Series Part Two: Actor Simulations Help Train Future Doctors and More By Dara O’Brien How do you tell a parent that their five-year-old’s cancer is inoperable? Or a mother of five that she has early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease? All doctors, whatever their specialty, will have to communicate traumatic news to some of their patients. In order … Continue reading
Category Archives: From the Field
Acting “As if” – Role Play Simulations in High Stakes Police Encounters
by Dara O’Brien PART ONE I once served as the General Manager of the Italian branch of a multinational financial services firm. I held the job for about five hours. The brevity of my tenure had nothing to do with my performance. It also had everything to do with it. Because I wasn’t a manager … Continue reading
The State of Native Theater by Amanda Nita Luke
I see a bright future for Native Theater in this country. A future where theater telling Native stories is a regular occurrence in communities around the country. Where communities can come together to experience each other’s stories to gain empathy about each other’s struggles and encounter each other’s joys onstage. Sharing lived experiences is a … Continue reading
THOUGHTS ON THEATER AND PANDEMIC by Melody Brooks
Thousands of years of history can put a novo-virus in perspective. Continue reading
Leigh Bienen Considers Adaptation in Chicago
Augie, Bellow, Frankenstein and Me In 1964 I returned with my family from Kampala, Uganda, where we had lived for two years, and was hired by Saul Bellow to read, answer and categorize some of the letters he received in response to that most epistolary of novels, Herzog. It was Bellow’s second big commercial success, … Continue reading
hang By Leigh Buchanan Bienen
This spring Remy Bumppo, the ensemble centered Chicago theater company with a penchant for complicated language and complex social issues mounted the U.S. premiere of UK playwright debbie tucker green’s ‘hang’ in a run from March 21 to April 29. Note, the playwright prefers the lower case both for her own name and the play’s title. … Continue reading
“Describe the Night” in Houston while Hurricane Harvey Raged – a first hand account of directing under pressure by Giovanna Sardelli
On Tuesday I began packing my bags, which was unexpected since I had arrived in Houston, TX only a week earlier to begin rehearsals on the World Premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Describe The Night. Hurricane Harvey had been raging since Saturday and on Tuesday we’d taken advantage of a brief break in the near constant … Continue reading
A Legend in Her Own Right: Interview with Black-Eyed Susan
Oftentimes, when theater critics or historians talk about Black-Eyed Susan, they speak about downtown impresario Charles Ludlam, founder of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, with whom she worked and was close friends for twenty years. But she is an icon in her own right, worthy of her own attention and discussion. Born in Shelton, Connecticut, in the middle … Continue reading
Kicking It Grounded Style by Ben Gassman
This post is a response to Jody Christopherson’s recent interview and continues a partnership between HowlRound and the League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW). For many years, LPTW has been publishing an annual magazine, Women in Theatre (WIT). This year they’ve expanded the magazine to include an online format and are collaborating with HowlRound to provide content covering an array of issues and perspectives within … Continue reading