Cynthia Schneider reviews artists’ influence on political change in the twentieth century and today, tracing an evolution of cultural diplomacy toward local artists. Her talk, originally presented in spring 2025, serves as a reminder of what culture-bearers can accomplish.
As part of the LINKAGES: Ukraine program, Ukrainian and US American playwrights come together to discuss their work, methods, worries, and strategies for living and writing in difficult times.
Arab Voices convened Arab and Arab American artists in Beirut for a series of staged readings and workshops—but it was cut short when an Israeli attack triggered deadly explosions of electronic devices. Co-producer Catherine Coray shares the project’s successes and the group’s intention continue what they’ve begun.
As part of Zoukak Theatre’s Letters from the Ground initiative, Sahar Assaf asks theatre leaders who have not spoken out for Palestine a simple question: Why?
The Ghostlight Project brings theatres and communities together to create light in challenging times. We call on you to celebrate and collaborate with local arts and cultural organizations to amplify our collective impact while working within our means. Ask yourself: how are you keeping your light on?
Philip Arnoult was one of the diplomats of the theatrical profession—those who made it their life’s work not to make the work but to make connections between people who make the work, crossing the invisible boundaries of countries and politics. Reflecting on Philip’s life and legacy, Susan Stroupe asks how we can continue his work.
Palestinian performance artist Riham Isaac discusses her site-specific performances, which understand performance as a medium for change. She shares insights into her pieces like Stone on Road and the profound symbolism of resistance in Palestinian art.
Hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson are joined by Fidaa Ataya, a Palestinian storyteller who talks with us about the tradition of the hakawati and how she and her work are looking at different forms of storytelling from ancient traditions to new ways of storytelling in Palestine.
A twenty-four hour online event featuring one hundred+ global artists and activists for a free Palestine
Saturday 20 July to Sunday 21 July 2024
United States
A twenty-four hour online event featuring one hundred+ global artists and activists for a free Palestine, including performances and presentations honoring the Palestinian people and their steadfastness in the face of genocide, and discussions of how to build solidarity in the global movement for Palestinian liberation. (Title inspired by Mahmoud Darwish).
Asif Majid introduces the Transatlantic Muslim Voices series with an essay that traces histories of oral performance and migration away from oppression that continue to inform experiences of Muslimness in today’s world and theatre landscape.
In the final installment of this two-part conversation, artists from the Freedom Theatre in Jenin, Palestine and Al Límite Collective in New York City come together to discuss the performance of Youth Against Invasion in the Cultural Resistance March, the Freedom Theatre’s global impact, and hopes for the future of the Freedom Theatre.
In the first installment of this two-part conversation, artists from The Freedom Theatre in Jenin, Palestine and Al Límite Collective in New York City come together to discuss the work of The Freedom Theatre and its school and the creation of Youth Against Invasion.
Beto O’Byrne discusses the work of three theatre artists in New York whose acts of cultural resistance contribute to the movement for a free Palestine.
Calling Up Justice is producing an accessible and disability justice informed digital production of The Gaza Monologues from Ashtar Theatre Palestine.
Wednesday 29 November 2023
United States
Calling Up Justice said yes to the invitation of global engagement from Ashtar Theater Palestine in response to the current crisis. This event is an accessible and disability justice informed digital production of The Gaza Monologues.
A response to ASHTAR Theatre's urgent request to publicly read or perform The Gaza Monologues on The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Wednesday 29 November 2023
United States
This event was Theatre of the Oppressed NYC's response to ASHTAR Theatre's urgent request to publicly read or perform The Gaza Monologues—testimonies written by ASHTAR youth in 2010, highlighting the fears, hopes, and resilience of Gazans—on The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Theatremakers Publicly Performed The Gaza Monologues on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Wednesday 29 November 2023
United States
Golden Thread Productions and Aviva Arts collaborated in their response to the urgent call put out by ASHTAR Theatre to theatremakers around the world to publicly read or perform The Gaza Monologues on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People—a significant day for those who value justice, equality, and freedom for the Palestinian people.
After Russian courts found that Svetlana Petriychuk’s documentary theatre piece Finist the Brave Falcon “justified terrorism” due to its feminist aims, Petriychuk and director Zhenya Berkovich were jailed. Viktor Vilisov discusses the production, clarifying the production’s aims to amplify the experiences of Russian women whose attempts to flea Russian patriarchy has landed them in oppressive marriages to Syrian ISIS fighters.
Discussing Their Production of Sasha Denisova’s The Gaaga (The Hague)
Monday 8 May 2023
New York City
Join us for a talk with award-winning Ukrainian playwright and director Sasha Denisova (Ukraine) and artistic director Igor Golyak (US/Ukraine) of Arlekin Players Theatre to discuss their production of Sasha’s The Gaaga (The Hague). Sasha has been living in Poland, where she has collected stories from refugees who have fled their homes due to the war, and traveled to interview many officials and everyday people in her quest to create a futuristic trail of Putin in the form of this new play.
Encounters between artists from different corners of the world are captured in a series of mini documentaries. Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT) presents Safe edition #2, launched during the Artistic Freedom Conference ("Fri Kunst").
Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park and The Theatre Times present Woman, Life, Freedom: Theatre and Protest in Iran, a virtual roundtable in honor of World Theatre Day. Featuring Azadeh Ganjeh, Nassim Soleimanpour, Keyvan Sarreshteh, and moderator Marjan Moosavi, this conversation will explore Iranian theatre artists’ ethical vision and creative practice in response to the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. This event will feature live captioning and ASL interpretation.
This week, Yura Sapi is join by Tierra Allen who shares about creating The Real Work, a podcast about theatre culture and transformative justice that is co-produced with We Rise Production. This episode’s topics include learning from non-humans, sharing poems and songs, and being the change.
Lisa Rafferty sits down with Ukrainian documentary storyteller Alem Kent to discuss Kent’s Our Response Ability and upcoming work with ProEnglish Theatre. Through documentary and verbatim theatre practices, these productions detail experiences of Ukrainians living under siege and working as war persists around them.
Director Vitaly Kogut is one of many displaced Russian men spending this winter in Batumi, Georgia. Daniel Mesta interviews him about his work, in which uses theatre to communicate the complexities of the Russian soul while enduring censorship and cancellation.
Yaşam Özlem Gülseven interviews Mikheil Charkviani about his work on Exodus, a production that traded grand historical narratives for granular perspectives on the impact of war in Georgia. Their interview, like the production, hinges on an important question: how do we learn to live with the past?
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.
