“I’ve worked in and written about many aspects of theatre, but sound and acoustics were new territory for me, as I think they are for a lot of people,” says Naveen Kumar, the author of this issue’s feature on theatre acoustics, who is a New York City-based arts and entertainment writer and theatre critic for Towleroad. Kumar, whose work has also been published in outlets such as The New York Times, GQ, and the Daily Beast, adds, “The designers and acousticians I spoke to were so generous and eloquent about a craft that can seem altogether ineffable; reporting this story was the best kind of crash course. I’ll certainly never listen to a show the same way again.”

Dara McBride, who pens this issue’s Strategies piece on City Lights Theater Company of San Jose’s tech-based talkbacks, is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Goldring Arts Journalism program and a former American Theatre intern who works in professional communications in Delaware. She says she’s “drawn to freelance projects that involve the intersection of art, people, and technology, especially at the local or regional level,” highlighting her role as co-host of the Dela Darling arts and lifestyle podcast. “Talking with the folks at City Lights reminded me that even as times change, we can be inspired by what is new and experiment together to create a more inclusive and exciting theatre experience. If we don’t see the results we want, we can try another experiment.”