How to Contribute to HowlRound Theatre Commons

Updated

HowlRound Theatre Commons is a free, open platform for theatremakers worldwide, and its content—essays, videos, and podcasts—comes entirely from the theatre community. If you are a theatremaker with an idea, a production reflection, or a conversation worth sharing, you can participate by pitching or submitting work to the HowlRound Journal or HowlRound TV. The platform frames participation around shared values: amplifying progressive, disruptive ideas and connecting diverse practitioners.

What HowlRound Is Looking For

HowlRound describes itself as a "commons"—a social structure that invites open participation around shared values. That means the editorial direction is shaped by what the community chooses to contribute, not by a fixed in-house staff.

From the published journal, the kinds of pieces that appear include:

  • Reflective essays on productions, such as Yashmita's piece on an Off-Broadway staging of Asian immigrant family dynamics, or Marjan Moosavi's account of a Protactile performance of Touch of Slavery.
  • Field and community reflections, such as Giselle Byrd on the Theater Offensive's Creative Labor, Creative Conditions activations in Boston, or Christopher Kaui Morgan on what Kānaka Maoli artists need to thrive.
  • Play and process analysis, such as Taylor Leigh Lamb on Karen Li's Canton Waterfront and its development at Baltimore Center Stage.
  • Video and livestream content through HowlRound TV, including events like the Creative Labor: A Boston Cultural Policy Summit livestream.

The throughline is work that engages with theatre as a living, contested, community practice—not press releases or promotional copy.

Ways to Participate

1. Pitch or submit to the HowlRound Journal

The Journal is the main written outlet. If you have an essay, reflection, or critical piece that fits the platform's interest in progressive, disruptive ideas, the path is to reach out to the editorial team with your idea before writing a full draft. A pitch typically needs:

  • A clear central question or argument (the published essays are built around one, e.g. "Who profits when marginalized experiences become legible enough to sell?").
  • Your connection to the work or community you are writing about.
  • A sense of why this matters to the wider theatre field, not just your own production.

2. Propose video or livestream content for HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV carries livestreams and recorded conversations. If you are organizing a panel, summit, or performance conversation that fits the commons ethos, you can propose it for broadcast. The Creative Labor: A Boston Cultural Policy Summit livestream is an example of the kind of event that gets carried.

3. Contribute a podcast or conversation

Podcasts are listed among the content types the platform hosts, alongside essays and videos. If you already produce conversations with theatremakers, this is another route in.

Practical Steps

  1. Read the existing content first. Browse the Journal and HowlRound TV to understand tone, length, and subject range. The published essays are the best guide to what lands.
  2. Identify your angle. The strongest pieces answer a question or make an argument. "Here is what happened in my production" is weaker than "here is what my production reveals about a problem the field faces."
  3. Contact the editorial team with a pitch. Since all content comes from the community, the platform expects you to initiate. Include your idea, your background, and any links to prior work.
  4. Expect editorial collaboration. Community-generated does not mean unedited; pieces are shaped before publication.
  5. For video or events, propose early. Livestreams and summit coverage need lead time for scheduling and technical setup.

Common Sticking Points

  • Assuming there is a submission form. The site describes open participation but the practical route is direct contact with the editorial team, not an automated portal.
  • Pitching a topic instead of an argument. HowlRound essays are opinionated and question-driven; a vague subject area is harder to place than a specific claim.
  • Treating it as promotion. The platform amplifies ideas, not marketing. A piece that reads as publicity for a single show is a poor fit.
  • Overlooking non-essay formats. If writing is not your strength, video, livestream, or podcast participation may be a better entry point.

What to Check Before You Commit

Because HowlRound is explicitly a commons built on shared values, the best first step is to read several recent Journal pieces and watch part of a HowlRound TV stream. That will tell you quickly whether your idea fits the platform's editorial character—and whether the community it serves is the audience you want to reach.