Session Block 3

Saturday, July 22nd, 3-4:15pm (EDT)

Network: Professional Theatre

From Casting to Performance: All Ability Actors in Mainstage TYA

Session Chair: Erica Berman

Other Presenter(s): Fran Sillau

In this interactive session, participants will gain practical tools for the casting, rehearsal, and performance process to include actors of all abilities in their main stage season. Utilizing production examples from The Rose Theater and Children's Theater of Madison, we will present best practices for this work across a range of TYA content and actor ability.

Network: Early Childhood

All Smiles! How to Devise, Produce, and Research Innovative TVY

Session Chair: Gillian McNally

Other Presenter(s): Sam Provenzano, Amanda Rutter

The fields of Early Childhood Education, Theatre Education, and TYA have many of the same goals, but our worlds are often siloed from one another. All fields value experiential learning, play as a teaching tool, creativity, and the exploration of complex social and academic topics to challenge very young children. How can a Theatre for the Very Young (TVY) production be an instigator for more collaboration between artists, ECE educators, and researchers? Using the 2023 co-production of All Smiles at The Alliance Theatre and the University of Northern Colorado, artists and educators will share their devising methods, production process, and research. In the study, ECE teachers were asked to reflect on social-emotional and creative behavior in their classrooms before and after the production. TVY artists will share their devising process to create interactive, meaningful TVY. Attendees will discuss broadly how ECE educators and artists can collaborate in meaningful ways to create engaging performances, inspiring research, and imaginative activities in ECE classrooms.

Network: Applied Theatre

GenderWise Trainings

Session Chair: Rachel Feldman

Other Presenter(s): Ania Upstill

Using the guiding question of "How can we be better active allies to the trans/gender non-conforming community in professional and educational spaces?", this interactive session, participants will be invited to expand their own understandings of gender identity and expression, as well as hone their advocacy skills. This session incorporates a variety of activities to meet a diverse range of learning styles, and invites participants to learn and play. Attendees will gain a strong working understanding of the language and concepts related to gender identity and expression, pronoun usage, and queer culture. They will also gain tools to advocate for their peers in a consensual, professional and non-combative way. This session came out of an expressed desire and need from our community of teaching artists and educators who wanted to learn more about gender diversity.