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Community Theatre

In her study of gender parity in Northeast Ohio community theatre, Christine Wright defined community theatres as “nonequity theatres, those not affiliated with colleges or universities, and those that don’t pay their actors.” In content throughout this section, you’ll find different definitions of and intersections with the term, from a deep-dive into a cross-cultural theatre project in India to a personal reckoning with the term as an alternative to the toxicity of “professional.”

The Latest

Championing Theatre for Development in Malawian Villages
Podcast
Championing Theatre for Development in Malawian Villages
by Fumbani Innot Phiri, Vitu Gwambaike Zgambo
17 January 2023
2022 National Theater Project Regional Convening
Video
2022 National Theater Project Regional Convening
Seeking to Build a Better Understanding of the Challenges and Triumphs of Theatremaking in New England
Wednesday 9 November and Wednesday 16 November
New England
Out of the Frame
Video
Out of the Frame
International Theatre Forum Hosted by Shoshin Theatre Association in Cluj, Romania
Saturday 17 September 2022
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre teaser image with the title at the top and a picture of the guest in the middle.
Championing Theatre for Development in Malawian Villages
Podcast

Championing Theatre for Development in Malawian Villages

17 January 2023

Theatre for development, which uses theatre to foster civic dialogue in communities, is quite popular in Malawi. Fumbani Innot Phiri, Jr. sits down with theatre for development practitioner Vitu Gwambaike Zgambo find out what commercial theatremakers in Malawi’s cities and towns can learn from the community-based practitioners creating theatre in villages around the country.

two actors with their hands on their hips performing on stage.
2022 National Theater Project Regional Convening
Video

2022 National Theater Project Regional Convening

Seeking to Build a Better Understanding of the Challenges and Triumphs of Theatremaking in New England

Wednesday 9 November and Wednesday 16 November
New England

The National Theater Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts presented the 2022 National Theater Project Regional Convening in New England livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 9 November and Wednesday 16 November 2022.

event poster for out of the frame convening with shoshin theatre.
Out of the Frame
Video

Out of the Frame

International Theatre Forum Hosted by Shoshin Theatre Association in Cluj, Romania

Saturday 17 September 2022
Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Shoshin Theatre Association in Cluj, Romania presented Out of the Frame International Theatre Forum livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 17 September at 7 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 11 a.m. UTC / 2 p.m. EEST (Cluj, UTC +3).

Kunafa and Shay Teaser Image.
Multihyphenate Artists
Podcast

Multihyphenate Artists

With Denmo Ibrahim and Sarah Fahmy

25 May 2022

Artistic identities can be complicated, and many theatremakers work equally within two or more disciplines simultaneously. The most interesting work is rarely created in a vacuum. These multidisciplinary artists create diverse projects in all senses of the word, broadening our idea of what theatre can and should be. Today, two such multihyphenate artists, Denmo Ibrahim and Sarah Fahmy, converse about their multiple identities, how they reconcile and manage their myriad expertise, and the role of multihyphenate artists in today’s theatre landscape.

Kunafa and Shay Teaser Image.
Creating the Change: Featuring Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi
Podcast

Creating the Change: Featuring Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi

With Raymond Bobgan and Omar Kurdi

18 May 2022

MENA artists continue to work hard to create representation in large theatrical arenas by pushing for their work to be produced on contemporary stages. However, since some major theatres only allot 1 or 2 slots a year for plays by BIPOC artists, and MENA artists have frequently been ignored. They have found other ways to create thriving artistic spaces for actors, directors, and playwrights alike. Masrah Cleveland Al Arabi has created a space for MENA artists to thrive. This artist-led organizational infrastructure serves as an example of how change can be made within existing theatrical structures. Today we are joined by Raymond Bobgan and Omar Kurdi.

event poster for unrehearsed futures episode 13.
Unrehearsed Futures
Video

Unrehearsed Futures

Episode 13: Theatre for their Communities

Thursday 1 July 2021
Bengaluru, Karnataka

Unrehearsed Futures: Theatre for their Communities livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 30 June 2021 at 8 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 11 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / Thursday 1 July 2021 at 4 a.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 5 a.m. SAST (Cape Town, UTC +2).

Glod in red, a silhouette of a person with their arm raised.
A discussion about Common Wealth's I Have Met the Enemy (and the enemy is us)
Video

A discussion about Common Wealth's I Have Met the Enemy (and the enemy is us)

Part of BÉZNĂ Theatre's GLOD: Political Theatre as a Civil Right series

Monday 3 August 2020
International

Glod: Political Theatre as a Civil Right presented a discussion about Common Wealth's I Have Met the Enemy (and the enemy is us) livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 3 August 2020 at 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 6 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 8 p.m. EEST (Cluj, UTC +3).

two actors onstage
Foundations for a Cross-Cultural Community Theatre in Dharamshala
Essay

Foundations for a Cross-Cultural Community Theatre in Dharamshala

29 July 2020

Parvathi Ramanathan talks about the community-based, cross-cultural theatre project, d.r.i.f.t., in India’s Dharamshala region.

a colorful mural that says community
So You Want to Move to the Developing Neighborhood?
Essay

So You Want to Move to the Developing Neighborhood?

25 June 2019

Jordan Schwartz discusses gentrification in developing neighborhoods, how artists moving in need to work with the existing communities, and what kind of change that can bring about.

actors performing outside
Theatre During a Time of Upheaval
Essay

Theatre During a Time of Upheaval

15 May 2019

Farai Mabeza offers an overview of theatre in Zimbabwe, from the major theatre in the capital city, to smaller community theatres, to the country’s festivals.

a college of multiple landscape photos
Theatre's Part in the Quest to Save Public Land
Essay

Theatre's Part in the Quest to Save Public Land

19 September 2018

Ashley Teague discusses how Notch Theatre Company is using community-led theatre and storytelling to help fight to protect public land. 

When the Invisible Illness Becomes Visible
Essay

When the Invisible Illness Becomes Visible

30 August 2018

Dramaturg Sara Brookner interviews actor/director Megan Simcox about equitable casting, and why they founded ACTive Roles Theatre Company.

Grassroots Theatre Training in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfields
Essay

Grassroots Theatre Training in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfields

4 February 2018

Bob Martin talks about Hurricane Gap Community Theater Institute and how they're supporting an Appalachian grassroots theatre movement. 

Gender Parity in Northeast Ohio Community Theatre
Essay

Gender Parity in Northeast Ohio Community Theatre

5 December 2017

Christine Wright, member of the Northeast Ohio community theatre community, analyzes gender parity in recent Northeast Ohio community theatre seasons.

Love and Information at Aquinas College
Essay

Love and Information at Aquinas College

29 October 2017

Randy Wyatt examines how Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, explored the question of mounting contemporary work in a diverse world with limited resources and within a ‘closed’ academic context through a community-based/academic hybrid production of Caryl Churchill's Love and Information.

After/Life Tells Untold Stories of the '67 Detroit Rebellion
Essay

After/Life Tells Untold Stories of the '67 Detroit Rebellion

16 October 2017

Playwright Lisa Biggs and director Kristin Horton discuss the process of developing After/Life, a new play about the 1967 Rebellion in Detroit, Michigan with Detroit community members.

The Living Stage
Essay

The Living Stage

Building Possibility in the Age of Climate Change

18 September 2017

In the second installment of this series, Lanxing Fu discusses The Living Stage NYC, an intergenerational collaboration between Superhero Clubhouse and the community of Meltzer Towers.

Theatre History Podcast #45
Podcast

Theatre History Podcast #45

Rethinking Amateur Theatricals with David Coates

29 August 2017

David Coates talks about his research into amateur theatricals in the nineteenth century.

Gender Futures
Essay

Gender Futures

A Talk with Christian Appel and Renée Imperato of the TransGenerational Theatre Project

24 August 2017

Patrick Gaughan interviews Christian Appel and Renée Imperato about how they used applied theatre, writing, and utopian world-envisioning to create the all-trans, ensemble- based TransGenerational Theatre Project in NYC. 

Confronting Oppression on Boston’s South Shore with Community-Based Theatre
Essay

Confronting Oppression on Boston’s South Shore with Community-Based Theatre

19 June 2017

Gavin Damore shares about Artists From Surburbia, a theatre initiative on the south shore of Massachusetts.

Community Theatre in South Africa
Essay

Community Theatre in South Africa

25 August 2015

Theatre artist Mxolisi Masilela pens a love letter to South African community theatre.

I Do Community Theatre
Essay

I Do Community Theatre

9 August 2015

Writer and actor Eli Keel describes how his relationship with the terms “professional” and “community” theatre has evolved throughout his life. 

Who’s An Amateur? Shows for Days and The Evolving Definition of “Professional”
Essay

Who’s An Amateur? Shows for Days and The Evolving Definition of “Professional”

21 July 2015

Jonathan Mandell on Douglas Beane’s Shows for Days, and the shifting definitions of "professional theatre" and "theatre professional."

Photo from Winter Pageant.
Winter Pageant at Redmoon
Essay

Winter Pageant at Redmoon

23 January 2014

Dani Snyder-Young writes about Winter Pageant, a collaborative spectacle piece created by the (now closed) Redmoom in Chicago.

Event Banner for Under the Radar.
Culturebot Conversations at Under the Radar in New York
Video

Culturebot Conversations at Under the Radar in New York

Saturday 18 - Sunday 19 January 2014
New York, NY, United States

Under the Radar at the The Public Theater, NYC and Culturebot present round table conversations "Playwrights In Collaborative Processes" and "American Theatre & The Aesthetics of Democracy" livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 18 January and Sunday 19 January 2014—both starting at 9 a.m. PST/ 12 p.m. EST/ 17:00 GMT. In Twitter, use hashtags #howlround and #utr14 to participate in conversation.