Join us for the presentation of exciting and compelling research findings from two studies, one conducted by The New Victory Theater and the other by The Woodruff Arts Center, on the impact of live performance on young people. Plus, get a sneak peek at the data from TYA/USA’s recent survey and research study on the national field of Theatre for Young Audiences, conducted by Matt Omasta and his team at Utah State University.

Based on Intrinsic Impact research pioneered at WolfBrown (2012), The New Victory Theater, their teaching artists, and the WolfBrown researchers collaborated to develop a comprehensive approach that tracks young people’s immediate experience of the performances and the potential impact of theatrical experiences on their socio-emotional growth. The study also created theatrically-inspired approaches to collecting data, in addition to using basic research tools (1,500 measurement booklets and 5,000 post-show surveys).

The Woodruff Arts Center partnered with a large district in the Atlanta area to deliver its Multi-Visit Program, which provides elementary school students the opportunity to visit the Arts Center three times throughout the school year, once to each of its Arts Partners: the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art. The Program is tied to a longitudinal research study regarding the academic and social-emotional benefits of student engagement with artistic field trip experiences.  Supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, this study is led by Dr. Jay P. Greene, Department Head, Endowed Chair, College of Education and Health Professions, Education Reform, University of Arkansas.

Resilience In School Environments: Understanding and Practice (RISE UP) is a learning session designed to foster resilience using a trauma sensitive approach to interact with students. Teaching Artists from Kaiser Permanente facilitate the session employing theatre, experiential learning and arts integration techniques to engage participants in their own discovery and practical implementation.

This breakout session is focused on introducing novice and professional playwrights to various techniques for creating stage adaptations.  Participants will also become familiar common types of adaptation as well as challenges related to adaptation, such as where to start, lengthy or brief source material, and too many characters.  No writing experience necessary.

Moved to action, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte has created a timely initiative entitled The Kindness Project. Committed to commissioning a series of extraordinary books, these stories help children, families and classrooms navigate the complexity of today’s society through simple acts of kindness. Join us for a participatory, multi-media workshop exploring how the first two productions in this series – Last Stop on Market Street (2016 Caldecott, Newbery, and Coretta Scott King Awards) and A Sick Day For Amos McGee (2011 Caldecott Award)- have journeyed from the page to the stage.

Join us for an interactive, discussion-based session exploring strategies for more fully supporting and including youth on the autism spectrum, including collaborative models like the city-wide Inclusion Network of Nashville. This program is designed for participants with existing programming serving this community, who are interested in sharing their success as well as building on the strengths of other attendees.

What happens when we integrate preschool play habits into a TVY devising process? This guided discussion explores the reflective practitioner research process of a third year MFA thesis project at UT Austin. Come join our collective dialogue as we share pieces of both the product and process of a retrospective devising process that incorporates preschool learning and unstructured play time into an original TVY performance. In this session we will share an excerpt of the performance, Magic Box, explore pieces from the observation and rehearsal process, and ask questions about our discoveries.

You saw it on Broadway and immediately thought, “This show is perfect for my theater!” So now what? In this session, musical writing team Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen (Tuck Everlasting) and Ernie Nolan (Executive Artistic Director, Nashville Children’s Theatre) will discuss their recent collaboration adapting the Broadway musical Tuck Everlasting for young audiences. In this session, we will start by exploring this case study. How did the collaboration come about? What were the initial conversations like? How was the working relationship defined? We will then discuss the specific changes that were made to Tuck Everlasting for the Nashville Children’s Theatre production. To further explore the collaboration and adaptation, performers will be on hand, accompanied by Nathan and Chris, to perform excerpts from Tuck Everlasting. These musical excerpts will illustrate specific changes in the orchestrations and vocals, as well as provide an object lesson for the result of a fruitful producer/creator collaboration. Throughout this conversation, we will highlight specific methodologies for artistic collaboration; from initial conversations to in-the-room dynamics. Attendees will leave the session with a deeper understanding of how they can tackle producing a recent, family-friendly Broadway musical at their theater.

Join Greg Reiner, Theater & Musical Theater Director at the National Endowment for the Arts, to learn more about the arts endowment, the latest news and programs, and how to apply for organizational funding. Time will be included for Q&A.

How do we re-evaluate the conventions in our field that complicate the delineation of healthy boundaries as well as safer and inclusive spaces? From the #notinourhouse movement in Chicago to the We Have Voice Collective in New York, artists across the United States are collectively developing community-wide theatre standards to hold themselves and others accountable as cases of racial inequity, implicit bias and harassment are being called in to review in our culture as well as the greater performing arts field. This session is designed to share tools for TYA practitioners to create their own working standards through the community building process of a listening party. Participants in this interactive workshop will go through the process of a radical listening and collective visioning framework, which can be utilized when working with young people as well as community stakeholders to begin the development of a theatre standards document for your community or organization.

The presenters will describe their goals with three different kinds of projects: 1) the reworking and remounting of a play from HTY to Imagination Stage, 2) the collaboration between a TYA and an adult company in Charlotte, NC, and 3) an international co-production between theatres in Belfast and Bethesda, MD.

Why do we do it?  What are the practical considerations?  What are the benefits to your community and the field?  And what co-pro and collaborations are you up to at your theatre?  Time will be left for discussion and sharing of budget models and collaboration contract guidelines.

This workshop will explore various ways that family engagement can deepen the impact of a performance.   New Victory Theater and Trike Theatre have teamed up to share relevant statistics and research as well as how they are implementing effective engagement strategies, on two different budget sizes!  Then, participants will use the lens of their own company’s mission and baseline criteria to create their own family engagement program.  .

Artists of bilingual (Spanish/English) TYA join together to discuss the intersection of identity and artmaking. We will explore the impact Latinx TYA has on artists, community, and young people. Panelists, who have experience in Latinx TYA, will share their discoveries about the complexity in doing this work in specific communities. Participants will then break into groups and read scenes from Latinx TYA and finish the session by creating an action item list of how to integrate this work into future practice.

The Artists’ Anti-Racism Coalition, founded by Stephanie Ybarra, Jacob Padrón, Roberta Pereira, and David Roberts, started as a series of conversations with off-broadway producers about representation and systems of oppression in their theatres. Their work has brought theatre makers together to discuss structures within the industry that perpetuate racism, and to share processes and tools to dismantle them. Inspired by and an advocate of the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, AARC leads workshops and trainings in order to build and sustain a community of artists who activate systemic change.

Back by popular demand, this special event will feature TYA songs under development or recently premiered at theatres around the county, with introductions and performances by the creative artists.

TYA companies are mindful of accommodating the needs of youth, parents, and families in the audience. What ways are companies considering the family dynamic among their staff members and freelance artists, and what opportunities remain? Join us for a panel discussion framing parenthood in TYA as an issue of equity, diversity, and inclusion, aiming to break down the invisible walls that limit the working parent. This panel is intended for current and future parents as well as those in leadership capacities seeking strategies to better support parents and their children in the professional setting.

An interactive session on Bilingual Theatre for youth performers. Participants will get on their feet and explore dual immersion play-making strategies and the role that language plays in the field. We will explore music motifs, tableau and pantomime using a new Latin adaptation of the Wizard of Oz story designed for youth performers. Participants will learn about the program model DreamBox Theatre uses when producing original bilingual musicals in San Miguel de Allende Mexico with a cast comprised of local Mexican orphans and American expat children.  “Our goal was to stop building walls because of language barriers and let the theater serve as a bridge in this Mexican town. We wanted to create a place that welcomed different communities of people to come together and experience the magic of theatre.” This session invites participants to consider the educational, cultural and social-emotional benefits youth experience when immersing in bilingual theatre.

Open the cover and be immersed in a multi-sensory adventure in children’s picture books. In development of the upcoming Alliance Theatre for the Very Young production, Hey Willy See the Pyramids, artists from the Atlanta area explore the illustrations and beat poetry of Maira Kalman. By producing creative programming for families, children connect to their first experiences with visual art through picture books in multidisciplinary ways and theatre artists learn from their responses to the work in order to develop the production. Through the perspectives of a visual art educator, sonic-artist, and theatre educator, experience how one page of a picture book can create a rich environment for learning and play with young children and adults. This workshop will culminate in participants creating an immersive experience using the artwork from the book.

Learn how to open new doors to creativity and inclusivity through the use of puppets on the stage and in the classroom!  Puppetry gives you a practical way to expand your cast and solve casting problems and a magical way to support your aesthetic and vision!  It is an art form for artist(s) of all discipline(s): designers, builders, writers, directors, technicians and performers can find a home in puppetry arts.  This high energy, participatory session will allow all participants to celebrate their one-of-a-kind human body and unique creativity in an inclusive and supportive atmosphere, allowing all to find their home in puppetry.