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Advantageous: Feminist Science Fiction at Its Best
This article was originally published by Ms. Magazine on July 8, 2015. A sighting of that rare bird called feminist science fiction is truly a thing to celebrate. It does exist, sometimes by accident (see Alien), and sometimes on purpose (see almost anything by Octavia Butler). With Advantageous, a film written by Jacqueline Kim and Jennifer Phang, […]
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Beyond the Aristocratic Theater
(This post was part of the blog salon curated by Jacqueline E. Lawton for the 2015 TCG National Conference: Game Change, originally published in June, 2015. The following questions informed the final plenary session, “Artistic Leadership: How We Change the Game.”) JACQUELINE LAWTON: What was the most game-changing production you’ve seen or created, and why? HOLLY L. DERR: The […]
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Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ An Octoroon
Originally published by HowlRound on March 26, 2015 Dion Boucicault’s The Octoroon, first presented in New York in 1859, bears more than a striking resemblance to its better-known stage sister, George Aiken’s adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which premiered in 1852. Both plays, in their attempts to create sympathy for slaves while also […]
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Oh, THAT Play
This is hilarious: Oh, THAT Play. via Oh, THAT Play.
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#Ferguson: They Who Have the Guns Have the Power
Originally published by tcg on August 27, 2014 (Ed. Note: The following blog salon series will focus on how theatre artists are responding to Michael Brown’s death and the oppression, violence, and resistance happening in Ferguson, MO. This series grew out of a series of discussions between Oregon based theatre-makers Claudia Alick, Mica Cole and Massachusetts based theatre-maker Megan Sandberg-Zakian, and myself. If […]
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Taking “Don’t Fuck It Up” to Heart
Originally published by The Know Theatre of Cincinnati on July 17, 2014 In preparation for directing Sigrid Gilmer’s Harry & the Thief, I’m reading a book called Harriet Tubman: Myth, Memory, and History. In it, the author, Milton C. Sernott, traces the development of Harriet Tubman as American icon by examining primary sources, children’s books (there are […]
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REVIEW: Harry and the Thief
Originally posted on The Sappy Critic:
Sola Thompson, Ken Early, Burgess Byrd, Darnell Pierre Benjamin, and Keisha Kemper in HARRY AND THE THIEF at Know Theatre / Photo by Deogracias Lerma If you saw Know Theatre’s production of BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON then you have a pretty decent idea of what to expect from HARRY… -
Hollywood, Misogyny, and the Jagweed of Isla Vista
I’m staring at a blank screen, trying to figure out how to write about the thing I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. I won’t say his name: I won’t give him that. I won’t read his manifesto: I won’t give him that. I won’t watch his video: I won’t give him that. The […]
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Two Plays by Women, Two Different Worldviews
When I hear producers say, “Plays by women don’t sell tickets” (and they seem to say that a lot), I always find myself asking, “Which plays by which women?” The classification “plays by women” denotes nothing other than the author’s sex, and any two plays by any two women are as likely to be as […]
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Why Television Writing Staffs Lack Diversity
Originally posted at Ms. in the Biz It’s staffing season for television, and many of us are playing close attention to gender and race of writers getting hired. A report from the Writer’s Guild of America revealed that in the 2011-2012 season, female writers made up only 30.5% of TV staffs. Racial minorities fared even worse, […]