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Political Theatre

Content here focuses on theatremakers, companies, and projects engaging with politics and political action. A great example of the power of this work is the video series Political Theatre as a Civil Right from the British-Romanian political theatre company BÉZNĂ Theatre.

The Latest

Viewpoints for Achieving Authentic Representation of Roma Communities on Stage
Essay
Viewpoints for Achieving Authentic Representation of Roma Communities on Stage
by Tímea Éva Bogya, Márton Illés
27 March 2024
Should We Write Differently About Roma Theatre?
Essay
Should We Write Differently About Roma Theatre?
by Noémi Herczog, Éva Moharos
25 March 2024
How LUNG Is Breathing Radical Joy into Theatre in the United Kingdom
Essay
How LUNG Is Breathing Radical Joy into Theatre in the United Kingdom
by verity healey, Matt Woodhead, Helen Monks
5 March 2024
Discussion of Political Correctness in Comedy
Video

Discussion of Political Correctness in Comedy

Friday 13 November 2015
Boston, MA, United States

Emerson College presented the panel discussion Comedy and Campus Culture livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 13 November at 11 a.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 1 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 2 p.m. EST (Boston) / 7 p.m. GMT (London) / 8 p.m. CET (Amsterdam). Submit your questions for the panel via email to [email protected]. In Twitter, Follow @ECSoArts@HowlRoundTV, and use hashtag #howlround.

Performances in the Temps d’Images Festival / Independent Performing Arts Platform
Video

Performances in the Temps d’Images Festival / Independent Performing Arts Platform

Thursday 12 November - Saturday 14 November 2015
Cluj, Romania

Temps d’Images Festival / Independent Performing Arts Platform in Cluj, Romania presented She’s a Good Boy by Compania 28, Cunthate [ură] by BÉZNĂ Theatre, and Domestic Products livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 12 November to Saturday 14 November. In Twitter, use #howlround and follow @HowlRoundTV

Marcus Gardley on An Issue of Blood and The Gospel of Lovingkindness
Essay

Marcus Gardley on An Issue of Blood and The Gospel of Lovingkindness

11 November 2015

Part interview, part photo essay, part play excerpts, Rebecca Stevens goes in-depth with playwright Marcus Gardley on his two recent productions at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, Illinois. 

The Art of Justice: Articulating an Ethos and Aesthetic of the Movement
Video

The Art of Justice: Articulating an Ethos and Aesthetic of the Movement

Saturday 7 November 2015.
New York, NY, United States

The Art of Justice: Articulating an Ethos and Aesthetic of the Movement presented its first convening in a three-part series of artist roundtables, livestreamed on the global, commons based peer-produced HowlRoundTV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 7 November. To join the conversation via Twitter use hashtag #TheArtofJustice and follow @cccadi and @nyuartspolitics.

Black Lives Matter, Ferguson, and Troy Davis
Essay

Black Lives Matter, Ferguson, and Troy Davis

Writing about a Moving Target

6 November 2015

Playwright Lee Nowell talks about the development of Beyond Reasonable Doubt: The Troy Davis Project and speaks with playwrights Gabrielle Fulton and Phillip DePoy about creating work today that deals with race.

Debate on Arts & Democracy from the Opening Plenary Session of IETM Budapest
Video

Debate on Arts & Democracy from the Opening Plenary Session of IETM Budapest

Thursday 5 November 2015
Budapest, Hungary

IETM—international network for contemporary performing arts—presented a Debate on Arts & Democracy from the opening plenary session of IETMBudapest livestreamed on the global, commons based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 5 November at 1 a.m.-3 a.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 4 a.m.-6 a.m. EST (New York) / 9 a.m.-11 a.m. GMT (London) / 10 a.m.-12 p.m. CET (Budapest) / 14:30-16:30 IST (New Delhi) / 17:00-19:00 SGT (Singapore) / 20:00-22:00 AEDT (Sydney). In Twitter, use #IETMBudapest to comment and participate in the conversation.

The launch of ArtChangeUS: Arts in a Changing America
Video

The launch of ArtChangeUS: Arts in a Changing America

Monday 26 October 2015
New York, NY, United States

ArtChangeUS: Arts in a Changing America presented its launch event livestreamed on the global, commons based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 26 October. It is a new, five-year initiative that seeks to explore and understand the dramatic demographic transformation of the United States and its profound impact on arts and culture.

The Every 28 Hours Plays
Video

The Every 28 Hours Plays

New One-Minute Plays Inspired by the Black Lives Matter Movement

Saturday 24 October 2015
Ashland, OR, United States

The One-Minute Play Festival and Oregon Shakespeare Festival presented The Every 28 Hours Plays—new one-minute plays inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement—livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 24 October at 6 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 8 p.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 9 p.m. EDT (New York) from the Kranzberg Arts Center in St. Louis, Missouri. In Twitter, use #Every28Hours and #1MPF.

Every 28 Hours
Essay

Every 28 Hours

Creating a Performance for Ferguson

24 October 2015

Actor/playwright Joe Wilson, Jr. discusses his experience and the cultural climate in St. Louis during the Every 28 Hours Project workshops.

A Call for Theatre That Depicts The Reality of Mediterranean Immigrants
Essay

A Call for Theatre That Depicts The Reality of Mediterranean Immigrants

5 October 2015

Minna Vallaste argues for the importance of theatre pieces that speak directly to international social issues and inspire change and action.

Hands Up Hoodies Down by Zell Miller III and Chelsea Manasseri
Video

Hands Up Hoodies Down by Zell Miller III and Chelsea Manasseri

Saturday 19 September 2015
Austin, TX, United States

 

The VORTEX in Austin, Texas presented Hands Up Hoodies Down—the return of this critically-acclaimed hip hop theatre and dance piece for our times—livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 19 September at 8 p.m. CDT (Austin) / 6 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 9 p.m. EDT (New York). 

Beyond the Hashtag—a conversation on using art and technology to combat the criminalization of our communities
Video

Beyond the Hashtag—a conversation on using art and technology to combat the criminalization of our communities

Tuesday 15 September 2015
New York, NY, United States

The Ford Foundation hosted Beyond the Hashtag, a conversation on using art and technology to combat the criminalization of our communities livestreamed on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 15 September at 7 p.m. EDT (New York) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 23:00 GMT. 

Seattle’s eSe Teatro
Essay

Seattle’s eSe Teatro

An Avant-Garde for the Undocumented

15 September 2015

Christopher Goodson on Rose Cano’s adaptation, Don Quixote: Homeless in Seattle, produced by eSe Teatro in Seattle, Washington.

Performance of Ebony Stewart’s Hunger 
Video

Performance of Ebony Stewart’s Hunger 

Friday 4 September 2015
Austin, TX, United States

The VORTEX in Austin, Texas presented Hunger by local playwright and poet Ebony Stewart livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 4 September at 9 p.m. EDT (New York) / 8 p.m. CDT (Austin) / 6 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 01:00 GMT Saturday 5 September / 11 a.m. AEST Saturday 5 September (Sydney). In Twitter, use #howlround and follow @HowlRoundTV.

Latinos and the Rebirth of Post-Katrina New Orleans
Essay

Latinos and the Rebirth of Post-Katrina New Orleans

29 August 2015

José Torres-Tama writes about his experience in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina, ten years ago.

A Flourishing Theatre
Essay

A Flourishing Theatre

Satire and Political Critique at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa

25 August 2015

Paul Adolphsen explores major themes of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa.

The Gift of Belonging
Essay

The Gift of Belonging

A Journey Into South African Theatre

23 August 2015

Antonio Lyons describes his evolving relationship to South Africa and discusses the country’s rich theatrical history.

Art is not Escapism. Art is Activism
Essay

Art is not Escapism. Art is Activism

a conversation with Amanda Farnsworth of Random Acts of Theatre Company

17 August 2015

LaTeshia Ellerson talks with Amanda Farnsworth about her work as an artist and activist in Selma, Alabama.

Power! Stokely Carmichael at the Capital Fringe
Essay

Power! Stokely Carmichael at the Capital Fringe

13 August 2015

Patricia Davis on Mehshaun Labrone’s Power! Stokely Carmichael at Washington DC’s Capital Fringe Festival.

Fringe NYC
Essay

Fringe NYC

From Silly Titles to Serious Issues

6 August 2015

Jonathan Mandell on the serious fare on display at the forthcoming New York International Fringe Festival.

Convening on Art, Identity, and Movements for Change
Video

Convening on Art, Identity, and Movements for Change

Tuesday 23 June 2015

 

The Ford Foundation presented the convening Art, Identity, and Movements for Change livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 23 June.

Johanna
Essay

Johanna

Facing Forward from Victim to Advocate

7 July 2015

Amy Schwabauer on Tlaloc Rivas’ Johanna: Facing Forward, co-produced by Cleveland Public Theatre and Teatro Publico de Cleveland. 

Music and Movements
Essay

Music and Movements

Cry You One at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas

2 July 2015

David Bruin on Mondo Bizarro and ArtSpot Productions’ Cry You One at the Arts & Ideas Festival in New Haven, Connecticut.

Tom Kirdahy on Love, Law, Marriage, Producing Theatre, and Making a Difference
Essay

Tom Kirdahy on Love, Law, Marriage, Producing Theatre, and Making a Difference

1 July 2015

Jonathan Mandell talks with Producer Tom Kirdahy about celebrating a marriage three times and how theatre can make a difference.

Unloose This Tied Up Justice
Essay

Unloose This Tied Up Justice

SHAKE 38 and the Measure4Measure Project

22 June 2015

Jennifer Wintzer shares SHAKE 38’s Measure4Measure Project connecting youth in St. Louis with youth in New York City around the conflict in Ferguson.