John Stoltenberg and Sophia Howes

John Stoltenberg is executive editor of DC Theater Arts. He writes both reviews and his Magic Time! column, which he named after that magical moment between life and art just before a show begins. In it, he explores how art makes sense of life—and vice versa—as he reflects on meanings that matter in the theater he sees. Decades ago, in college, John began writing, producing, directing, and acting in plays. He continued through grad school—earning an MFA in theater arts from Columbia University School of the Arts—then lucked into a job as writer-in-residence and administrative director with the influential experimental theater company The Open Theatre, whose legendary artistic director was Joseph Chaikin. Meanwhile, his own plays were produced off-off-Broadway, and he won a New York State Arts Council grant to write plays. Then John’s life changed course: He turned to writing nonfiction essays, articles, and books and had a distinguished career as a magazine editor. But he kept going to the theater, the art form that for him has always been the most transcendent and transporting and best illuminates the acts and ethics that connect us. He tweets at @JohnStoltenberg. Member, American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association. Sophia Howes has been a writer for DCTA since 2013. She holds an MFA and a BFA from Tisch School of the Arts in Dramatic Writing, where she received the Lortel and Seidman Playwriting Awards. Her play Southern Girl was performed at the Public Theater-NY. Six of her one-acts, including Better Dresses, The Endless Sky, and Solace in Gondal, were produced at TheaterRow in NYC. She studied with Curt Dempster at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, where her play Madonna was given a staged reading at the Octoberfest. She directed The Tempest and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Monongalia Arts Center in Morgantown, WV. She studied Classics and English at Barnard College. Among her teachers at NYU were Len Jenkin, Michael Feingold, and Tina Howe.