Write, Erase, Do It Over: On Failure, Risk and Writing Outside Yourself
Learning how to fail well is as crucial a part of a writer’s craft as putting words on a page. With other kinds of failure, you have less control.
Category Archives: Features
Out of the Loop Fringe Fest, a Texas Experiment Now Hitting Lucky 13
When Water Tower Theatre first created its own multidisciplinary festival, it relied on national names to raise its profile. Now the local acts are more popular than the out-of-towners.
‘Shockheaded Peter’ Gets a Steampunk-Rock Makeover at Company One
The Army of Broken Toys revive, and reorchestrate, the creepy Tiger Lillies musical. It’s still not for kids—and it’s louder (you can sample some exclusive tracks, below).
Know a Theatre: Arkansas Repertory Theatre of Little Rock, Ark.
Nearing its 40th year, the $4 million LORT theatre programs big shows for audiences as varied as the state, and it’s set to expand this spring.
When the Art in a Museum Is Live
Boundary-busting troupes like the Civilians, Pig Iron and Native Voices have staged plays in partnership with—and in counterpoint to—the art on the walls.
Strawdog Travels ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’
How do you adapt an underwater epic for the stage? Very carefully, say adaptors Ann Sonneville and Clint Sheffer.
Beth Henley Takes a ‘Laugh’ Break
After penning a dark, intense family drama, the Mississippi-born playwright started watching old silent comedies. The result: a frothy, flowery farce.
Set and Costume Designer David Zinn Goes Big, Keeps It Real
Whether working downtown at Target Margin, uptown on Broadway or out of state on an opera, Zinn wrestles with space and beautifies the awkward.
A Thin Line Between Love and Hate in ‘The Good Book’
After taking on Homer with ‘An Iliad,’ Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare tackle the Bible for Chicago’s Court Theater—and find that the Scriptures can give as good as they get.
Tympanic Theatre Company Ties Plays to the Tracks (Album Tracks, That Is)
A Chicago troupe explores a new way to build short-play festivals around a theme: taking inspiration from seminal rock albums.
