayet holding a paper shakespeare mask

Interrogating the Shakespeare System

Madeline

Sayet

Essay

Interrogating the Shakespeare System

31 August 2020

Madeline Sayet argues that promoting Shakespeare as the best writer of all time is a dangerous and white supremacist viewpoint, and she believes it’s time to interrogate the Bard’s placecent as the pinnacle of theatrical achievement.

Lifting Up What We’re Throwing Down

Kirsten

Greenidge

Essay

Lifting Up What We’re Throwing Down

Company One’s Use of Amplify Language

23 June 2020

Kirsten Greenidge discusses how being the Playwright in Residence at Company One Theatre gave her a stronger appreciation for the work of the staff, particularly around speaking to the social justice goals of all the company’s programming.

Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas Conference 2020

LMDA

Video

Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas Conference 2020

Crossing Borders Pt. 3: On the (Digital) Threshold

Friday 19 - Saturday 20 June 2020

North America

Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas presented Crossing Borders, Pt 3: On the (Digital) Threshold livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 June 2020.

Navigating Indigenous Storytelling with Mixed Company

Essay

Navigating Indigenous Storytelling with Mixed Company

20 May 2020

Keith Barker and Lindsay Lachance talk about the challenges and rewards of working in mixed company with Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, including what it’s like to navigate work with sensitive subject matter, including Indigenous histories and colonization.

David Ball and the book Backwards and Forwards.

Playwrighting Class with David Ball!

Lauren

Gunderson

Video

Playwrighting Class with David Ball!

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Wednesday 13 May 2020

United States

Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented Playwrighting Class with David Ball! livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 13 May 2020 at 12 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 2 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 3 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 20:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 21:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

Net-Works: Mapping Labor in Theatre and Performance

blue background with white text The Graduate Center

Ph.D. Program in Theatre and Performance, The Graduate Center, City University of New York”

Segal

Center

Video

Net-Works: Mapping Labor in Theatre and Performance

The Doctoral Theatre Students Association (DTSA) Annual Student Conference 2020 produced with generous support from the Cohn Fund, the Roberts Fund, the Lortel Fund, the Executive Officer’s Fund, Martin E. Segal Center, The Doctoral Theatre Students Association, and the Doctoral Students' Council

Thursday 23 April 2020

New York City

The Ph.D. Program in Theatre and Performance, The Graduate Center, City University of New York presented Net-Works: Mapping Labor in Theatre and Performance livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 23 April 2020 at 8:00 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 10 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 11:00 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 16:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 17:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

actors on stage reading from music stands

A Critical Approach: Playwriting, Advocacy and Dramaturgy with Regina Victor and Lauren

Lauren

Gunderson

Video

A Critical Approach: Playwriting, Advocacy and Dramaturgy with Regina Victor and Lauren

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Tuesday 21 April 2020

United States

Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented a conversation A Critical Approach: Playwriting, Advocacy and Dramaturgy with Regina Victor and Lauren livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 21 April 2020 at 12 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 2 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 3 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

Dramaturgs + Playwrights - Lauren and Martine Greene-Rogers talk

Lauren

Gunderson

Video

Dramaturgs + Playwrights - Lauren and Martine Greene-Rogers talk

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Tuesday 14 April 2020

United States

Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented a conversation Dramaturgs + Playwrights - Lauren and Martine Greene-Rogers talk livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 14 April 2020 at 12:05 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 2:05 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 3:05 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

three people writing on a large circular paper hanging on a wall

Visual Storytelling in Socially Engaged Performance

Irina

Kruzhilina

Essay

Visual Storytelling in Socially Engaged Performance

26 February 2020

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

Moving Towards a Migratory Dramaturgy

Devika

Ranjan

Essay

Moving Towards a Migratory Dramaturgy

11 February 2020

Devika Ranjan talks about the ways in which migration can influence performance structures, what she has identified as “migratory dramaturgy.”

yellow cartoon car with pink text PRELUDE 2019

The PRELUDE 2019 Festival

Segal

Center

Video

The PRELUDE 2019 Festival

at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center

Thursday 3 October - Saturday 5 October

New York, New York

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented the PRELUDE 2019 Festival livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network from Thursday 3 October to Saturday 5 October 2019.

The ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2019

Kilden Theatre and Concert Hall

Video

The ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2019

Presented by ASSITEJ - International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People

Tuesday 3 September - Friday 6 September

Kristiansand, Norway

ASSITEJ presented The ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2019 livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network from Tuesday 3 September to Friday 6 September.

a lone dancer against a black background

A Manifesto for Staging Gendered Violence

Sharanya

Essay

A Manifesto for Staging Gendered Violence

11 July 2019

Sharanya shares her thoughts on restaging gendered violence, including how the representation of sexual violence has the power to be scripted and also to script, the importance of de-spectacling violence, and more.

Try Not to Make a Mess When You Smash That Window In Protest

Rebecca

Benzie

Essay

Try Not to Make a Mess When You Smash That Window In Protest

8 July 2019

Rebecca Benzie Fraser uses Her Naked Skin as an example in the exploration of the different decisions made when it comes to staging violence by women and staging violence against women.

Livestreaming the 2019 Annual LMDA Conference

LMDA

Video

Livestreaming the 2019 Annual LMDA Conference

Crossing Borders, Pt. 2: Action in a Time of Division

Thursday 20 June - Saturday 22 June 2019.

Chicago, Illinois

Livestreaming the 2019 Annual Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas Conference: Crossing Borders, Pt. 2: Action in a Time of Division from Chicago, Illinois livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Thursday 20 June to Saturday 22 June 2019.

Disability, Identity, and Representation

Andrea

Kovich

Essay

Disability, Identity, and Representation

Notes from a Dramaturg

27 May 2019

Andrea Kovich talks about the glaring need for more disabled theatremakers, the importance of new plays and musicals, and working with a disabled dramaturg during a new work’s development.

A man in blue suit is speaking in a large conference room. Next to him is a woman in a green blouse and behind them is a woman in black suit ASL interpreting. They are all in front of a curtain which is lit in blues and yellows.

Nothing About Us Without Us

Essay

Nothing About Us Without Us

Innovation, Creativity, and Inclusion in Professional Theatre

26 May 2019

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.

yellow graphic of a lightbulb under construction

Entry Point 2019 Panel Discussions

Cleveland Public Theatre

Dramatists Guild

Video

Entry Point 2019 Panel Discussions

Cleveland Public Theatre

Saturday 19 January 2019

Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Public Theatre presented two panel discussions as part of Entry Point 2019, A New Play Development Festival, livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 19 January at 11:00 a.m. PST (San Francisco) / 1:00 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 2:00 p.m. EST (Cleveland).

What’s Problematic, the Play or the Process?

Maddie

Gaw

Essay

What’s Problematic, the Play or the Process?

Pushing Back on Traditional Post-Play Discussion Models

11 December 2018

Maddie Gaw examines the idea of the “problematic” play and Z Space’s inaugural Problematic Play Festival, which aimed to investigate why certain plays cause gatekeepers to turn away from them in favor of other material.

Towards Arab Dramaturgies Symposium

Segal

Center

Video

Towards Arab Dramaturgies Symposium

Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City

Thursday 27 September 2018

New York, NY, United States

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presents the Towards Arab Dramaturgies symposium livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 27 September and Friday 28 September. Follow @HowlRound on Twitter for updates, and use #howlround.

How to Host a Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon for Activists

Sierra

Carlson

Essay

How to Host a Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon for Activists

10 September 2018

Dramaturg Sierra Carlson describes her process for hosting a Women in Theatre Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon at her university, and encourages others engage in digital dramaturgical activism.

The Collaborative Possibilities of Mediaturgy

Katherine

Swimm

Essay

The Collaborative Possibilities of Mediaturgy

14 August 2018

Katherine Swimm discusses New Rep Theatre’s Boston production of Ripe Frenzy, and the innovative collaboration between playwright Jennifer Barclay and projection designer Jared Mezzocchi.

a poster with four people on it. it reads "a snowflake: or rare white people"

Dramaturgical Work with College-Aged Artists around Race and Whiteness

Gaven

Trinidad

Essay

Dramaturgical Work with College-Aged Artists around Race and Whiteness

2 July 2018

Dramaturg Gaven D. Trinidad reflects on workshopping Snowflakes, or Rare White People by Dustin Chinn as a part of UMass Amherst's New Play Lab in December 2017.

The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas 2018 Conference

LMDA

Video

The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas 2018 Conference

Crossing Borders

Thursday 21 June 2018

Toronto, Canada

Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas presented their 2018 Conference Crossing Borders livestreamed from Toronto, Canada on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 21 June to Saturday 23 June 2018. On Twitter, follow @LMDAmericas and @HowlRound for updates. Watch the livestream at howlround.tv and on the LMDA Facebook Page.

"Positation" in Action

Martha

Steketee

Essay

"Positation" in Action

Director Erin Ortman’s Multi-Year Journey with the Arabian Nights

2 May 2018

Director Erin Ortman loves musical theatre, new plays, theatre families, and William Ball’s idea of “positation” that celebrates the “yes” in artistic collaborations. The development process for One Thousand Nights and One Day produced by Prospect Theater Company in New York City provides a view of Ball’s philosophy in action.