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Welcome to HowlRound

Welcome to HowlRound

We're a free and open platform for theatremakers worldwide, and we've been amplifying progressive and disruptive ideas about theatre and facilitating connections between diverse practitioners for the past decade. We function as a “commons”—a social structure that invites open participation around shared values. We believe Black Lives Matter.

All of the content (essays, videos, podcasts) on HowlRound comes from the theatre community who chooses to participate—that means you! Generosity from our community allows us to keep all our programs 100% free and open, and enables us to compensate our contributors—send us a donation to help support our continued work.

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Livestreams Happening Today

event poster for Andy Field’s Encounterism.
Andy Field, Deborah Pearson, and Ira Brand Talk about Forest Fringe—an Independent, Not-for-Profit Space in the Edinburgh Festival

For over ten years, Forest Fringe has built a community of artists and playwrights. Each year they return to Edinburgh they experiment with different ways of doing things and new contexts to accommodate even the most unusual experiences. Meanwhile they’ve also started exploring beyond the festival, creating new projects across the UK and internationally, including a festival in an old cinema in the center of Bangkok, a series of performances on night buses across London, and a traveling library of audio experiences.

Event streams later today at listed time.
event poster for the conversation Muslims in the Margins.
A Joyful Panel on Underrepresented Perspectives

“There are three billion Muslims out there with inherently unique stories and you keep telling the same one. What does that mean?” “It means people want to keep hearing it.” Lines from Rehana Lew Mirza’s play Hatefuck ring truer than ever in a time where Muslim representation is growing yet still predictably homogenous.

Event streams later today at listed time.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work event poster.
A Playwriting Masterclass

Watch Me Work is a performance piece, a meditation on the artistic process, and an actual work session featuring Suzan-Lori Parks working on her newest writing project. Traditionally hosted on the mezzanine of the Public Theater Lobby, this version will bring the program to your home via Zoom sessions and HowlRound livestreams.

Event streams later today at listed time.

What's New

Promotional graphic with text that reads "We're hiring" and "Content editor."
We’re Hiring a Content Editor!
Essay

We’re Hiring a Content Editor!

1 June 2023

We are seeking a part-time, remote content editor to work with HowlRound contributors and staff.

From the Ground Up Podcast Teaser image featuring guest profile image.
Opening the National Theatre’s Doors to Devised Work
Podcast

Opening the National Theatre’s Doors to Devised Work

31 May 2023

Stewart Pringle, senior dramaturg at the National Theatre, sheds light on the theatre’s Generate program. Jeffrey Mosser and Stewart discuss the problem with the term “literary department,” when to take a risk, and why it’s important that the big fish in the big pond makes the investment in smaller-scale ensemble-based companies.

Five people performing in a large room with black walls covered in random items.
How Training and Education Can Create a Greener Performing Arts Sector
Essay

How Training and Education Can Create a Greener Performing Arts Sector

30 May 2023

Iphigenia Taxopoulou discusses the need for increased environmental literacy in the performing arts sector and describes many forward-thinking initiatives that train students and professionals alike for ecological transition.

Upcoming Livestreams

event poster for MENA Playwrights on Storytelling, with UW & Cal Poly Theatre Students.
NO SUMMARY: MENA Playwrights on Storytelling, with University of Washington and California Polytechnic State University Theatre Students
Video

NO SUMMARY: MENA Playwrights on Storytelling, with University of Washington and California Polytechnic State University Theatre Students

Delving into the Challenges and Opportunities of Bringing Diverse Stories to the Stage

Wednesday 7 June 2023
United States

The panel will be joined by a MENA American theatre class at California Polytechnic State University, designed by professor Hala Baki to imagine how MENA theatre can contribute to a more inclusive American culture, and a plays and styles drama class at the University of Washington, taught by Mona Merhi, who focused the course on topics related to race, ethnicity, and identity representation by examining the works of playwrights from the MENA region alongside modern and contemporary Western texts.

an actor on stage in performance of evelyn brown.
Conversation with the Original María Irene Fornés Design Team
Video

Conversation with the Original María Irene Fornés Design Team

Reuniting for the first ever revival of Evelyn Brown: (A Diary), Scenic Designer Donald Eastman, Costume Designer Gabriel Berry and Stage Manager Peter Littlefield discuss their long time collaboration with Fornés

Wednesday 7 June 2023
New York City

Dramaturg Gwendolyn Alker engages in a post-show conversation with Donald Eastman and Gabriel Berry—two members of María Irene Fornés’s design team—about the various shows they designed for Fornés, as well as their current work on the first-ever revival of Evelyn Brown (A Diary). Peter Littlefield, the stage manager for the original 1980 production, will also join.

event poster for afrolatine superfriends with candido tirado.
AfroLatine Superfriends Playwriting Hour with Cándido Tirado
Video

AfroLatine Superfriends Playwriting Hour with Cándido Tirado

An AfroLatine-Led Playwriting Series Featuring Writers/Theatremakers from Across the United States

Thursday 8 June 2023
United States

The AfroLatine Superfriends Playwriting Hour is an incredible opportunity to learn from AfroLatine-led playwrights and theatremakers from all corners of the United States. With a wealth of experience, they will share their writing practices, experiences, and insightful anecdotes on the process, inspiration, and practices of dramatic writing. Live human-edited captions and American Sign Language (ASL) will be available for all live sessions, and human-edited closed captions will available on the archival video.

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