Desire and Collaborative Artistry

Current members of Studio Luna chronicle their twenty-five-year history and the evolution of their practice, programming, and location—most notably from their origin in Chicago to Los Angeles. This was originally recorded live for the 2024 Theatre Communications Group Conference.

You on the Moors Now was the first foray by Jaclyn Backhaus into committing the improvisations and musings of an ensemble to the page while developing her own style. She joins the cast of the show at University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee to talk about the genesis of the play and iterations over time.

Universities and museums are some of the last strongholds of festival circuits providing rare exposure to international and avant-garde artists. This episode explores how ensembles find their way onto such a path, and what these organizations are doing to ensure enrichment for their audiences and sustainability for the acts.

Focusing on the overlaps between Ensemble and Applied Theatre practices, this podcast highlights Mark Weinberg’s work with Theatre of the Oppressed pillar Augusto Boal, collectives, and his growth from director interpreted work to audience generated work.

A vital contributor to the theatre landscape in Milwaukee, Theatre X created ripples throughout the national theatre scene. Former artistic director John Schneider talks about how this ensemble-led company built themselves up from the unknown to an international touring presence through their closure in 2004.

After beginning her theatrical work by writing for a collective, Deb Margolin has had an expansive solo career. She shares her comedic impulses, political proclivities, and writing process. She takes us through the highs and lows of socially sustainable work as a playwright who best understands her scripts through the body.

Dell’Arte International faced a financial crisis in 2023. They surpassed their fundraising goal by the end of that year. In this episode, former President and CEO Alyssa Hughlett walks us down the path they took that year to rediscover themselves as a school and an ensemble, and reintroduce the company to their community.

In 2023, Pig Iron Theater Company held the National Endowment for the Humanities Preserving and Transmitting American Ensemble-Based Theater​​ Institute. The institute directors look forward to how the next institute might be adjusted and reveal insight on how the University of the Arts closure will impact Pig Iron School.

In 2023, Pig Iron Theater Company held the National Endowment for the Humanities Preserving and Transmitting American Ensemble-Based Theater​​ Institute. The presenters, some interviewed in this episode, provided in depth perspectives on how their ensemble-based processes created connections to a wide variety of audiences.

Eleven participants share their experiences at the 2023 National Endowment for the Humanities Preserving and Transmitting American Ensemble-Based Theater​​ Institute, which highlighted the impact of devised and physical theatre, its application in professional and university settings, and the limited scholarship around it.