Content in this section focuses on theatre created outside of urban and suburban centers. Here, artists discuss the unique challenges and opportunities of creating work in rural environments all over the world. The Rural Theatre series, focusing on artists and companies in the United States, is a great place to start.
Bringing Trouble: An Account of a Travelling Bicycle Puppet Show
25 January 2022
In 2021, Ian McFarlane and Laura Stinson of North Barn Theatre launched into a bicycle tour that brought a puppet circus to rural communities across Nova Scotia. They discuss the creation and performance of their show, which joyously embraced troublemaking as a path to activism.
Founder, Ensemble Member, and Former Artistic Director of Lookingglass Theatre Company, David Catlin, shares how their limitless aesthetic showcases their Chicago-based artists across the country. In addition we dive into their unique shared leadership model, their growth and goals for the future, and how tension with your board members can be a good thing.
Jacob Juntunen shares how the MFA playwriting program at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale adapted their new play festival for the online world and how open-access software and streaming platforms helped students at the rural school transcend geography.
The Experience of a Chilensis Clown Circus Theatre Company / Experiencia de una compañía chilensis de circo teatro payasx
11 November 2020
Members of Chile’s Compañía Siató—Valentina Paz Berger Correa, Jean Carlo Montecinos Carreño, Hernán Enrique Huerta Vargas, and Felipe Jesús Pereira Godoy—discuss clowning across Latin America; their show Sacrilegio, which denounces and ridicules religion, the church, and the police; the political duty of the artist; and more.
Un vistazo a las salas de teatro independiente en México
3 July 2019
Mariela López talks about her research on independent theatres across Mexico, including the challenges, the benefits, and recommendations for anyone wanting to create a company. / Mariela López nos habla de su investigación sobre los teatros independientes en México, incluyendo los desafíos, los beneficios y recomendaciones para cualquiera que quiera crear uno.
Nomadic Theatre Keeps its Traditions Alive in France / En France, la perpétuation du théâtre Sinti et nomade
13 March 2019
Marine Leduc discusses the nomadic theatre traditions of the Hognon family, who travel southwestern France staging plays that explore their Tsigane identity. / Marine Leduc explore les traditions du théâtre nomade des Hognons, une famille qui voyage à travers le Sud-Ouest de la France et y joue des pièces qui parcourt leur identité tsigane.
How the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre Partners with Communities
13 August 2017
Joan Schirle, Founding Artistic Director of Dell’Arte International, presents an overview of the history of Dell’Arte’s Rural Residency Program and the program’s relationship to community engagement in Northern California.
Double Edge Theatre’s Latin American Cycle Builds Bridges Across Massachusetts
20 October 2016
Josh Platt on Double Edge Theatre’s Latin American Spectacle in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, Cada Luna Azul / Once a Blue Moon in Ashfield, Massachusetts, and the Springfield Spectacle, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Mncedisi Baldwin Shabangu writes about his career as an acclaimed actor and director in South Africa, and the decisions that led him to currently work exclusively in a rural village.
A Conversation between Stacy Klein of Double Edge Theatre and Jennifer Johnson of The Charlestown Working Theater
29 April 2015
Jennifer Johnson, of The Charlestown Working Theater, who has trained with Double Edge Theatre, interviews Stacy Klein, Founding Artistic Director of Double Edge about the evolution of Double Edge’s training method.
Conversation about BETSY! The Appalachian-Puerto Rican Musical at Roadside Theater
Thursday 12 February 2015
New York, NY, United States
Roadside Theater and Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater presented a conversation about BETSY!The Appalachian-Puerto Rican Musical livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 12 February at 7 p.m. EST (New York) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 4 p.m. PST (Los Angeles).
What South Carolina Taught Me About Radical Theatermaking
5 September 2014
Over my time in Spartanburg, I learned firsthand that South Carolina is not a homogenous place. There are all kinds of people in South Carolina, people with voices and powerful stories. A lot of those stories are invisible because of the cultural and political climate that surrounds them. That doesn’t mean they aren’t there—but it means that to those living outside of the state, they don’t exist.
Matthew Glassman & Amrita Ramanan of Double Edge Theatre
14 March 2014
Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Matthew Glassman and Amrita Ramanan of Double Edge Theatre, located in Ashfield, Massachusetts.
Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Visit visits rural Minnesota
24 September 2013
Chris Garza visits The Visit staged in rural Minnesota, and reflects on how immersive theater invites audiences complicity in a play about mob psychology, vengance, and greed.
The Network of Ensemble Theater presented MicroFest Kentucky/Tennessee livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 26 October and Friday 27 October 2012.
In the belief that rural artists need to be represented, Double Edged Theatre Company headed a conversation with fellow rural artists about action steps for the communities to take.
Celebrating the New/Old Work of Community Arts Development in Rural/Small Communities in the United States
4 October 2012
Patrick Overton on the history of cultural development in Rural/Small communites across the United States, and the nessisety of that development to the health of the community.
