Richard Oliver Dallas, TexasPrimary outlets: Theater Jones, Texas Classical Review, The Whole Review Richard Oliver How did you get started as an arts critic? When I went to college I knew I wanted to pursue music. But I loved writing, so I made a deal with myself: I would...
David John Chávez San Jose area criticPrimary outlets: BayAreaPlays.com; Mercury News, American Theatre Magazine David John Chávez How’d you get started in this wacky business? Years ago, I had a job on a daily newspaper (the Fresno Bee, a McClatchy newspaper that covered the central San Joaquin Valley) on...
Karen Topham Chicago areaPrimary outlet: ChicagoOnStage Karen Topham How many years were you a high school drama teacher? Overall 37 years. I taught drama in one way or another for most of those years. I always taught units on performance because it made for an interesting switch from just...
Diep Tran New York criticOutlets: American Theatre; Broadway.com Diep Tran What made you decide you wanted to become a critic in the first place? I've kind of fallen into this career. When I was young, I wanted to be a dentist. I have no idea why; I really liked...
Kelundra Smith Atlanta criticOutlets: American Theatre, Atlanta magazine, ArtsATL Kelundra Smith You've been incredibly active in your career, and hustle like nobody's business. Where do you get your drive and motivation? I think there's a competitive part of me that wants meritocracy to be real. I like proving that...
Kitty Drexel New England area criticOutlets: New England Theatre Geek, HowlRound Kitty Drexel How long have you been a critic, and how did you get started? In 2011, Becca Kidwell, who used to live in the Boston area and is now in New York City, ran a blog called...
Jerald Raymond Pierce Chicagoland criticPrimary outlet: American Theatre Jerald Raymond Pierce When you took the position as associate editor of American Theatre magazine, what stories did you want to prioritize? I spent about my first five years in Chicago dabbling in stage management, sound design and lighting design. I...
Jessica Goldman Houston-area criticPrimary outlet: Houston Press Jessica Goldman Let’s start with the basics. You have worked for the Houston Press for six years, but before that you were up in Calgary doing radio? Yes. We’re originally from Toronto; we moved to Calgary 12 years ago. I was the...
Nicole Gluckstern Bay Area Primary Outlet: KQED Nicole Gluckstern Why is it important to cover people who spend their life telling stories? It’s been useful to me to frame it in my mind as us both being storytellers. It just so happens that the focus of my stories tend to be...
Ramona Harper DC-area critic Outlets: DC Metro Theater Arts; Dance Metro DC Ramona Harper Your background in diplomacy is fascinating. What led you to choose that life and what did you learn from it? Actually, the first thing I wanted to do in life was to start a magazine for Black women....