How can our industry better support parents and caregivers? For a long time, the needs of these groups weren’t openly spoken about in the theatre, but in recent years individuals and groups have begun advocating for them, pointing out that increasing access for caregivers will make our field more equitable for all. Dive into this conversation with the Parent-Artist Advocacy series, watch the archive of the 2019 Parent-Artist Advocacy League Summit, or read personal reflections on the challenges of being a parent in the theatre from playwrights Rachel Bonds and Mike Lew and Rehana Lew Mirza.
The Latest
Essay
I Don’t Know How She Hosts Lunar New Year During a Rehearsal Week
by Artist Caregiver
13 May 2026
Essay
I Don't Know How He Directs, Teaches, Raises a Toddler, and Still Finds Time to Run Marathons
by Artist Caregiver
22 April 2026
Essay
I Don’t Know How He Works in Theatre While Fighting for His Mom’s Right to Healthcare
Lighting designer Porsche McGovern shares the results of the final year of her study on the pronouns of designers and directors working in LORT theatres, how the study came about, and what she hopes for the future.
Hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview Kaja Dunn, who is an intimacy professional, director, actor, and scholar. They discuss her journey as a theatre artist, the importance of intimacy coordinator for theatre and television, and Kaja’s own artistry and creativity.
Playwrights Carlyle Brown, Elaine Romero, and Catherine Filloux come together to discuss their experiences as working theatre artists who also act as caregivers to their spouses.
Webinar Exploring the Tensions Between Cultural Mobility and Parental Responsibility in the EU and Internationally
Tuesday 7 March 2023
European Union
For this third Mobility Webinar, On the Move will explore the tensions between cultural mobility and parental responsibility in the EU and internationally. Discussing how our ecosystem considers and manages parenthood, particularly for women, at the different stages of the creative value chain.
Slovo. Theater Group uses theatre as a tool to fight against cultural oppression by promoting Ukrainian culture abroad. Audrey Rose, the group’s producer, discusses the process of making theatre during active war as a way of resisting oppression and violence.
A Forward-Looking Solutions-Based Conversation with Chicago Arts Leaders and Organizers
Tuesday 1 November 2022
Chicago, IL
Parent Artist Advocacy League of Chicago and Prop Thtr presented the conversation, How Your Theatre Can Become a More Equitable Employer of Parents and Caregivers livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 1 November 2022 at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).
Michelle Ramos sits down with Ashley Davis, founder and director of the social enterprise Unlock Creative, to discuss Ashley’s experience being a mom in the field and how she works to make her own organization more accommodating of parents and caregivers.
This episode is inspired by recent and current events regarding Roe v. Wade and their potential impact on birthing people. We think about the representation of reproductive justice (things such as abortion, contraception, and anything regarding decisions to birth or plan a family) especially from Black women playwrights. We discuss plays such as They That Sit in Darkness by Mary Burrill, Rachel by Angelina Weld Grimke, Come Down Burning by Kia Corthron, In the Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks, and Abortion Road Trip by Rachel Lynett.
Join HowlRound staff and theatremakers from around the world for a virtual celebration of our new book: Essays and Conversations from the First Ten Years, featuring work published on HowlRound between 2011 and 2020! Livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 12 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles, UTC -7) / 2 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 3 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 8 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 21:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2).
Playwright, author, screenwriter, and actor Betty Shamieh discusses her experience navigating the complexities of new motherhood as a woman in the theatre industry.
The Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) International Digital Summit 2021
Wednesday 1 December to Friday 3 December 2021
United States
The PAAL International Digital Summit 2021 gathered experts and theatre professionals who will provide workshops, case studies, and affinity spaces for both institutions and individuals to illustrate how to create sustainable caregiver support and operationalize humane practices that benefit everyone.
A series that brings artists and community leaders together
Thursday 20 May 2021
Seattle, Oregon
Seattle Rep presented (Re)Imagine Parents in Theater livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 20 May 2021 at 5 p.m. PDT (Seattle, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. MDT (Denver, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).
Nicole Stodard and Kaja Dunn, in partnership with the Parent Artist Advocacy League, led a Twitter chat navigating work/life balance and anti-racist activism as a #ParentArtist during the COVID-19 pandemic.
an #ArtistResource talk with Rachel Spencer Hewitt (PAAL); Claudia Alick (CallingUP); Ashley Hanson (Department of Public Transformation); and more
Tuesday 7 April 2020
United States
Livestreaming the #ArtistResource panel It Was Always Possible: Centering the Leaders Who Were Here All Along (ASL & Captioned) on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 7 April 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).
The first national summit on caregiver support in the performing arts
Friday 6 December 2019
New York City
The Parent Artist Advocacy League presented the first PAAL Summit at the Public Theater livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 6 December from 6 a.m - 3 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC-8) / 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC-6) / 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. EST (New York, UTC-5).
Rachel Spencer Hewitt, founder of the Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL), talks about putting PAAL’s handbook of best practices for parent support into action in collaboration with New York City’s the Playwrights Realm.
Mickey Rowe, co-founder and co–executive director of National Disability Theatre, talks about the difficulties of being a single parent with disabilities and working in theatre.
Nicole Brewer talks about the term “child friendly,” reconstructing the issue of parent support as an issue of race and racism, supporting parent-artists with an anti-racist lens, and more.
How Interconnected Access Benefits Multiple Communities
1 December 2019
Introducing the second installment of the Parent-Artist Advocacy series, Sally Lobel talks about how the parent-artist community and the disability community have the potential to be excellent accomplices and allies.
Lydia Milman Schmidt, founder of the advocacy group Parents in Chicago Theatre, looks at the progressive policies Rivendell Theatre Ensemble has in place when it comes to working with parent artists on production.
Parent Artist Advocacy League for the Performing Arts (PAAL) founder Rachel Spencer Hewitt discusses three crucial ways theatres can improve their support for parent artists.
Playwright Rachel Bonds reflects on being a working artist since the birth of her son, and maps out tips for theatres working with other parent-artists.
Stage manager Carmelita Becnel reflects on the need to support mothers, women of color, and stage managers as creative collaborators in the rehearsal room.
