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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

Essay
For Palestinian Theatremakers, the Future Is a Dangerous Question
by Bayan Shbib
31 March 2026
Essay
I Don’t Know How He Works in Theatre While Fighting for His Mom’s Right to Healthcare
by Artist Caregiver
17 March 2026
Essay
On Becoming Bird
by Evan Silver
25 April 2025
a focused portrait of an actor
Essay
18 June 2020

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

artist on stage with green projections
Video

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).

digital image of woman's face in blue
Video

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).

digital image of woman's face in blue
Video

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
Video

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).

digital image of woman's face in blue
Video

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
Video

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).

an actor onstage
Essay

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.

digital image of woman's face in blue
Video

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).

actor on webcam
Video

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

Friday 17 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 17 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).

orange kaleidescope
Video

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

Friday 10 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 10 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).

digital image of woman's face in blue
Video

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

Friday 3 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 3 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).

Performer with microphone, raising their hand up
Essay

Daniel Alexander Jones

16 January 2019

Todd London celebrates the work of playwright and performer Daniel Alexander Jones.

Essay

An Arab/Arab American Theatre Collaboration

20 May 2018

For the last few years, professor Catherine Coray has been helping create collaboration opportunities for theatre artists in Arab countries and the Americas. Arab Voices: Stories of Palestine is the most recent iteration, and has taken place in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Beirut.

Essay

Generational Trauma in Hyung Seok Jeon’s A Held Posture

6 May 2018

Dominick DeGaetano reflects on Hyung Seok Jeon’s A Held Posture, which last performed at Theaterlab in New York City in January 2018.

Essay
19 April 2018

James Wyrwicz reflects on how two shows, Say Something Bunny! and Margarete, use found audio and video recordings as the basis for storytelling.

Essay
25 March 2018

Yan Chen talks with poet, performer, and playwright Kit Yan about the intersections of genre and intersections of identity in his work.

Essay
20 March 2018

Peterson Toscano describes his solo show Everything is Connected, which tackles religion, LGBTQ issues, privilege, and climate change.

Essay

One Mother of a Musical

19 October 2017

Dragon Lady, written and performed by Sara Porkalob, brings bring race, female stories, and intersectionality into the American theatre conversation.

Essay
15 October 2017

A conversation between Alex Alpharaoh, David Lozano, and Karen Zacarías about the inspiration for and impact of their works that center the stories of people who are undocumented.

Essay
30 June 2017

Brett Aresco looks at personal comedy theatre and recent shows by Neal Brennan and Mike Birbiglia.

Essay

On the Road with the Minnesota Bard

20 June 2017

Minnesota’s favorite storyteller: Kevin Kling.

Essay

From the Perspective of Black Mothers

20 April 2017

Cherry Lou Sy looks at the one-woman show Mary Speaks written and performed by Angela Polite, about using Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a vehicle to explore black grief.

Essay

Anthony Atamanuik’s Take on Trump, The Election, and Where It All Went Wrong

31 March 2017

Allison Raynor interviews Anthony Atamanuik, a Donald Trump impersonator who critiques both the president and audiences in his latest solo piece.

Essay

a Foreign and Familiar Vision

21 March 2017

Erik Nikander discusses Yaroslava Pulinovich's Russian play Natasha's Dream, presented in New Repertory Theatre in Massachusetts.

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