U.S. by State

Play recommendations from playwright Pearl Cleage for contextualizing the current anger felt by many Americans.

Ricky Young-Howze talks with actor Ali Stroker about changing people’s perceptions about performers with disabilities.

Playwright John J. Caswell, Jr. meditates on the trajectory of queer theatre, and the tendency to normalize the form.

Marissa Wolf, Director of New Works at Kansas City Rep, talks with playwright in residence Nathan Louis Jackson.

Corey Bradberry’s theme and production considerations for staging Moby Dick for a contemporary audience in the deep South.

Neal Reynolds discusses how a play's subject matter may increase the potential for an abusive production process.

Catherine M. Young reflects on the closing of the musical Shuffle Along. 

Chicago-based theatre practitioner, Amber Robinson, reflects on the polyphonic nature of The Goodman Theatre’s adaption of Roberto Bolaño’s novel 2666 and other multi-narrative theatrical works.

Madeline Easley describes how an assignment inspired her to create a platform where people can share stories and write monologues.

Trevor Boffone on Josh Inocéncio’s solo show, Purple Eyes, presented in special collaboration with ProyectoTeatro in Austin, Texas. 

Andrew Bailes on the critical reception of The Bachelors, written by Caroline V. McGraw and directed by Erica Weiss in Chicago, Illinois. 

Chicago-based theatre practitioner Brent Eickhoff considers learning to cope with rejection in a positive manner.

David Levy discusses Noah Diamond’s adaptation and revival of I’ll Say She Is, the musical debut of the Marx Brothers. 

Artistic Director Kimmothy Cole discusses gender fluidity and advocates the need for creating more opportunities transgender, gender-queer, androgynous, and other non-binary actors.

Jonathan Mandell looks at the new production of Runaways, thirty-eight years after the first, and asks: Should a work of theatre allow us to escape from, or force us to engage in, the world?

Lauren Smith discusses Westgate Music, a local music store in Missouri, and offers tips for how theatres can engage with their audiences.

Carlos Morton questions whether Hamilton should be considered a piece of Latina/o theatre.

Actor Lashad Beck shares his tips for dealing with cultural microaggressions during a production.

In this second installment, Rick Stemm delves deeper into his creative process for Heroes Must Die.

Trevor Boffone and Roxanne Schroeder-Arce on the Cara Mía Theatre Company and Dallas Theater Center coproduction of the new play Deferred Action in Dallas, Texas.

Susan J. Terrio reflects on Marissa Chibas Preston’s new play, Shelter, about journey of unaccompanied minors from Mexico to the US, directed by Martin Acosta.