Journal Series

The Devising Our Future series asks theatremakers to consider a future theatre field where resources and power are shared equitably in all directions, contributing to a more just and sustainable world. This series is curated by HowlRound Theatre Commons as part of our tenth anniversary celebration.

Submit your ideas for the future

This series aims to build a deeper understanding of what work is being done and engage in discussions around the impact of structural oppression on our communities, the social position of designers in the larger theatre industrial complex, the interconnectedness of artistry and advocacy, and strategies for co-creating a roadmap into the future.

The events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have dragged performers into a sort of ideological rabbit hole, entirely dislocated from the artifice and audiences that comprise the more familiar theatrical experience. After more than a year of adapting rehearsals and sharing Zoom link tickets, many of these changes have forced artists to reimagine every aspect of their work on both sides of the curtain. Puppetry—with a unique and diverse relationship to theatrical space, and the plasticity of its performers—has, historically, found itself well-positioned to thrive in ever changing, often hidden, and deliberately reimagined environments like the ones we endure today. This series draws on work by a wide range of professionals hailing from both academic and performance fields to explore the unique power of puppets in their spaces, existing between the real and imagined, supremely adaptable to a world turned upside down.

Ignited is an occasional series that delivers on-the-ground communiques from the Latinx Theatre Commons’ (LTC) El Fuego initiative.

In this conversation series, software engineers, musicians, culture-shaping collectives, writers, and ritual makers look at how the internet has been and is a critical unsung part of our new narrative. These makers contemplate intention, play, genesis, open-source, context collapse, collaborative mediums, and data collection, and dive into the call to action for a more robust dramaturgy and intention around the World Wide Web.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on many artists’ livelihoods, but especially performance and theatre artists. From the lens of a group of queer artists, this series offers a hyper-specific look at how artists living in Bogotá have been surviving and adapting during the pandemic. / COVID-19 ha hecho estragos para los sustentos de muchas artistas, especialmente artistas de performance y teatro. De los perspectives de un grupo de artistes cuir, esta serie se ofreca una vista hiperespcífica de cómo artistas viviendo en Bogotá ha estado sobreviviendo y adaptando durante la pandemia.

This series features a selection of folx from around the world who are all part of a long and diverse heritage of clown activists who subvert bigots and in cultivate hope in hard-hit communities. From rural villages to urban centers, from popular protests to refugee camps, each of our contributors use grit and humor to activate their communities toward equity and justice.

Earlier this year, Mark Valdez, hungering for public discourse around the future of the American theatre field, prompted three arts leaders with the question, “What is our purpose now?”

A series of guides on how to produce your livestream events which prioritize accessibility, inclusion, low carbon practices, and the commons.