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Interviews

This section collects all HowlRound content that takes the form of an interview between two or more theatremakers. Interested in contributing your own interview? Here are our interview guidelines and best practices!

The Latest

The Soul Work of Theatre with Sharia Benn
Podcast
The Soul Work of Theatre with Sharia Benn
by Yura Sapi, Sharia Benn
16 May 2024
On Collaboration
Podcast
On Collaboration
by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, Jennifer Goff, Padraic Lillis
14 May 2024
Breaking Boundaries with Jamil Khoury
Podcast
Breaking Boundaries with Jamil Khoury
by Yura Sapi, Jamil Khoury
9 May 2024
three actors onstage
Stories from America’s Death Row
Essay

Stories from America’s Death Row

A Conversation with Lynden Harris

29 January 2020

Summer Robinson interviews playwright Lynden Harris about her work creating theatre with men on death row across the United States.

two actors onstage
Writing Comedy and Wielding Power
Essay

Writing Comedy and Wielding Power

27 January 2020

Madeleine George and Mike Lew talk about writing comedy for theatre, vulnerability as playwrights, working with different aesthetics, and more.

five people onstage
Existence and Persistence
Essay

Existence and Persistence

Spaces for Theatre Artists in Atlanta

23 January 2020

Frankie Mulinix speaks with Rob Mello, owner of Atlanta’s Rob Mello Studios, about the city’s artistic spaces, governmental and organizational support, the lack of arts coverage, and more.

three dancers under a yellow sheet
A Look at Atlanta's DIY Performance Scene
Essay

A Look at Atlanta's DIY Performance Scene

21 January 2020

Frankie Mulinix and Porter Grubbs introduce the three-part Atlanta series with a conversation about the city’s performance scene, building audiences, the importance of affordable spaces, and more.

three actors onstage, one jumping in the air.
On Bicultural Comedy
Essay

On Bicultural Comedy

An Interview with Herbert Sigüenza

5 January 2020

Matthew McMahan talks to playwright Herbert Siguenza about branching out as a solo writer after years as a member of Culture Clash, writing bilingual comedy, and more.

two actors embracing onstage
Connection, Influence, and Impact as a Playwright-In-Residence
Essay

Connection, Influence, and Impact as a Playwright-In-Residence

11 December 2019

Carlos Murillo and Kira Obolensky talk about their National Playwright Residency Program residencies, creating work for a specific theatre’s audience, playwrights not being part of the sea change of artistic director turnover, and more.

five actors onstage
Balancing Business, Art, and Mission
Essay

Balancing Business, Art, and Mission

A Conversation about Theatre Management

8 December 2019

Early career arts manager Al Heartley speaks with Jennifer Bielstein, executive director of American Conservatory Theater, about active listening, how to balance focusing on the details with looking at the bigger pictures, management values, and more.

three actors onstage
"Dream Bigger"
Essay

"Dream Bigger"

Developing Artistic Ambition as Playwrights in Residence

27 November 2019

Rehana Lew Mirza and Melinda Lopez talk being playwrights as well as actors and teachers, critiquing their own work, their individual work processes, and more.

five actors onstage
Keeping the Faith
Essay

Keeping the Faith

A Conversation with Will Arbery

24 November 2019

Caridad Svich shares a correspondence she had with playwright and theatremaker Will Arbery, touching on topics of writing about bleakness and despair, a play’s relationship to breath, faith and faithlessness, and more.

a large group of protesters with a Chilean flag
Theatremaking During Political Crisis
Essay

Theatremaking During Political Crisis

A Conversation with Chilean Playwright Guillermo Calderón

19 November 2019

ArtsEmerson Artistic Director David Dower speaks with Chilean playwright Guillermo Calderón about the ongoing protests in Chile.

lauren e. turner seated at a table
The American Theatre Was Killing Me
Essay

The American Theatre Was Killing Me

Healing from Racialized Trauma in an Art Workspace

18 November 2019

Amelia Parenteau speaks with Lauren E. Turner about racialized trauma in American theatre, Lauren’s experience with it, and healing.

four people seated at a conference table
We Are the Next Generation of Critics
Essay

We Are the Next Generation of Critics

Learnings from the Young Critics Program

13 November 2019

Beatrice Perez-Arche and Livian Yeh have a conversation about their experience in the Young Critics Program, “cancel culture” and criticism, gaining confidence, and more.

a group of actors onstage
Audiences, Parasites, and Personal Revelations
Essay

Audiences, Parasites, and Personal Revelations

Perspectives on Criticism and Playwriting

20 October 2019

Playwright/critic Ava Wong Davies talks to critic Maddy Costa and plawright Alice Birch about who reviews are for, responses to criticism, self-censorship, and more.

screenshot
Migrating Our Skills as Cultural Workers
Essay

Migrating Our Skills as Cultural Workers

16 October 2019

Cultural organizer and producer Joon Lynn Goh speaks with Janna Graham, a research-based practitioner, curator, and lecturer, about connecting cultural work with political organizing.

two headshots
The Only Thing Black Writers Really Have is Their Relationships
Essay

The Only Thing Black Writers Really Have is Their Relationships

9 October 2019

Producer Tobi Kyeremateng and poet/writer Roger Robinson talk about Black writers in the UK, creative citizenship, activism in the arts, and more.

two people posing for a photo
How To Make Your Leadership Transition a Joyful, Fun Revolution
Essay

How To Make Your Leadership Transition a Joyful, Fun Revolution

6 October 2019

Katy Rubin, founder and former exeuctive director of Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, talks with new executive director Meggan Gomez about how long leaders should hold their roles in an organization, mission drift, founder’s syndrome, and more.

two panelists seated in front an audience
Curating Freedom and Power for Women of Color in Leadership
Essay

Curating Freedom and Power for Women of Color in Leadership

26 September 2019

Linda Parris-Bailey and Diane Rodriguez talk about their own leadership transitions and what’s next, gender, race, and economic barriers; documenting work; and more.

two actors onstage
Gravity and Responsibility in Film, TV, and Choreography
Essay

Gravity and Responsibility in Film, TV, and Choreography

25 September 2019

Choreographer Malik Nashad Sharpe and film & TV director Liza Johnson talk gravity, abstraction and risk, ethics, and more.

three actors onstage
You Must Kick Up a Fuss
Essay

You Must Kick Up a Fuss

24 September 2019

Black British writers Matilda Ibini and Oladipo (Dipo) Agboluaje talk about choosing to study theatre at school, crowdfunding, Afrofuturism, and more.

a person with a large bean bag over their head standing alone in the desert
Bring the Conversation
Essay

Bring the Conversation

On Twitter, What We Leave Behind, and Processing Trauma

23 September 2019

Demi Nandhra and Rajni Shah talk about their performance practices, social media, mental health, ego, and more.

Three young actors in school uniforms onstage in front of a graffiti wall.
Caring for Ourselves So We Can Care for Each Other
Essay

Caring for Ourselves So We Can Care for Each Other

Michael J. Bobbitt and Raymond O. Caldwell in Conversation, Part II

16 September 2019

Part II of the conversation between Michael J. Bobbitt, the recently appointed artistic director of Boston’s New Repertory Theatre, and Raymond Caldwell, the new leader of Washington’s Theater Alliance, who talk about post-show conversations and self-care.

"I’m Not Interested in More Allies. I Need Advocates."
Essay

"I’m Not Interested in More Allies. I Need Advocates."

Michael J. Bobbitt and Raymond O. Caldwell in Conversation, Part I

15 September 2019

Michael J. Bobbitt, the recently appointed artistic director of Boston’s New Repertory Theatre, and Raymond Caldwell, the new leader of Washington’s Theater Alliance, sit down to talk about race equity work, the guilt they felt leaving their previous posts, and more.

 two actors onstage
Unmanly Grief
Essay

Unmanly Grief

Performing A Trans Hamlet

10 September 2019

Aley O’Mara reflects on Daniel Winder’s Hamlet and speaks to the lead—trans actor Jenet Le Lacheur—about the titular character in this production being nonbinary and transfeminine.

four actors onstage
Bringing the Playwright's Perspective to the Table
Essay

Bringing the Playwright's Perspective to the Table

3 September 2019

Playwrights Kirsten Greenidge and Peter Nachtrieb talk about what it means to be an artist in residence, how theatres constantly work on their mission, connecting with the community, and more.   

eight people posing together
The Power of Local
Essay

The Power of Local

Building Community While Building Plays

25 August 2019

Playwrights Will Power and Jonathan Norton talk about what being an artist in residence looks like, championing local playwrights, rejection letters, and more.