Everything in Moderation: Rethinking the Talkback

AMERICAN THEATRE: It was a popular source of humor among the theatre industry responses: the universal dislike of post-show talkbacks. I cringed with familiarity: At the time of the live, in-person theatre shutdown on March 12, 2020, I had moderated 101 talkbacks in my role as resident dramaturg at New York’s Signature Theatre, with roughly another 50 or so in previous literary positions, before I started keeping an official count. I’ve seen it all, and I have some thoughts.