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HowlRound Journal

Essay
05 September 2024
A black and white photograph of a group of writers and artists sitting on desks.

Through a Wallace Foundation grant, scholars from the Latinx Theatre Commons co-authored a concept paper comprised of histories, strategies, and suggestions for archiving Latine theatre in all its forms and technologies. Carla Della Gatta introduces the paper with an executive summary and highlights from the report.

Essay
04 September 2024
A dancer performs on stage in front of suspended grey masks.

In the summertime, the city of Berlin is alight with artistic festivals of all kinds. German theatre scholar Thomas Schmidt reflects on some of the theatre festivals of this past summer and posits what makes the Berlin theatre scene so special.

Essay
29 August 2024
A woman wearing white stands on stage in front of projections of different words.

Cori Thomas convenes playwrights based in the United States for a roundtable discussion about working internationally. They parse the differences in new play development and theatregoing cultures in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic.

Essay
28 August 2024
A group of students listen to a radio play in a crowded room.

Through experimental dramaturgy that privileged sound over visuals, Neo Muyanga created the Visual Radio Plays project at the Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg, South Africa. In this essay, Tonderai Chiyindiko explores the histories, theories, and personal connections that inspired the project.
 

Essay
26 August 2024
 Four actors read from a book on a dimly lit stage.

Carmen Salvador shares about Fundación Quien Cuenta Eres Tú’s Children’s Participative Theatre program in Chile and the way they used Playback Theatre to facilitate a space for under-resourced children’s creativity and reflection on their experiences.   

Essay
19 August 2024
Two actor wearing black actors perform on stage in front of a projection of a concrete backdrop.

Lane Michael Stanley offers a toolkit of questions to consider for those who seek to have a community-embedded artistic practice, based on his own experience in recovery housing and his time developing plays with unhoused people.

Essay
05 August 2024
Two actors stand on stage in front of a set made of damaged wood.

Kristin Idaszak shares about Dolores Díaz’s new play Black Sunday that connects the environmental racism during the 1935 Dust Bowl to contemporary migration crises in Chicago.

Essay
01 August 2024
Two women stand face to face on either side of a chain link fence.

In another installment of A Lover’s Guide to American Playwrights, Todd London celebrates the work of Migdalia Cruz, a writer whose plays have been deemed “impossible.” 

Essay
31 July 2024
A man sits on stage on a black box in front of a blue scrim.

Playwright and performer Liam Monaghan details the process behind writing Strange/Familiar, his autofictional play on the themes of adoption and queer belonging. He explores the way contemporary autofictions hold up a mirror to ourselves and our world, reflecting both uncertainty and meaning.

HowlRound TV

Upcoming Video
08 September 2024
event poster for the puppets in the green mountains 2024 festival.
A Crossroads of Invigorating Arts Exchange in the Field of Puppetry

Join international artists and local leaders for three panels exploring festival themes through literature, traditions, history, and social change. Access Through the Arts panels create dialogue between guest artists, community figures, and the audience, offering diverse perspectives on festival topics.

Upcoming Video
09 September 2024
A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
A Playwriting Masterclass

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

Upcoming Video
12 September 2024
shadow puppets on stage.
Reviewing the Application Process and Updated Guidelines for the Creation and Touring Grant

Staff will break down the application process, timeline, and grant guidelines, then close the info session with a Q and A.

Video Available
07 September 2024
event poster for celebrating the life of philip arnoult.
Sharing Our Stories About Actor, Director, Producer, and Global Theatre Connector Philip Arnoult

Join us this Saturday, 7 September, as Philip Arnoult’s family, friends, and collaborators gather at the Baltimore Theatre Project to celebrate his life and work through his way of connecting: telling stories.

Video Available
26 August 2024
A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
A Playwriting Masterclass

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

Video Available
19 August 2024
A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
A Playwriting Masterclass

Watch Me Work is a communal work session for anyone eager to nurture and sustain their creative process. Facilitated by Public Theater Playwright-in-Residence Suzan-Lori Parks and the New Work Development department, Watch Me Work takes place via Zoom sessions and HowlRound livestreams that you can join at home, at school…

Video Available
05 August 2024
portrait of robert wilson sitting at a desk.
A Conference Exploring the Work of Renowned US Theatre Director and Visual Artist Robert Wilson

In celebration of Wilson’s extraordinary career, we invited scholars, critics, and practitioners to contribute to a conference exploring the diverse aspects of his transformative vision and artistic practice. The conference combined in-person and virtual talks, paper presentations, and panel discussions. 

Video Available
29 July 2024
event poster for ring of keys open writing studio with kit yan and melissa yi.
A Look into the Collaborative Writing Process for Musical Theatre

The session gave participants a chance to watch Kit and Melissa collaborate on new material, add methods and skills to their writing toolbelt, get an intimate look at what it means to write collaboratively, learn how to support this process from other roles in the theatre, and participate in a Q and A.
 

Video Available
20 July 2024
Event poster for 24 Hours for Palestine.
A twenty-four hour online event featuring one hundred+ global artists and activists for a free Palestine

A twenty-four hour online event featuring one hundred+ global artists and activists for a free Palestine, including performances and presentations honoring the Palestinian people and their steadfastness in the face of genocide, and discussions of how to build solidarity in the global movement for Palestinian liberation.…

HowlRound Podcasts

Podcast
13 August 2024
A promotional graphic for Kunafa and Shay featuring art from previous episodes.

In the last episode of the fourth season of Kunafa and Shay—which was a historical and classical Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) theatre season—Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson reflect on the season, give some additional insight, and provide a broader overview of their…

Podcast
06 August 2024
A promotional graphic for Kunafa and Shay featuring Samer Al-Saber.

Dr. Samer Al-Saber joins hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson for a conversation around resistant ventriloquism and postcolonial courtesy. Dr. Al-Saber also shares stories from his upcoming book about the Palestinian theatre movement in the 1970s and 1980s.

Podcast
30 July 2024
A promotional graphic for Kunafa and Shay featuring Amir Al-Azraki

Hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson learn from Dr. Amir Al-Azraki about Iraqi theatrical traditions, the birth of modern Iraqi theatre springing from church drama in Mosul in the late nineteenth century, Iraqi plays in translation, and Afro-Iraqi theatre. 

Podcast
23 July 2024
A promotional graphic for Kunafa and Shay.

Hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson are joined by Fidaa Ataya, a Palestinian storyteller who talks with us about the tradition of the hakawati and how she and her work are looking at different forms of storytelling from ancient traditions to new ways of storytelling in Palestine.

Podcast
09 July 2024
A promotional graphic for Kunafa and Shay featuring Mazen Alaa.

Nubia has a long history of theatre, both before and after the displacement of the 1960s. In this episode, hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson highlight Nubian theatre, including the only Nubian opera, Opera El Aml by Mohy El Din Sherif. With special guest Mazen Alaa from Nubian Geographic, this episode focus on Nubian…

Podcast
02 July 2024
A promotional graphic for Kunafa and Shay featuring Sarah Fahmy

Hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson look at MENA and SWANA puppetry traditions with guest artivist Dr. Sarah Fahmy. They talk about her production of the first recorded full play in English of Ibn Daniyal, The Shadow Spirit; the Aragoz Puppet; and, coming more into current puppetry practice by MENA folks, Fahmy's own…

Podcast
25 June 2024
A promotional graphic for Kunafa and Shay featuring Ottoman Art.

Hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson discuss Ottoman theatre, emphasizing its significance in global theatre history. They highlight the Ottoman Empire as a pivotal point of cultural exchange comparable to the Greek and Roman empires. They focus on three major forms of traditional theatre—Ortaoyunu, Karagöz, and Meddah—and…

Podcast
18 June 2024
A promotional graphic for Kunafa and Shay featuring ancient architecture.

Hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson talk about Egyptian playwright Tawfiq al-Hakim and his “unstageable” classic play People of the Cave. They provide historical context of the play, al-Hakim’s career, and the Christian and Islamic stories that served as al-Hakim’s inspiration.

Podcast
13 June 2024
Promotional graphic for building our own tables featuring Malia'Kekia Nicolini

In this final episode of season four, ​​Malia'Kekia, co-founder of B4 The Other Creations, explores how play and vulnerability drive transformational breakthroughs. Malia'Kekia shares their journey as an educator and leader, emphasizing the power of releasing perfectionism and embracing the unknown. The episode highlights…

HowlRound Recommends

This month, we're celebrating the Back To School season with a collection of pieces by and for educators!

Essay
23 October 2023
A large group of people standing in a circle on a stage with one person crouched in the center.

Theatre educator Sofia Lindgren Galloway explores the complicated question of whether one should use content warnings when teaching theatre, and offers an approach for others to consider.

Series
A promotional graphic for Teaching Theatre.
A Podcast About the Practice and Pedagogy of Theatre Education

Teaching Theatre examines the challenges facing theatre training programs post-pandemic. Each episode invites theatre educators and practitioners into the conversation as they interrogate topics like collaboration, inclusive programming, and work ethic while offering up ideas, strategies, and…

Essay
19 March 2024
Deen Rawlins-Harris stands in front of a scenic vista.

Teaching-artist Deen Rawlins-Harris reflects on their time facilitating an educational theatre residency at a school in St. John, United States Virgin Islands (STJ). They viewed Cinnamon Bay, a beach in STJ, as a teacher, and learned lessons that helped them have a stronger connection to students and reject settler colonial…

Essay
24 October 2023
Ten actors link arms with each other during a performance.

Theatre professor John Michael DiResta reflects on teaching queer theatre history to students who have had very different lived queer experiences than he had growing up. By investigating queer theatrical history from a contemporary lens and with an invitation to engage and make something new, his students were able to find…

Essay
02 September 2020
a laptop open to a presentation and written notes/sketches in front of it

Michelle Souza looks at how costume designers and educators can dismantle the status quo of Western-focused, chronological teaching of historical garments and move toward a pedagogy that acknowledges and honors diversity, intersectionality, and globalism.

Essay
30 May 2023
Five people performing in a large room with black walls covered in random items.

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.

Essay
23 March 2023
A performer wearing black and a mask standing on top of a box with arms in the air.

Theatre artist and educator Katie Butler discusses the need to recalibrate movement practice toward accessibility and body autonomy, and shares her own experience navigating changes in her body’s abilities.

Essay
18 October 2021
A woman cutting a girl's hair.

Eve Bernfeld discusses creating a culture of care in her Alexander Technique classes by paying attention to embodiment. She asks: What if we heal the false rift between mind and body in our theatre making and training?

Essay
14 October 2021
Three actors sitting on white cubes onstage.

Kim Messer writes about the potential impact that anti-trans laws aimed at school athletics could have a broader impact on theatre students. To prepare themselves to advocate for students, theatre educators must deepen their own understanding of these policies.

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