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.

Artistic Director Joan Lipkin discusses the inspiration and process for “Dance the Vote,” a voting registration campaign in St. Louis, Missouri that included performances by local artists. 

Marissa Wolf, Director of New Works at Kansas City Rep, talks with playwright in residence Nathan Louis Jackson.

Lauren Smith discusses Westgate Music, a local music store in Missouri, and offers tips for how theatres can engage with their audiences.

In this installment, Playwright and poet Sabina England shares her process for creating performances for deaf and hearing audiences.

Dramaturgs Amanda Boyle and Alyson Germinder share their experience with hosting the Dramaturgy Open Office Hour Project in Kansas City, MO.

Actor/playwright Joe Wilson, Jr. discusses his experience and the cultural climate in St. Louis during the Every 28 Hours Project workshops.

Em Piro writes about the exciting wave of cross-genre collaboration she’s witnessing in St. Louis, and addresses the successes and pitfalls of such work.

Jennifer Wintzer shares SHAKE 38’s Measure4Measure Project connecting youth in St. Louis with youth in New York City around the conflict in Ferguson.

Co-founders of St Lou Fringe Em Piro and Tara Daniels talk about how artists and institutions can continue the conversation started after #Ferguson, and how important it is to do so.

The Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, prides itself on producing “bold new plays,” under artistic director Cynthia Levin. The 2013-2014 season has been somewhat of a “dream” season for the Unicorn staff—“full of the best contemporary theater in America,” said Levin. As the literary assistant and dramaturg, I have the joy and privilege of digging into the scripts selected for the season. Not only are the plays new plays, many that are fresh out of New York, and world premieres, but also several of them have something else in common: war. While war is not new, the new season of plays in Kansas eloquently captures our era of endless war both open and covert.

Founder Rick Dildine tells the story of Shake38, a city-wide Shakespeare interpretation and performance festival.