Process

Melisa Pereyra talks about how suffering goes hand in hand with being a woman of color actor, how trauma is held in the body, and how audiences react when stories lack grief.

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.   

Michaela Goldhaber, current artistic director of Wry Crips, talks to the founding and early members of the disabled women’s theatre group about their history.

Ben Barson and Gizelxanath Rodriguez, part of the Afro Yaqui Music Collective, talk about artivism—what it means, what it can look like—in relation to building a jazz opera with various communities around the world.

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.

verity healey does a deep-dive into the Our Stage – 4th European Bürgerbühne Festival, which took place in Dresden, Germany, in May 2019.

John Meredith and M Sloth Levine, of StageSource’s Gender Explosion Initiative, discuss ways theatremakers can dismantle stigmas against trans people and continue creating an inclusive theatre scene.

Jerrod Bogard talks about sexism, theatre, and unpacking his invisible knapsack.

Dani Wieder looks at the objectification inherent in theatre and the importance of artists crafting engaged performer-spectator relationships.

Professor Christin Essin talks about problematic staging of gendered violence at a production she recently brought her students to and the importance of content warnings and taking care of survivors in theatrical works.

Sharanya shares her thoughts on restaging gendered violence, including how the representation of sexual violence has the power to be scripted and also to script, the importance of de-spectacling violence, and more.

Charlene V. Smith talks about asking hard questions around the interpretation of early modern English classics, Brave Spirits Theatre’s production of The Changeling, and five tips for dealing with sexual assault in art responsibly.

Holly L. Derr looks at the history of the Method, where it deviates from Stanislavsky’s System, and the connection between the Method and the behavior called out by #MeToo.

Kate Bergstrom investigates the open text, looking at how theatremakers approach the form, the balance between respect for the script and unique interpretation, and more.

David Z. Saltz—director, installation artist, and teacher of digital performance—talks about the early days of digital media in theatre and the six main roles it plays in live performance.

Sydney Isabelle Mayer discusses the importance of terminology when it comes to “trigger” warnings, how artists can best offer warnings for their shows, and what it means to create a responsible theatremaking process.

Adam Roberts talks about the devising process used at TILT, a performance company in Austin, Texas, that celebrates the creative work of adult actors with disabilities.

Tara Branham talks about the importance of harm reduction in the rehearsal hall and shares tools she uses in her practice to reduce risk and manage it if it arises.

Daniel Jackson talks about creating an interactive DIY lighting system—that the audience partially controlled—for a recent production that took place almost entirely in the dark.

verity healey looks at how refugees in Paris are using theatre to create connections, break down barriers, and find community.

Theatremaker Callie Nestleroth discusses devising a show for a library space and shares the process she developed when approaching new site-specific projects.