Amanda L. Andrei (she/her) is a Los Angeles-based playwright, translator, community archivist, and one of TCG’s 2023 Rising Leaders of Color. In her thoughtful essay about Here Lies Love, she addresses the Broadway musical’s representation of Filipino colonial histories. “Not only are we talking about Filipinos in the diaspora and the homeland (and those who go back and forth),” Andrei said. “We’re also talking about theatre practitioners and artists of all demographic backgrounds, and about communities in history. Let’s take a moment and say, hey, how can we use this show as a process to examine our values and how to move in the world?”

Gabriela Furtado Coutinho (she/her) is an actor, playwright, proud Brazilian immigrant, and AT’s Chicago associate editor, with support from the Walder Foundation. Her article about the Quijada brothers highlights two of Chicago’s most fascinating theatre artists. “Beyond how they represent the best of fearless American theatre, their values in collaboration inspire me for how they honor our Latiné cultures, wherein both blood and chosen family is everything,” said Coutinho. “I believe their writing and rehearsal spaces offer a master class in what bell hooks would call a love practice. Heeding this, I hope my writing can join the cycle of uplifting the creatives and communities whose ingenuity raised me.”