Leigh Bienen is a Chicago based contributing writer for WIT Online. In this critical essay she examines one of the most ambitious adaptations of a literary work produced in recent years. Find all WIT Online-HowlRound content here. 2666 begins with four European literary critics hot on the trail of the elusive German author Benno von … Continue reading
For as far back as I can remember I had always wanted to be an actor. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I acted in every school production and spent a few summers at drama camp. Yeah I was that kid. In college I majored in theater and studied abroad at a prestigious acting school in Dublin, Ireland. … Continue reading
In her HowlRound article, “Women Directors: Language Worth Repeating,” when Jess Smith describes the directors and some of her students, who speak in “a language of fear, a language of accommodation, and a language of insecurity,” it has the ring of truth for me. When she speaks of domineering directors who have built careers on … Continue reading
Ha! Wish I could tell ya. Then, again, maybe I can. Ah, performance! It seems to have been my calling from early on. Maybe all along. Those strict Dominican sisters never had to plead with me to project during class presentations. I always could. Loud and clear. An audience of upturned faces held no terrors … Continue reading
To echo Karen Evans’ sentiment, being a playwright can be “quite a lonely existence.” And to my mind, it can also be a crazy, frustrating, angst-ridden existence. Especially when you write from personal experience. Especially when you’re exposing your own flaws and hypocrisies through your characters. Especially when you’re quick to judge yourself and are prone … Continue reading
Karen Evans’ comment in the interview, “I don’t think I’m going to be part of this party, ever,” made me think of talented authors such as Julia Alvarez (How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent) andEdwidge Danticat (The Farming of Bones) not being allowed in the boys club. In 2008 Junot Diaz won a Pulitzer, which put us “writers … Continue reading
My first experience with Emma Rice’s delightfully precise and wildly engrossing work was while traveling abroad. I found myself in London. I was young and a little too in love with Greek tragedy (my Kneehigh initiation was the company’s version of The Bacchae). It was probably the first time I had gone to the theater by myself. I … Continue reading
After reading the interview between Lynne Meadow and Gladys Chen, I’m first struck by how similar our stories are, as theater-makers, despite differences in the location and budget size of our theaters. We are all trying to take risks while being good stewards. And the deeper layer of meaning attached to how women relate to … Continue reading
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