Content in this section focuses on theatremakers having conversations and creating work across geographical and cultural borders. There are many examples of powerful work here, but for those interested in learning more, consider starting with “Ten Transformative Ideas for Community-Building and Cross-Cultural Exchange.”
The Latest
Essay
On a Theatrical Pilgrimage to See Carolina Bianchi and Cara de Cavalo's Chapter II: The Brotherhood
by Amanda L. Andrei
6 April 2026
Essay
Presence Before Performance at ODIN HOME
by Melvin Ningyao Yen
3 March 2026
Video
A Performance of The Pelicot Trial: Tribute to Gisèle Pelicot
Ada Mukhina sits down with global artists and theatremakers—Kiyo Gutiérrez from Mexico, Teddy Mangawa from Zimbabwe, Dijana Milošević from Serbia, and Trà Nguyễn from Vietnam—to discuss their strategies for incorporating both care and risk in performance.
Cynthia Schneider reviews artists’ influence on political change in the twentieth century and today, tracing an evolution of cultural diplomacy toward local artists. Her talk, originally presented in spring 2025, serves as a reminder of what culture-bearers can accomplish.
This Cultural Mobility Webinar focuses on the international circulation of Indigenous artists and the collective consideration of several key areas to provide a comprehensive understanding of the essential aspects of Indigenous arts professionals’ circumstances.
A Space for Artists, Technologists, Scholars, and Audiences to Create Agency in the Face of End Times Fascism
Wednesday 4 June to Friday 6 June 2025
Ontario, Canada
FOLDA’s eighth edition continues its mission of uniting audiences through innovative, thought-provoking live performances that challenge conventions and spark conversation.
As part of the LINKAGES: Ukraine program, Ukrainian and US American playwrights come together to discuss their work, methods, worries, and strategies for living and writing in difficult times.
Showcasing the Work of Renowned International Theatre Artists
Thursday 1 May to Monday 5 May 2025
New York City
Featuring selected works by Kaite O'Reilly (Ireland/United Kingdom), Kathrine Nedrejord (Norway), Christos Panagiotakis (Greece), and Haeyoul Bae (South Korea).
This year, we end the festival with a journey across the water as a special WE WILL DREAM delegation joins the 2025 International Black Theatre Summit in Accra, Ghana, deepening connections between Black theatremakers from across the diaspora.
The Center for International Theatre Development’s LINKAGES programs foster long-term personal connections among artists. LINKAGES: Ukraine program director, John Freedman, details the program’s work connecting artists form different traditions, countries, and methodologies through conversations and theatrical exchange.
Forum to Collectively Investigate International Artistic and Cultural Mobility Trends
Tuesday 29 April and Wednesday 30 April 2025
Riga, Latvia
In 2025, who is genuinely prepared to pursue an artistic career in the face of such profound uncertainties? How do digital development, mobility justice issues, climate concerns, and international world uncertainties influence their appetite to embrace an international pathway?
In January, hundreds of global arts leaders convened to strategize for a stronger performing arts field. Ashley Malafronte reports on this event, the 2025 Under the Radar Symposium, where participants spoke of funding challenges, politically-fueled decay, and—a bright spot—the centrality and partnership and legacy.
Four productions at the Kosovo Albania Theatre Showcase 2024 used the relationship between audience and performance space to tell stories of betrayal, corruption, loss, and large-scale disregard for life. verity healey considers the impact of these spaces on audience reception.
Arab Voices convened Arab and Arab American artists in Beirut for a series of staged readings and workshops—but it was cut short when an Israeli attack triggered deadly explosions of electronic devices. Co-producer Catherine Coray shares the project’s successes and the group’s intention continue what they’ve begun.
Bringing Together Practicing Festival Artists with Scholars to Consider the Intersection of Puppetry with Other Disciplines and Ideas
Saturday 18 January to Sunday 26 January
Chicago, IL
The 2025 Ellen Van Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium series at the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival explores the dramaturgical elements that distinguish puppet theatre and actively engage audiences in endowing material with life.
Milo Rau directs readings of Elfriede Jelinek’s new play, translated by Gitta Honegger
Monday 20 January 2025
New York City and Mossul
Democracy is in a serious crisis and people are confused. Elfriede Jelinek responded to Donald Trump’s second election victory with an important text: Endsieg, a grim sequel to Am Königsweg / The Burgher King, her play about the United States election eight years ago. Parallel readings in German and English.
With Speakers Kamilah Forbes (Apollo Theater), Mei Ann Teo (Ping Chong and Company), and Dorcy Rugamba (Rwanda Arts Initiative)
Thursday 9 January 2025
New York City
Free and open to the public, this dynamic gathering brought together global arts leaders, cultural innovators, and a vibrant community of over 350 professionals to explore bold visions for strengthening the live and performing arts field.
There are so many cool Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) performance artists out there! Since this performance art season only had ten episodes to talk to artists directly, this last episode wraps up the season and goes through a whole bunch of other contemporary artists that hosts Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson are excited about.
Philip Arnoult was one of the diplomats of the theatrical profession—those who made it their life’s work not to make the work but to make connections between people who make the work, crossing the invisible boundaries of countries and politics. Reflecting on Philip’s life and legacy, Susan Stroupe asks how we can continue his work.
A talk with Srećko Horvat, Dóra Büki, Matej Drlička, Milo Rau
Tuesday 5 November 2024
Vienna, Austria
Nationalist parties are on the rise across Europe. They instrumentalize fears and divide society. Their first victim is the freedom of art. Representatives of institutions, artists, and activists will share their visions of a global, solidarity-based response to the dangers posed by the new nationalism.
Faced with the climate crisis, global inequalities, and geopolitical tensions in today’s society, the modus operandi of international work needs an overhaul. In Den Bosch, IETM in collaboration with Verkadefabriek celebrates our collective learnings from the past three years and sets the course for the years to come.
Theatrical translation demands cross-cultural collaboration. Henning Bochert traces these collaborative vectors by illuminating the scope and funding structures of a number of projects, reaching from German theatres to European Union cultural initiatives and beyond.
A Cultural Mobility Webinar organized by On the Move
Wednesday 25 September 2024
This webinar by On the Move and ACP-EU CULTURE examines cultural mobility in the Caribbean. It draws from a forthcoming Caribbean Cultural Mobility Funding Guide (Sept 2024) and the 2022 report on European Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories mobility flows.
From awards shows to rehearsal rooms, the work of translation for theatre is invisibilized in the United States. Jeremy Tiang explores the reasons for this lack of recognition and makes the case not just for more translation, but for the increased presence of translators.
Screenings and Conversation with European Theatre Artist Milo Rau
Monday 23 September 2024
New York City
Two screenings of productions in Rau's myth meets modern-day activism trilogy will be accompanied by a conversation about art and resistance with Rau and Cameroonian/Italian activist and writer Yvan Sagnet.
Through their work, translators of theatre allow others to travel with them between languages, cultures, and realities. Amelia Parenteau kicks off the Translators on Theatre: In Our Own Words series with an essay on translation as an act of service that opens potent yet imperfect portals between worlds.
