VIRTUAL Session Block 5

Saturday, July 30th,1:15-2:30pm (EDT)

All of the following sessions will be hosted on Zoom Meeting. You will be sent an email, 24 hours prior to the next day's events, which will contain all of the log-on details for each event. As in an in-person Conference, please feel free to select whichever workshop you would like to attend in the moment.

Network: Playwriting

ReImagine: Radically Supporting Artists in New Work Development

Session Chair: Alexandra Lopez

Other Presenter(s): Aurelia Clunie, Miriam Gonzales, Johamy Morales

In a field that is predominantly white and often housed in predominantly white spaces, in what ways do BIPOC artists lead what stories are told, and how they are told? What does an artist-centered process look like? How can you rethink your work, your program, or your collaborations to be more inclusive and serve a wider range of artists? Start here! In October 2020 as a response to field-wide reckoning with racial injustice and inequities in the industry compounded by the COVID crisis, the ReImagine: New Plays in TYA program was launched. Aiming to support the development and visibility of new works for young audiences by BIPOC playwrights in an artist-centered process, the ReImagine Advisory Council selected an inaugural cohort of eight grantee playwrights and invited theaters and universities to apply to host their workshop processes. This led to unique and unexpected partnerships between playwrights and host theaters, and cracked open models for shifting power and supporting BIPOC artists. Throughout, theatres were encouraged to reflect on how they serve and support BIPOC artists and audiences, ensuring a good environment for the development of works by BIPOC playwrights. The results were fascinating models of support including collaborations with academics, student dramaturgs, reimagining playing space, and incorporating technology, mixed media and puppetmaking. This session will share the ReImagine model as an approach to artist-centered new play development. Participants will hear from members of the Advisory Council and two playwright/theatre partnerships. There will be plenty of time for questions from the field and for all of us to collectively and individually reflect on our own new play development processes to see how we can center artists and ensure they receive the support they need to develop their plays.

Network: Various

The Pura Belpre Project

Session Chair: Dr. Manuel Moran

Pura Belpre (1901-1982) was a talented author, collector of folktales, puppeteer, and storyteller who wrote and reinterpreted Puerto Rican folk tales. As the first Puerto Rican librarian in the New York Public Library system, she  pioneered many programs for the Latino community. Our show is a re-enactment of her legendary "Bilingual Story Hour" Her famous tales: Parez & Martina, Juan Bobo, and The Three Magi come to life in a creative and interactive experience that combines storytelling with puppets!

Network: Professional Theatre

Theatre for the Very Young Classroom: Bilingual Programming On-Stage and In-School

Session Chair: Julissa Sabino

Other Presenter(s): Hallie Angelella

What do an interactive adventure based on a Mexican folktale and an engaging, bilingual classroom lesson on empathy have in common? The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia expands hearts and minds onstage and off through its bilingual programming for early learners. In this session, participants will first learn about the Alliance Theatre's Theatre for the Very Young production of The Lizard & El Sol and how its script, written and performed entirely in Spanish, engaged the Alliance's youngest patrons. Then, participants will explore classroom lessons, written and developed for pre-K English Language Learners and rooted in learning standards and curriculum. Participants will learn key arts integration strategies utilized in this Georgia Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts program, which serves approximately 220 early learning Summer Transition Classrooms every summer across the state of Georgia.  Discover how to create engaging theater and classroom lessons for all audiences and to think critically about your existing programming. This active, participatory session will identify strategies that you can apply to your own directing or curriculum development.