Social Justice & Political Theatre

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

The Latest

Claudia Alick and Calling Up Justice

Podcast

Claudia Alick and Calling Up Justice

Building Our Own Tables Episode #5

by Claudia Alick, Yura Sapi / Viviana Vargas

27 January 2021

Livestreaming a Workshop: One Love: A Racial Justice Theatre Workshop with Dr. Ayshia

Video

Livestreaming a Workshop: One Love: A Racial Justice Theatre Workshop with Dr. Ayshia

One Love pedagogy, a racial justice method for teaching and learning theatre

Monday 11 February 2021

United States

Whose America and Whose Dreams?

Essay

Whose America and Whose Dreams?

by Zeina Salame, Leila Buck, Tamilla Woodard

26 January 2021

Livestreaming a Performance: CRIME: A response to Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoievsky

BÉZNĂ Theatre

Video

Livestreaming a Performance: CRIME: A response to Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoievsky

Performance followed by a panel discussion

Monday 5 April 2021

Romania

Glod: Political Theatre as a Civil Right presents CRIME: A response to Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoievsky livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 5 April at 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 6 p.m. GMT (London, UTC +0) / 8 p.m. EEST (Cluj, UTC +3).

Livestreaming a Performance and Conversation: Corp Urban by Giuvlipen

BÉZNĂ Theatre

Video

Livestreaming a Performance and Conversation: Corp Urban by Giuvlipen

Performance followed by a panel discussion

Monday 22 March 2021

United Kingdom

Glod: Political Theatre as a Civil Right presents extracts of work by Monirah Hashemi livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 22 March at 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 6 p.m. GMT (London, UTC +0) / 8 p.m. EEST (Cluj, UTC +2).

Livestreaming a Workshop: One Love: A Racial Justice Theatre Workshop with Dr. Ayshia

Ayshia

Stephenson

Video

Livestreaming a Workshop: One Love: A Racial Justice Theatre Workshop with Dr. Ayshia

One Love pedagogy, a racial justice method for teaching and learning theatre

Monday 11 February 2021

United States

Dr. Ayshia Mackie-Stephenson presents One Love: A Racial Justice Theatre Workshop with Dr. Ayshia livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 22 February 2021 at 3 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 5 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 6 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

Claudia Alick and Calling Up Justice

Podcast

Claudia Alick and Calling Up Justice

Building Our Own Tables Episode #5

27 January 2021

During this episode of Building Our Own Tables, podcast host Yura Sapi talks with Claudia Alick, founding executive producer of the transmedia social justice company Calling Up Justice.

Whose America and Whose Dreams?

Essay

Whose America and Whose Dreams?

26 January 2021

Zeina Salame sits down for a conversation with Leila Buck and Tamilla Woodard to talk about their most recent creative collaboration, American Dreams, online audience interaction, and more.

Freedom Theatre’s Return to Palestine

BÉZNĂ Theatre

Video

Freedom Theatre’s Return to Palestine

Performance followed by a panel discussion

Monday 25 January 2021

United Kingdom

Glod: Political Theatre as a Civil Right presented Freedom Theatre’s Return to Palestine livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 25 January at 10 a.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 1 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -54) / 6 p.m. GMT (London, UTC +0) / 8 p.m. EET (Cluj, UTC +2).

There’s an array of theatrical talent on display in Kosovo. So why won’t its government support it properly?

verity

healey

Essay

There’s an array of theatrical talent on display in Kosovo. So why won’t its government support it properly?

25 January 2021

verity healey, who spent time in Kosovo for its Theatre Showcase last October, discusses the precarious nature of Kosovo’s independent theatre sector and shares her thoughts about the plays she saw while visiting.

School of Resistance episode twelve poster.

School of Resistance, Episode Twelve: Politics of Interdependence

NTGent

Video

School of Resistance, Episode Twelve: Politics of Interdependence

What would a truly caring world look like?

Thursday 14 January 2021

Brussels, Belgium

What would a truly caring world look like? NTGent presents School of Resistance, Episode Twelve: Politics of Interdependence livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 14 January 2021 at 9 a.m. PST (Los Angeles, UTC -8) / 12 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) / 17:00 GMT (London, UTC +0) / 18:00 CET (Brussels, UTC+1) / 20:00 TRT (Istanbul, UTC +3).

Green New Theater Part 6: Immediate Divestment from Fossil Fuels

Groundwater Arts

Video

Green New Theater Part 6: Immediate Divestment from Fossil Fuels

Y'all, we gotta stop it

Wednesday 13 January 2021

United States

Groundwater Arts presented Green New Theater Part 7: Immediate Divestment from Fossil Fuels (ASL-interpreted) livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 13 January 2021 at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) 5 p.m. MST (Colorado, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

Arts & Healing: Bangsokol Virtual Festival

Cambodian Living Arts

ArtsEmerson

Video

Arts & Healing: Bangsokol Virtual Festival

Seeking to honor victims of violence and explore the healing, hope and resilience of survivors

Monday 14 December to Wednesday 16 December 2020

United States

ArtsEmerson presented two conversations from Arts & Healing: Bangsokol Virtual Festival livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 14 December and Wednesday 16 December 2020.

The Inciting Incident: Art Activism, Social Justice, and Youth Theatre after COVID

#ENOUGH

Video

The Inciting Incident: Art Activism, Social Justice, and Youth Theatre after COVID

Panel Discussion with Hallie Gordon, Barbara Pitts McAdams, Michael Rohd, and Willa Taylor

Tuesday 15 December 2020

United States

#ENOUGH presented The Inciting Incident: Art Activism, Social Justice, and Youth Theatre after COVID livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 15 December 2020 at 12 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 2 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 3 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

Next Generation Voices: Social Change, Youth Activism, and Writing the Future You Want To See

#ENOUGH

Video

Next Generation Voices: Social Change, Youth Activism, and Writing the Future You Want To See

Hosted by Lauren Gunderson and featuring #ENOUGH young playwrights

Sunday 13 December 2020

United States

#ENOUGH presented Next Generation Voices: Social Change, Youth Activism & Writing the Future You Want To See after COVID livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 13 December 2020 at 3:30 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 5:30 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 6:30 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

event poster for school of resistance, episode eleven.

School of Resistance, Episode Eleven: Reproduction, Family, and the Body

NTGent

Video

School of Resistance, Episode Eleven: Reproduction, Family, and the Body

Contemporary feminist futures

Thursday 10 December 2020

Poland

NTGent presented School of Resistance, Episode Eleven: Reproduction, Family, and the Body livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 10 December 2020 at 9 a.m. PST (Los Angeles, UTC -8) / 12 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) / 17:00 GMT (London, UTC +0) / 18:00 CET (Brussels, UTC+1) / 20:00 TRT (Istanbul, UTC +3).

black and white photo of two people in different masks facing each other through glass

Creativity in Strange Times / Creatividad en tiempos extraños

Cris

Tengono

Essay

Creativity in Strange Times / Creatividad en tiempos extraños

Making Performance with a "Lockdown Aesthetic" / Haciendo las obras con un "Lockdown Estética"

2 December 2020

Cris Tengono talks about how, thanks to the pandemic, a virtual artistic world has begun to develop in Colombia—one of infinite possibilities and without borders, where nationalities do not matter—and shares some of the work that has come out of it.

Talkin’ Theatre and Justice: Global Theatremakers, Thinkers, and Their Practice

The Lab at Georgetown

Video

Talkin’ Theatre and Justice: Global Theatremakers, Thinkers, and Their Practice

Led by fellows Jasmin Cardenas (USA), Lloyd Nyikadzino (Zimbabwe), and Hector Flores Komatsu (Mexico)

Monday 23 November 2020

United States

The Fellows at the Georgetown Lab for Global Performance and Politics presented a conversation Talkin’ Theatre and Justice: Global Theatremakers, Thinkers, and Their Practice livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 23 November at 7 a.m. PST (United States, UTC -8) / 9 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -6) / 10 a.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) .

Welcome to Weimar Kunstfest

verity

healey

Essay

Welcome to Weimar Kunstfest

How an Arts Festival is Promoting a Better Germany

23 November 2020

verity healey recaps the multidisciplinary arts festival Kunstfest, which took place in Weimar, Germany in late August and early September this year and tackled issues such as immigration, identity, COVID-19, and the environment.

Insulted. Belarus(sia) by Andrei Kureichik

Rogue Machine

Arlekin Players Theater

illustration of pink cherry tree in full bloom

Cherry Orchard Festival

a B over orange to blue gradient background

BroadBand

Video

Insulted. Belarus(sia) by Andrei Kureichik

Performances in Russian and English followed by a discussion of the current events that inspired the work

Tuesday 17 November to Thursday 19 November 2020

United States

Rogue Machine Theatre, Arlekin Players' Theater, Broadband, and the Cherry Orchard Festival presented readings of Insulted. Belarus(sia) in English and in Russian followed by a conversation about the political unrest in Belarus livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Tuesday 17 November to Thursday 19 November 2020.

An aerial photograph of a picnic table spanning the US Mexico border wall with people eating on either side.

ArtsLink Assembly: Radical Hospitality

CEC ArtsLink

Video

ArtsLink Assembly: Radical Hospitality

Resilience and thriving strategies for 2020 and beyond.

Thursday 15 October to Friday 13 November

Online

The ArtsLink Assembly convened artists, thinkers, organizations, and activists to explore resilience and thriving strategies for art and artists in the (post)-pandemic world in a series of online events and discussions. Livestreamed Thursday 15 October to Friday 13 November 2020.

Liberating Terror

Sayda

Trujillo

Essay

Liberating Terror

Clown and Activism

13 November 2020

Sayda Trujillo talks about white supremacy’s prevalence in clown pedagogy and shares how the invincible spirit of the clown has shaped her, “seeping through every tiny crack possible to make itself present to speak, to laugh, to sing, to bounce, to witness, and to encounter.”

Antiauthoritarian Clowning

L.M.

Bogad

Essay

Antiauthoritarian Clowning

A Tactical Review

12 November 2020

L.M. Bogad shares the story of the beginnings of Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, several tenets of “clownfrontational” tactics, examples of rebel clowning in a different contexts, and more.

three clowns posing with a handmade banner

Action and Reaction / Acción Y Reacción

Essay

Action and Reaction / Acción Y Reacción

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.

a group posing for a photo in front of a white van with "democracy" written on it

Can a Clown Be an Activist?

Essay

Can a Clown Be an Activist?

9 November 2020

Nathaniel Justiniano and Amrita Dhaliwal kick off the clown, bouffon, and activism series, talking about how the clown world has a racism problem and introducing the four contributors who practice their art around the world.

Revolt in Asturias / Rebelión in Asturias

Segal

Center

Video

Revolt in Asturias / Rebelión in Asturias

The American Premiere reading of the 1935 first play by Albert Camus, written for Camus's anti-fascist Théâtre du Travail in Algiers

Tuesday 3 November 2020

United States

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented a reading of Revolt in Asturias / Rebelión in Asturias livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 3 November 2020 at 3:30 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 5:30 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 6:30 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

Call and Response: A Black Lives Matter Q&A for Young People [ASL and Live Captions]

ArtsEmerson

Video

Call and Response: A Black Lives Matter Q&A for Young People [ASL and Live Captions]

Featuring Toshi Reagon, Kwame Alexander, Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson and many more...

Friday 30 October 2020

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

ArtsEmerson presented Call and Response: A Black Lives Matter Q&A for Young People featuring Toshi Reagon, Kwame Alexander, Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson and many more... livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 30 October 2020 at 3:30 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles, UTC -7) / 5:30 p.m. (Chicago, UTC -5) / 6:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 10:30 p.m. GMT (London, UTC +0).

blue graphic of actor onstage against yellow background

(Re)Imagine Civic Theater (ASL interpreted and live captioned)

Seattle Rep

Video

(Re)Imagine Civic Theater (ASL interpreted and live captioned)

A series by Seattle Rep that brings artists and community leaders together

Thursday 29 October 2020

United States

Seattle Rep presented (Re)Imagine Civic Theater livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 29 October 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (Seattle, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. MDT (Denver, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).