Solo Performance

In solo performances, a single actor performs a piece. In this section, you’ll find reflections on work like this, such as Lover’s Guide to American Playwrights on Daniel Alexander Jones, as well as thoughts from creators and performers like Eric Bogosian’s “Monologue as Performance.”

The Latest

Lambe-Lambe and the Radical Generosity of Miniature Puppet Theatre

Essay

Lambe-Lambe and the Radical Generosity of Miniature Puppet Theatre

by Kristin Idaszak

10 October 2023

Composting Queer Trauma through a Collaborative Process in SEAL

Essay

Composting Queer Trauma through a Collaborative Process in SEAL

by Rachel Pottern Nunn, Dante Fuoco, Clara Weist

24 August 2023

Tipi Tales from the Stoop: A Performance by Murielle Borst-Tarrant (Kuna/Rappahannock)

Video

Tipi Tales from the Stoop: A Performance by Murielle Borst-Tarrant (Kuna/Rappahannock)

Performance and Post-Show Discussion at Brown University

Tuesday 29 November 2022

United States

A woman holding a tiny doll with glasses up to the camera.

Lambe-Lambe and the Radical Generosity of Miniature Puppet Theatre

Kristin

Idaszak

Essay

Lambe-Lambe and the Radical Generosity of Miniature Puppet Theatre

10 October 2023

Kristin Idaszak reflects on experiencing Nina Vogel’s lambe-lambe piece ConCordis at the Prague Quadrennial. This deceptively simple puppet performance aided Kristin in processing her feelings about her work in theatre while navigating chronic illness, and also reminded her of the deep connection to the universe that we all share.

A man stands on stage in the middle of a spotlight, with a projection behind him of him as a child.

Composting Queer Trauma through a Collaborative Process in SEAL

Essay

Composting Queer Trauma through a Collaborative Process in SEAL

24 August 2023

As writer-performer Dante Fuoco and director Clara Wiest came together to rework Dante’s autobiographical solo show SEAL, they developed a process that centered intentional care and trauma-informed practices. In this interview with Rachel Pottern Nunn, Clara and Dante reflect upon the production, discuss the relationship between writer/performer and director, and share insights from their generative process.

Tipi Tales from the Stoop: A Performance by Murielle Borst-Tarrant (Kuna/Rappahannock)

Brown Arts Institute

Video

Tipi Tales from the Stoop: A Performance by Murielle Borst-Tarrant (Kuna/Rappahannock)

Performance and Post-Show Discussion at Brown University

Tuesday 29 November 2022

United States

My family first came to New York City in the late 1800’s from Virginia and bought a house in Brooklyn and raised four generations. This story is about my family’s blood flow that is here on this land of New York City. How we as a family had to keep tradition alive. The performance and post-show discussion livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Tuesday 29 November 2022. This video archive is closed captioned.

Autobiography

Podcast

Autobiography

12 October 2022

In this episode, hosts Zsófi and Bíborka take apart autobiographical theatre with stage director Panni Néder, actress Judit Tarr, actor and director László Göndör, and director and dramaturg Kristóf Kelemen. Together they delve into their approach to autobiographical material, playing themselves versus acting, their lives after creating a highly personal show, and the nuances of someone else playing them onstage.

Shakespeare in Gdansk: A Vessel for Past, Present, and Future

Monica

Payne

Essay

Shakespeare in Gdansk: A Vessel for Past, Present, and Future

29 September 2022

Monica Payne recaps the 26th international Gdansk Shakespeare Festival, where artists from around the globe adapted, deconstructed, and celebrated Shakespeare’s plays through boldly contemporary productions.

PUHA Season 1 Episode 2 w/ Gergö David Farkas, Kemelo Sehlapelo, and Veronika Szabó.

Queerness and Gender

Podcast

Queerness and Gender

14 September 2022

In this week’s episode of PUHA podcast, co-hosts Bíborka and Zsófi navigate their way through a discussion of what queerness means with performer, actress, and director Veronika Szabó; contemporary dancer Kemelo Sehlapelo; and dancer, choreographer, and clubber Gergő Dávid Farkas. Together, they contemplate identities, responsibility, and the way queer people exist in society.

I Write What Comes Up in My Body: Robbie McCauley's Theatre

Podcast

I Write What Comes Up in My Body: Robbie McCauley's Theatre

24 August 2022

In this episode, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley look at the life and legacy of playwright Robbie McCauley, who recently passed away. They discuss her work as a pioneer of solo performance as a Black woman and how she impacted the world of Black feminist theatre.

Learning from Sources: Performance and Climate Crisis in Four Brazilian Works

Martin

Domecq

Essay

Learning from Sources: Performance and Climate Crisis in Four Brazilian Works

20 April 2022

In Martin Domecq’s contribution to the Climate Emergency series, he puts four Brazillian performance art pieces in conversation to draw upon the poetic, political, and civic lessons they offer. These performances—which range from installations to solo and group performances—model possible paradigms that work against ecological crisis.

Gender Euphoria, Episode 8: QTPOC Comedy: Connecting, Communing, Creating Compassion

Nicolas Shannon

Savard

D'Lo

Podcast

Gender Euphoria, Episode 8: QTPOC Comedy: Connecting, Communing, Creating Compassion

With D’Lo

28 March 2022

Gender Euphoria, the Podcast host Nicolas Shannon Savard sits down with actor, writer, and comedian D’Lo to talk about his career and how he uses comedy and storytelling as tools for connection, education, and compassion.

Gender Euphoria, Episode 6: Putting on the Trans Educator Top Hat

Podcast

Gender Euphoria, Episode 6: Putting on the Trans Educator Top Hat

With Rebecca Kling

21 March 2022

Gender Euphoria, the Podcast, host Nicolas Shannon Savard sits down with storyteller, educator, and advocate for transgender rights, Rebecca Kling. Their conversation addresses Rebecca’s work as a solo performer-turned-activist, the importance of consent in deciding to take on the trans educator role, and her radical and hilarious approach to the post-show talkback: the Strip Q and A.

a person standing behind a table with multiple handheld two-way radios

Fire Season

Alice

Stanley Jr.

Essay

Fire Season

Making Site-Specific Theatre About Climate Change that Could Be Threatened by Climate Change

17 December 2020

Playwright and environmentalist Alice Stanley Jr. shares her experience of Capital W’s newest immersive theatre piece, Fire Season—a play about climate change that took place in the Santa Monica Mountains during this year’s wildfires.

Downtown Variety: Take 16

CultureHub

La MaMa

Video

Downtown Variety: Take 16

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 11 December 2020

United States

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Take 16 livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 11 December 2020 at 5 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 7 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 8 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

Downtown Variety: Take 15

CultureHub

La MaMa

Video

Downtown Variety: Take 15

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 23 October 2020

New York City

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Take 15 livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 23 October 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Downtown Variety: Take 14

La MaMa

CultureHub

Video

Downtown Variety: Take 14

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 18 September 2020

New York City

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Take 14 livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 18 September 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

collage of nine stills of a person in a yellow shirt posing with yellow fruit.

Downtown Variety: Take 13

CultureHub

La MaMa

Video

Downtown Variety: Take 13

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 14 August 2020

United States

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Take 13 livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 14 August 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Café La MaMa Live: July Month

La MaMa

Video

Café La MaMa Live: July Month

Hosted and Curated by Mateo Hurtado, in association with the Brown Theatre Collective

Tuesday 21 July 2020

New York City

La MaMa Experimental Theater Club presented Café La MaMa Live: July Month livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 21 July 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) / 1 p.m HST (Honoloulu UTC-10) / 3 p.m. AKDT (Anchorage, UTC-8).

Finding a Live Audience in Virtual Theatre

Edward

Einhorn

Essay

Finding a Live Audience in Virtual Theatre

18 June 2020

Edward Einhorn talks about adapting his play Performance for One into an online experience.

Downtown Variety: X

La MaMa

CultureHub

Video

Downtown Variety: X

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 5 June 2020

United States

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: X livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 5 June 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

Downtown Variety: Take 9

La MaMa

CultureHub

Video

Downtown Variety: Take 9

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 22 May 2020

New York City

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Take 9 livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 22 May 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

Downtown Variety: Take 8

La MaMa

CultureHub

Video

Downtown Variety: Take 8

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 8 May 2020

New York City

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Take 8 livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 8 May 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

Benjamin Scheuer, Sean Daniels, and a production of Lauren Gunderson's The Heath

Writing the Personal Epic with Benjamin Scheuer + Sean Daniels

Lauren

Gunderson

Video

Writing the Personal Epic with Benjamin Scheuer + Sean Daniels

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Monday 4 May 2020

United States

Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented Writing the Personal Epic with Benjamin Scheuer + Sean Daniels livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 4 May 2020 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 19:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 20:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

Downtown Variety: Take 7

CultureHub

La MaMa

Video

Downtown Variety: Take 7

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 1 May 2020

New York City

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Take 7 livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 1 May 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

blue digital background with text cafe la mama live

Café La MaMa Live: Take 4

La MaMa

CultureHub

Video

Café La MaMa Live: Take 4

Weekly live performances that experiment with form.

Tuesday 28 April 2020

New York City

La MaMa Experimental Theater Club and CultureHub presented Café La MaMa Live: Take 4 livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 28 April 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).

I Am the Damage We Have Done to the Earth

Hanna

Cormick

Essay

I Am the Damage We Have Done to the Earth

Intersections of the Climate Crisis and Disability

28 April 2020

Performance artist Hanna Cormick talks about how she uses her body as a metaphor for the damage humans do to the earth, and calls for a more sustainable relationship to our bodies and nature.

Downtown Variety: Take 6

CultureHub

La MaMa

Video

Downtown Variety: Take 6

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 24 April 2020

New York City

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 24 April 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).