Having a playwright-in-residence at a theatre or other organization can have huge benefits for the writer, the organization, and the community. Much of the content in this section is about or generated by participants in the National Playwright Residency Program, which HowlRound administers in partnership with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Don’t miss this series of conversations between playwrights in the program discussing what they’ve learned from being embedded within a theatre company.
The Latest
Video
A Haunting in the Chest
A Conversation About Southeast Asian Stories on the American Stage
Thursday 13 March 2025
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Video
Telling the Unheard
Lao, Hmong, and Ojibwe Playwrights on Centering Their Communities
Tuesday 18 February 2025
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Essay
Ancestor Stories and Community Care in Virginia Grise’s Rasgos Asiaticos
Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented the conversation Director - Playwright Class: Lauren talks with Eric Tinglivestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 21 April 2020 at 2 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 5 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).
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).
Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented a conversation Directors + Playwrights - Lauren talks with Evren Odcikin livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 17 April 2020 at 2 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 5 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).
Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented a conversation Theatre Journalist + Playwright - Lauren talks with Diep Tran livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 16 April 2020 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).
An Interview with Seven Latinx Playwrights During COVID-19
16 April 2020
Playwright Herbert Sigüenza talks to seven of his Latinx playwriting friends about how they’ve been affected by COVID-19, writing during this time, the future of Latinx theatre in the United States, and more.
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).
Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented a conversation Musical Theatre w/ Lauren, Kait Kerrigan + Brian Lowdermilk livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 10 April 2020 at 9:30 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 11:30 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 12:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).
Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented a free playwrighting class livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 8 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).
Daily Live Online Conversations with US and Global Theatre Artists
Monday 30 March 2020
New York City
The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented SEGAL TALKS: Taylor Mac & Kristin Marting livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 30 March 2020 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 5 p.m. BST (London, UTC+1).
Pearl Cleage and Vera Starbard in Conversation, Part II
15 January 2020
In part two of their conversation, Vera Starbard and Pearl Cleage—playwrights-in-residence at Juneau, Alaska’s Perseverance Theatre and Atlanta, Georgia’s Alliance Theatre, respectively—talk about different cultural practices, the white gaze, moving away from anger, and more.
Pearl Cleage and Vera Starbard in Conversation, Part I
14 January 2020
In part one of their conversation, playwrights Vera Starbard and Pearl Cleage talk about their respective residencies—at Juneau, Alaska’s Perseverance Theatre and Atlanta, Georgia’s Alliance Theatre, respectively—race and representation at their institutions, not writing for a white audience, and more.
Matthew McMahan talks to playwright Herbert Siguenza about branching out as a solo writer after years as a member of Culture Clash, writing bilingual comedy, and more.
Carlos Murillo and Kira Obolensky talk about their National Playwright Residency Program residencies, creating work for a specific theatre’s audience, playwrights not being part of the sea change of artistic director turnover, and more.
Developing Artistic Ambition as Playwrights in Residence
27 November 2019
Rehana Lew Mirza and Melinda Lopez talk being playwrights as well as actors and teachers, critiquing their own work, their individual work processes, and more.
Ilana M. Brownstein talks with Dawn Simmons, Summer L. Williams, and Kirsten Greenidge about collaborating on new plays, creating healthy communities, vulnerability, and more.
presented by Cambridge Friends School in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Wednesday 16 October 2019
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge Friends School presented the panel Our Deepest Concerns: A Conversation on Anti-Racism in America livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Wednesday 16 October 2019 at 3:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 5:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 6:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).
Celebrating the Artistic Journeys of Two Latino Playwrights
18 September 2019
Luis Alfaro and Herbert Sigüenza talk about their experience in the National Playwright Residency Program, learning about the inner workings of theatre companies, portraying Latinx people in a positive light, the importance of comedy, and more.
at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts
Sunday 15 September 2019
Worcester, Massachusetts
Arts Transcending Borders at the College of the Holy Cross presented “A Conversation with Taylor Mac,” moderated by Scott Malia, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Sunday 15 September 2019 at 5 p.m. EDT (New York) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 2 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles).
Playwrights Kirsten Greenidge and Peter Nachtrieb talk about what it means to be an artist in residence, how theatres constantly work on their mission, connecting with the community, and more.
Playwrights Will Power and Jonathan Norton talk about what being an artist in residence looks like, championing local playwrights, rejection letters, and more.
Playwright Peter Nachtrieb and artistic director of San Francisco’s Z Space, Lisa Steindler, talk about the National Playwright Residency Program, getting out of your comfort zone, making a living as a writer, and more.
The Playwright's Center in Minneapolis presented the Afro-Atlantic Playwright Festival Closing Roundtable livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Sunday 14 July 2019 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Minneapolis, UTC-5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 18:00 UTC+0.
Announcing an Open Call for the Third Round of the National Playwright Residency Program
5 July 2019
Applications for the third round of the National Playwright Residency Program, an intervention into the traditional relationships between artists and institutions, are now live!
Playwright Pearl Cleage discusses playwriting, activism, and how theatremakers can help save the world in this excerpt from her keynote speech at the 2019 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference.
