The Lab Where the Method Was Born
A look at the American Laboratory Theatre, where Richard Boleslavsky and Maira Ouspenskaya introduced young American actors to their version of Stanislavski’s system.
Category Archives: Book Excerpts
Come By Bullins!
How the Philly playwright’s arrival in New York in 1968 changed the course of Black theatre in the U.S.
When Lorraine Met Lloyd, and ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ Got Raised
In this excerpt from a new biography, playwright Lorraine Hansberry crosses paths with the director who would help to shape her iconic play.
Afterword to ‘Eurydice’ in the Form of 20 Questions
The playwright reflects on her oft-produced take on the Greek myth about loss, and suggests both practical and philosophical approaches for future interpreters.
Who You Are Is All You Have: Truthfulness in the Audition Process
In their new book, Nicole Hodges Persley and Monica White Ndounou offer a practical guide through the audition process for actors of the global majority.
‘I Know What I’m Writing’: Emily Mann and ‘Execution of Justice’
In this excerpt from a new bio of the writer/director, she recalls how she created one of the American theatre’s seminal documentary theatre texts.
Brian Stokes Mitchell: ‘How Did I Get to Be That Guy?’
The Tony-winning actor and singer talks about the impact he feels fortunate to have made as an artist.
‘If This Is All I Get, This Can Be Everything’
In this excerpt from the new novel ‘We Play Ourselves,’ a playwright navigates the highs and lows of an Off-Broadway opening night.
It’s the Words That We Don’t Say That Scare Me So
Dialogue is mostly a form of behavior and personal revelation usually accidental. Therein lies a drama, and a mystery.
Wolf at the Door: How Musicals Helped Me Live the Size of My Feelings
How the queerness of fairy tales and musicals, once coded and now more open, has always spoken—and sung—directly to me.
