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Parenting and Caregiving

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

Who Designs and Directs in LORT Theatres by Pronoun, 2012-2020
Essay
Who Designs and Directs in LORT Theatres by Pronoun, 2012-2020
by Porsche McGovern
6 November 2023
Staging Black Intimacies
Podcast
Staging Black Intimacies
by Jordan Ealey, Leticia Ridley, KAJA DUNN
4 October 2023
Playwright Caregivers
Essay
Playwright Caregivers
by Carlyle Brown, Catherine Filloux, Elaine Romero
6 July 2023
A chart displaying statistics of gender between theatrical designers
Who Designs and Directs in LORT Theatres by Pronoun, 2012-2020
Essay

Who Designs and Directs in LORT Theatres by Pronoun, 2012-2020

6 November 2023

​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.

Daughters of Lorraine Podcast teaser.
Staging Black Intimacies
Podcast

Staging Black Intimacies

4 October 2023

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.

A woman seated in a wheelchair speaks passionately to a man squatting in front of her.
Playwright Caregivers
Essay

Playwright Caregivers

6 July 2023

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.

event poster for Mobility Webinar: “Parenting, Care and Cultural Mobility” with speaker headshots.
Parenting, Care, and Cultural Mobility
Video

Parenting, Care, and Cultural Mobility

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.

Five performers, with one of them holding a baby, stand in a line on stage and hold a Ukrainian flag together.
How Slovo. Theater Group Fights for Ukraine on the Cultural Front
Essay

How Slovo. Theater Group Fights for Ukraine on the Cultural Front

6 December 2022

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.

event poster for PAAL conversation on equity for parents and caregivers.
How Your Theatre Can Become a More Equitable Employer of Parents and Caregivers
Video

How Your Theatre Can Become a More Equitable Employer of Parents and Caregivers

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).

Children throwing a parachute in the air.
Are You Really a Parent-Friendly Workplace?
Essay

Are You Really a Parent-Friendly Workplace?

27 September 2022

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.

Daughters of Lorraine Podcast teaser.
Staging Reproductive Freedom in Black Feminist Theatre
Podcast

Staging Reproductive Freedom in Black Feminist Theatre

3 August 2022

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.

Book launch event graphic.
Book Launch: HowlRound Theatre Commons' Essays and Conversations from the First Ten Years
Video

Book Launch: HowlRound Theatre Commons' Essays and Conversations from the First Ten Years

Fifty essays from 2011 to 2020

Tuesday 21 June 2022
Boston, Massachusetts, United States

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).

A woman facing her back to three men and another woman.
The Mother of All Emotions
Essay

The Mother of All Emotions

7 December 2021

Playwright, author, screenwriter, and actor Betty Shamieh discusses her experience navigating the complexities of new motherhood as a woman in the theatre industry.

event poster for PAAL summit.
Centering Humanity: Action, Affinity, and Accountability Solutions for Humane and Sustainable Practices
Video

Centering Humanity: Action, Affinity, and Accountability Solutions for Humane and Sustainable Practices

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.

blue graphic of actor onstage against yellow background
(Re)Imagine Parents in Theater
Video

(Re)Imagine Parents in Theater

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).

Parent Artists & the Pandemic
Event

Parent Artists & the Pandemic

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.

hand sanitizer labeled "don't touch the art"
It Was Always Possible: Centering the Leaders Who Were Here All Along (ASL & Captioned)
Video

It Was Always Possible: Centering the Leaders Who Were Here All Along (ASL & Captioned)

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 2019 PAAL Summit
Video

The 2019 PAAL Summit

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).

four strollers
Making Radical Parent Inclusion Replicable and Sustainable
Essay

Making Radical Parent Inclusion Replicable and Sustainable

5 December 2019

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.

A man is sitting holding a phone up to his ear while a toddler sleeps on him. The toddler is holding a rainbow colored stuffed animal.
Redefining “Radical” In Terms of How We Support Parents
Essay

Redefining “Radical” In Terms of How We Support Parents

4 December 2019

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.

seven people pose for a photo
Parents of Color and the Need For Anti-Racist Theatre Practices
Essay

Parents of Color and the Need For Anti-Racist Theatre Practices

3 December 2019

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.

3 adults and 2 children huddle together smile
Why Parent-Artists and Institutions Need Human Resources Support
Essay

Why Parent-Artists and Institutions Need Human Resources Support

2 December 2019

Iris McQuillan-Grace writes about the importance of providing an advocacy structure with a human resources lens to the performing arts landscape.

three actors onstage
When the World Isn’t Made for Your Body
Essay

When the World Isn’t Made for Your Body

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.

Radical Inclusion of Parent Artists
Essay

Radical Inclusion of Parent Artists

5 December 2018

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.

seven panelists
Who We Harm When Parenting Isn’t Considered
Essay

Who We Harm When Parenting Isn’t Considered

13 November 2018

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.

a mother and a baby
Working Like a Mother
Essay

Working Like a Mother

11 September 2018

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.

Harnessing the Heroic Narrative of Creative Motherhood
Essay

Harnessing the Heroic Narrative of Creative Motherhood

14 December 2017

Performer Stephanie Hayes reflects on how motherhood helped her reinvent her relationship to her own creativity.

Fighting for Gender, Race, and Motherhood in Theatre
Essay

Fighting for Gender, Race, and Motherhood in Theatre

12 December 2017

Stage manager Carmelita Becnel reflects on the need to support mothers, women of color, and stage managers as creative collaborators in the rehearsal room.