New Books In Dance

Megan Sandberg-Zakian’s There Must Be Happy Endings: On a Theater of Optimism & Honesty (3rd Thing Press, 2020) makes a powerful case for “militant optimism” in an age of chaos. The essays in this volume discuss the plays of August Wilson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and creating a rehearsal room conducive to creativity. Sandberg-Zakian weaves this analysis of theatrical craft with a deeply personal coming of age story, touching on the history of genocide on both sides of her family (Jewish and Armenian), her identity as a queer woman, and the process of finding an artistic voice of her own after growing up in the rehearsal rooms of her director/playwright father. This is a book that will provide insight and inspirations to anyone interested in telling stories that are both optimistic and true. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA program at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. His plays have been produced, devel