Religion and Spirituality

Tom Block writes about how Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu's ideas can provide inspiration for theatre artists.

Director and playwright Tara Brooke Watkins discusses the process of creating The Bible Women’s Project, which fuses women’s stories from the Bible and the stories of women from conservative, Christian backgrounds.

In this third installment, Jadele McPherson discusses how artists (both past and present) influence each other across the African diaspora, and advocates for more contemporary artists to acknowledge their ancestors.

In this second installment, Playwright Sharon Bridgforth gives a reading based on her performance novel dat Black Mermaid Man Lady.

Tom Block discusses the benefits of bringing mysticism into the world of artistic creators as we head into a difficult and divisive period in American history, and how a reinvigoration of these ideas could offer a much-needed remedy.

Kyle Whalen explores the “moments of the unknowable” in the Steppenwolf production of Lucas Hnath’s The Christians in Chicago, Illinois.

Zeina Salame shares her experience attending a reading of Heather Raffo’s Noura produced by Noor Theatre, and discusses the social impact of Middle Eastern American theatre in 2017.

Hannah Sachs considers the intersection of theatre, religion, and spirituality.

Actress and spiritual advocate Diandra Rivera offers advice on how performers can spiritually center themselves. 

Jenna Gerdsen on a reinvention of wayang kulit—the ancient Southeast Asian puppet theatre form.

Salma Abu Ayyash considers the missed opportunity for Ayd Akhtar’s Disgraced to challenge Islamphobia and the intersection of oppressions.

In this installment, Michael Lueger examines historical and contemporary depictions of Muslims in Western drama. 

Playwright Joseph D’Ambrosi advocates the need for Christian theatre artists to reevaluate censoring plays for the sake of faith-based themes.

Henrik Eger reports on the trajectory of the Catholic docudrama Full of Grace from vision of the late Bishop Joseph Sullivan of Brooklyn to the stage in Philadelphia.

Dancer Chloe Woggon discusses her performing a dance in front of an audience, in which she had an metaphysical experience.

Actor Billy McEntee discusses his faith and his experience performing as a choir member in Playwrights Horizons' production of The Christians.

Puppeteer James Godwin explores the philosophical and spiritual implications of puppetry.

Some could argue that a play like Burq Off is not the right place to begin to understand the world of the Muslim Diaspora in Europe... But Manzoor herself provides some of that context, throwing statistics into her monologues almost as if her drama were a form of journalism.

Could the theater offer to both theater artists and theatergoers a kind of substitute for the awe they felt as children towards a religion that they no longer can as readily accept intellectually or morally?

Martha Steketee interviews dramaturg Jill Rafson about the process of developing The Mysteries, described as “48 playwrights and 54 actors retelling the entirety of the Bible in a single night.”

Alice Stanley Jr. discusses her experience at a workshop of Ariel Luckey's solo performance Amnesia, and the talkback which followed.

Dani Snyder-Young reviews Silk Road Rising's world premiere of Motti Lerner's Paulus, and explores the modern ramifications for a play about religious inclusivity in Israel.