Social Justice & Political Theatre

Content here focuses on theatremakers, companies, and projects with a political or social justice mission.

The Latest

Livestreaming Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Land Acknowledgements

Video

Livestreaming Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Land Acknowledgements

hosted by Unsettling Dramaturgy: Crip & Indigenous Dramaturgies

Tuesday 31 March 2020

United States

Poetry Electric: Powerful Words/Powerful Women

Video

Poetry Electric: Powerful Words/Powerful Women

at La MaMa Experimental Theater in New York City

Monday 23 March 2020

New York City

Re-Fest NYC

Video

Re-Fest NYC

CultureHub’s annual festival brings artists, activists, and technologists together to envision our role in re-shaping the future

Thursday 12 March - Saturday 14 March 2020

New York City

Howlround Theatre Commons

From the World Theatre Map

colored earth with text unsettling dramaturgies

Livestreaming Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Land Acknowledgements

Unsettling Dramaturgy

Video

Livestreaming Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Land Acknowledgements

hosted by Unsettling Dramaturgy: Crip & Indigenous Dramaturgies

Tuesday 31 March 2020

United States

Unsettling Dramaturgy presents Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Land Acknowledgements livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 31 March 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).

building against blue sky with red text poetry electric

Poetry Electric: Powerful Words/Powerful Women

La MaMa

CultureHub

Video

Poetry Electric: Powerful Words/Powerful Women

at La MaMa Experimental Theater in New York City

Monday 23 March 2020

New York City

La MaMa Experimental Theater and CultureHub presented Poetry Electric: Powerful Words/Powerful Women livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 23 March 2020 at 4:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 6:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 7:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

there must be happy endings book cover with black paintbrush strokes

Megan Sandberg-Zakian in conversation with Melinda Lopez

Brookline Booksmith

The 3rd Thing

Video

Megan Sandberg-Zakian in conversation with Melinda Lopez

at Brookline Booksmith in Boston, Massachusetts

Monday 23 March 2020

Boston, Massachusetts

Brookline Booksmiths presented Megan Sandberg-Zakian in conversation with Melinda Lopez livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 23 March 2020 at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

yellow background with black re-fest text

Re-Fest NYC

CultureHub

Video

Re-Fest NYC

CultureHub’s annual festival brings artists, activists, and technologists together to envision our role in re-shaping the future

Thursday 12 March - Saturday 14 March 2020

New York City

CultureHub presented their annual festival Re-Fest livestreaming on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 12 March to Saturday 14 March 2020.

graphics of feminine heads with text good friday

A performance of the Texas premiere of Kristiana Rae Colón’s good friday

The VORTEX

Video

A performance of the Texas premiere of Kristiana Rae Colón’s good friday

at the VORTEX in Austin, Texas

Friday 6 March 2020

Austin, Texas

The VORTEX and New Manifest Theatre Company presented the Texas premiere of Kristiana Rae Colón’s timely drama good friday, featuring an all-female cast and design team, livestreaming on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network on Friday 6 March 2020 at 9 p.m. EST (New York, UTC-8) / 8 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC-7) / 6 p.m. PST (Los Angeles, UTC-5).

WELCOME TO OUR SPACE? A Town Hall on Audience Interactions

red background with rising sun graphic and white aurora theater text

Aurora Theatre Company

Video

WELCOME TO OUR SPACE? A Town Hall on Audience Interactions

at Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley, California

Monday 2 March 2020

Berkeley, California

The Aurora Theatre Company presented WELCOME TO OUR SPACE? A Town Hall on Audience Interactions livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 2 March 2020 at 7 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC-8) / 9 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC-6) / 10 p.m. EST (New York, UTC-5).

three people writing on a large circular paper hanging on a wall

Visual Storytelling in Socially Engaged Performance

Irina

Kruzhilina

Essay

Visual Storytelling in Socially Engaged Performance

26 February 2020

Irina Kruzhilina discusses the importance of visuals as a means of expression in politically and socially engaged theatre.

collage of close-up body images, including hands and feet

Gasping Whiteness and New Play Development Inspired by Community Organizing

Will

MacAdams

Essay

Gasping Whiteness and New Play Development Inspired by Community Organizing

25 February 2020

Through the lens of developing his show Gasping Whiteness, Will MacAdams talks about the value of creating theatre in partnership with community organizers.

actor holding money against yellow background

A performance of The Hands That Feed You by Annie Danger

The VORTEX

Video

A performance of The Hands That Feed You by Annie Danger

at the VORTEX in Austin, Texas

Thursday 13 February 2020

Austin, Texas

The VORTEX presented the debut of Annie Danger’s new work, The Hands That Feed You, livestreamed on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network on Thursday 13 February 2020 at 9 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-8) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-7) / 6 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles, UTC-5).

Moving Towards a Migratory Dramaturgy

Devika

Ranjan

Essay

Moving Towards a Migratory Dramaturgy

11 February 2020

Devika Ranjan talks about the ways in which migration can influence performance structures, what she has identified as “migratory dramaturgy.”

Roma Futurism and the Future of Roma Theatre

Essay

Roma Futurism and the Future of Roma Theatre

An Interview with Mihaela Drăgan

10 February 2020

HowlRound’s director, Jamie Gahlon, talks with theatremaker Mihaela Drăgan about contemporary Roma theatre and the artistic movement Roma Futurism.

Stories from America’s Death Row

Essay

Stories from America’s Death Row

A Conversation with Lynden Harris

29 January 2020

Summer Robinson interviews playwright Lynden Harris about her work creating theatre with men on death row across the United States.

two performers in red costumes with a backdrop of the moon.

"French and Yet Never French Enough"

Amelia

Parenteau

Essay

"French and Yet Never French Enough"

Caribbean Playwrights Challenge the Monolith of French Identity

13 January 2020

Amelia Parenteau discusses the Actions Caribéennes Théâtrales festival, which brought together francophones, francophiles, and theatre folks from around the world to witness staged readings of six French Caribbean plays in English translation.

Slovakia Searches for Itself at the International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra

Kirsten

Bowen

Essay

Slovakia Searches for Itself at the International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra

15 December 2019

Kirsten Bowen reflects on Slovakia’s 2019 International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra, which was programmed based on the theme “faces of freedom.”

woman with flowers and branches titled The Weeping Woman's Contrived Posture

Livestreaming the National Performance Network Annual Conference 2019

National Performance Network

Video

Livestreaming the National Performance Network Annual Conference 2019

from New Orleans, Louisiana

Tuesday 10 December - Friday 13 December 2019

New Orleans, Louisiana

The National Performance Network presents their 2019 Annual Conference livestreaming from New Orleans on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Tuesday 10 December to Friday 13 December 2019.

Storytelling as an Act of Survival

Lama

El Homaïssi

Essay

Storytelling as an Act of Survival

The Tradition of Hakawati and its Influence on We Live in Cairo

10 December 2019

Lama El Homaïssi reflects on her experience working with American Repertory Theater on their musical We Live in Cairo, diving into representation in storytelling, the oral Hakawati tradition, and more.

HowlRound Twitter Chat

Event

HowlRound Twitter Chat

Theatre's Response to Global Colonization and Occupation

26 November 2019

Twitter

Theatremakers, companies, institutions, and communities: How are you responding to the history and present reality of colonization and occupation around the world?

a large group of protesters with a Chilean flag

Theatremaking During Political Crisis

Essay

Theatremaking During Political Crisis

A Conversation with Chilean Playwright Guillermo Calderón

19 November 2019

ArtsEmerson Artistic Director David Dower speaks with Chilean playwright Guillermo Calderón about the ongoing protests in Chile.

How the way she spoke Resuscitated the Power of Storytelling Through Minimalism

Sean Anthony

Chia

Essay

How the way she spoke Resuscitated the Power of Storytelling Through Minimalism

10 November 2019

Sean Anthony Chia examines the impact of a powerful story—one without spectacle—through the lens of Isaac Gomez’s the way she spoke.

Theatre for Development in Malawi

Isaac

Mafuel

Essay

Theatre for Development in Malawi

5 November 2019

Isaac Mafuel talks about Malawi’s most prevalent form of theatre, its history, and its impact and challenges.

actors in front of a colorful wall of newspaper

IETM Rijeka Plenary Meeting

IETM

Video

IETM Rijeka Plenary Meeting

from Rijeka, Croatia

Thursday 24 October to Saturday 26 October 2019

Rijeka, Croatia

IETM presented the IETM Rijeka Plenary Meeting livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network from Thursday 24 October to Saturday 26 October 2019.

two graphs: Are at least half the characters specified as females by the playwright. Are at least half of the characters specified as non-white by the playwright?

What Our New Plays Really Look Like

Marshall

Botvinick

Essay

What Our New Plays Really Look Like

A Statistical Guide to US World Premieres in the 2019–20 Season

21 October 2019

Marshall Botvinick shares the results of the research he undertook about new plays premiering across the United States in the 2019–20 season: who is being produced, what characters are appearing on stage, and what forms and themes are common.

Our Deepest Concerns: A Conversation on Anti-Racism in America

Cambridge Friends School

Video

Our Deepest Concerns: A Conversation on Anti-Racism in America

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).

Performances and Conversations from The Bucharest International Theater Platform #6: My Revolution

Bucharest International Theater Platform

Video

Performances and Conversations from The Bucharest International Theater Platform #6: My Revolution

HUOOOOO!!! by Auăleu, An tan tina by Nicoleta Lefter, and a conversation with Gob Squad

Friday 11 October & Sunday 13 October 2019

Bucharest, Romania

The Bucharest International Theater Platform #6: My Revolution presented a performance of HUOOOOO!!! by Auăleu, a performance of An tan tina by Nicoleta Lefter, and a conversation with Gob Squad livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 11 October and Sunday 13 October 2019.

The Only Thing Black Writers Really Have is Their Relationships

Essay

The Only Thing Black Writers Really Have is Their Relationships

9 October 2019

Producer Tobi Kyeremateng and poet/writer Roger Robinson talk about Black writers in the UK, creative citizenship, activism in the arts, and more.