Festival

The TYA/USA National Festival & Conference is the most significant
gathering of Theatre for Young Audiences professionals in North America.
Early Bird Registration for TYA/USA members is now open. Learn more below.

This biennial, four-day event features 12 productions from around the globe and across the US, dynamic speakers, and engaging workshops from national and international artists. The event offers artistic exchange, meaningful learning, and networking opportunities for attendees from across the country. Join us May 8-11, 2019 at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Event

The 2019 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference (formerly known as One Theatre World) will convene May 8-11, 2019. Hosted by The Alliance Theatre, the Festival & Conference will take place across the Woodruff Arts Center Campus and beyond in Atlanta, Georgia.

This year’s theme is Breaking Down Walls, inspired by our host venue
The Alliance Theatre’s historic upcoming renovation.

In tearing down their balcony – an architectural reminder of the Jim Crow-era South – The Alliance embodies their commitment to diversity and inclusivity through the state of the art new theater that will open in time for this conference. The festival and conference programming will “break down walls” of all kinds – facing the structural systemic racism we need to dismantle in our field and in our world; bridging the divide with artists from across the world; presenting work that breaks down the traditional divide between artists and audiences in performance; and bringing together TYA professionals from across the country to instigate new conversations about our work.

Our 2019 Host

For the first time, TYA/USA will convene in the American South for the
biennial festival & conference, hosted by The Alliance Theatre.

Founded in 1968, the Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre is the leading producing theater in the Southeast, reaching more than 165,000 patrons annually. The Alliance delivers powerful programming that challenges adult and youth audiences to think critically and care deeply.

The 2019 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference will be presented in conjunction with the Alliance’s Toddler Takeover Festival, an annual arts festival developed for children from birth through 5 years old and featuring performances from the Kathy & Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young, infant and toddler tours, art-making at the High Museum of Art, and much more.

Registration Rates

Early Bird registration is available to Members only and will open October 18.
After December 31, the Regular Rates will apply. Register Now

Level	Early Bird Rate Available to Members only Become a Member	Regular Rate
TYA/USA Member	$295	$340
TYA/USA Student Member	$175	$185
AATE/IPAY Member		$390
Non-Member		$410
Student – Non-Member		$195
One-Day Attendee		$175
	Register	Register

Keynote Speakers

A trio of dynamic and accomplished speakers will offer big ideas, thought-provoking questions, and challenge the TYA field to think about our work in new ways.

Jason Reynolds

Presented with the generous support of the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America

Jason Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, National Book Award Honoree, a Kirkus Award winner, a two time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. Reynolds was named the American Booksellers Association’s 2017 and 2018 spokesperson for Indies First, and served as the national spokesperson for the 2018 celebration of School Library Month in April 2018, sponsored by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). Jason’s many works of fiction include When I Was the Greatest, Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys (co-written with Brendan Kiely), As Brave As You, For Every One, Miles Morales: Spider Man, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), and Long Way Down, which received both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor. He is on faculty at Lesley University, for the Writing for Young People MFA Program and lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.
Pearl Cleage

Pearl Cleage is an Atlanta based writer, currently Mellon Playwright in Residence at the Tony Award winning Alliance Theatre. Her new play Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous, will be a part of the theatre’s 50th anniversary season in 2019. Other plays at the Alliance include Pointing at the Moon, “What I Learned in Paris,” and Flyin’ West, the most produced new play in the country in 1994. Her play The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years was commissioned by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and co-produced with the Alliance in Montgomery and Atlanta. Her first play for young audiences, Tell Me My Dream, was commissioned and produced by the Alliance in 2015. Blues for An Alabama Sky was included in the 1996 Olympic Arts Festival and has been produced in multiple American theatres every year since it premiered at the Alliance in 1995. It recently enjoyed an extended run at The Court Theatre in Chicago and a critically praised production at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Her other plays include Late Bus to Mecca, Bourbon at the Border and A Song for Coretta.

Her first novel, What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day, was an Oprah Book Club pick and spent nine weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Her other novels include Baby Brother’s Blues, which received an NAACP Image Award for Literature, I Wish I Had A Red Dress, Babylon Sisters, and Things I Never Thought I’d Do. Her memoir, Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons and Love Affairs, was published by Simon and Schuster/ATRIA Books in April, 2014. She is also the co-author with her husband, writer Zaron W. Burnett, Jr., of We Speak Your Names, a praise poem commissioned by Oprah Winfrey for her 2005 Legends Weekend, and A 21st Century Freedom Song: For Selma at 50, commissioned by Winfrey for the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March. Cleage and Burnett are frequent collaborators including their award winning ten year performance series, “Live at Club Zebra!” featuring their work as writers and performance artists. They are currently collaborating with visual artist Radcliffe Bailey on their first book for children.
Dave Brown

Presented with the generous support of Arts South Australia and the Embassy of Australia.

The privilege of being Artistic Director of Australia’s Patch Theatre Company for 20-years allowed Dave Brown to develop a distinctive philosophy and practice of professional theatre-making.

Across those 20 years, he co-conceived and directed twenty-eight original, devised works for 4-8 year old children, ten of which have toured internationally in the US, Canada, Singapore, Korea, Japan and New Zealand and fourteen of which have toured nationally in extensive Playing Australia tours.

Nine of the works have been presented by the Sydney Opera House, three by the Kennedy Center in Washington and two by the New Victory Theater in New York.

Included in the repertoire are two National Helpmann Award winners, an International Victor Award winner and six National Touring Drovers Award winners.

In 2015, Dave received the Mickey Miners Lifetime Achievement Award for Sustained Excellence from IPAY.

In 2016, Dave’s thinking around collaborative theatre-making found fresh expression in The PaperBoats and its seven creative principles in a platform inspired by open-source, co-creation communities and the power of partnership.

In 2016-2017, with the support of an Australia Council Fellowship, Dave kick- started a 5 year “proof of concept” investigation with artists and communities, locally and internationally which is culminating in a range of new performances for children.

By sharing and accumulating ideas and content across our 4 partnership communities (Australia, USA, Singapore and New Zealand) in slow-brewing processes underpinned by The PaperBoats creative principles, the platform is progressively developing a range of theatre works for early childhood audiences in all 4 communities across the next 3 years.

Breakout Sessions

Led by TYA leaders from across the US, these participatory, experiential workshops will provide high-quality learning experiences to further the national conversation for professionals working in theatre for young audiences.

More info and specific titles to be announced soon.

Interested in submitting a proposal to present a Breakout Session? Find more info here.

Performances

An exciting and diverse international showcase of performances for young audiences will offer attendees
the opportunity to experience a range of work happening in TYA across Atlanta, the United States, and abroad, including:

All American Boys

Off the Page - Brooklyn, NY

Presented as a staged reading

Off The Page/Directed by Vicky Finney Crouch and Jody Drezner Alperin/Based on the book by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely/ Originally published by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/ Used with the permission of Pippin Properties, Inc . and Rob Weisbach Creative Management

All American Boys is adapted by Off the Page from the award-winning book by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. The story centers on high school students Rashad and Quinn – one black, one white – who are forced to confront the reality of a violent act that leaves their school and community torn apart by racial tension.
Especially on Birthdays

The Paperboats - Adelaide, AUS

The Paperboats/Dave Brown – South Australia

Presented with the generous support of Arts South Australia and the Embassy of Australia.

Especially on Birthdays is an intimate visual-theatre experience for 4-8 year olds that shares the ups, downs and roundabouts of being a twin, especially on that most anticipated day of the year. Part performance, part game, part celebration, Especially on Birthdays engages children in deeply human stories of friendship, play, giving, receiving, sharing, forgiving and understanding.
Ghost

Nashville Children’s Theatre - Nashville, TN

Nashville Children’s Theatre/By Idris Goodwin/Based on the book Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Presented with the generous support of the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America

Castle Crenshaw, a.k.a. Ghost, has been running his entire life, but for all the wrong reasons. Then one day he meets Coach, an Olympic medalist who sees his unique raw talent. Can Ghost achieve the speed he needs for success, or will his past finally catch up to him? A world premiere especially developed for Nashville Children’s Theatre.
Gimme Please!

Alliance Theatre/Megan Alrutz/The PaperBoats

Alliance Theatre/Devised & directed by Megan Alrutz/Conceived & commissioned in partnership with The PaperBoats

A play about the evolving nature of friendship, Gimme Please follows the journey of two friends—from initial meeting to lasting connection. Audiences are invited to watch and explore as the two friends pretend, provoke, and persist in getting what they want and need from the world and each other. Through the use of live music, as well as light and magic, this story draws audiences in with its deep sense of play and honest exploration of growing up and finding your path.
Harold and the Purple Crayon

Center for Puppetry Arts - Atlanta, GA

Based on the books by Crockett Johnson /Adapted by Jon Ludwig /All rights reserved by The Ruth Krauss Foundation, Inc., Stewart Edelstein, President.

A curious four-year-old boy has the power to create anything he can imagine, simply by drawing it with his oversized purple crayon. The Center for Puppetry Arts is thrilled to announce the world premiere of their original adaptation of Harold and the Purple Crayon. Based on the beloved book series by Crockett Johnson, this production combines the latest in projection technology with blacklight puppetry to enable Harold to create his world live on stage – in real time. From enchanted gardens to a circus and wild ride to the moon, see where Harold and his crayon can take you!
Inside I

The Object Group in collaboration with 7 Stages Theatre - Atlanta, GA

A theatrical production for ages 12 and up, following a boy on the autistic spectrum from birth to age 18, and his obsession with and escape into the world of cinema. Live-feed wireless cameras implanted in bunraku-style puppets, edited/altered and projected onto multiple screens and moving monitors onstage, enable the audience to experience the character’s perspective, giving voice and image to the spectrum’s unheard/unseen effects on function, psychology, and perception.
Long Way Down

Kennedy Center - Washington, DC

Presented as a staged reading

Kennedy Center/Directed by Timothy Douglas/Based on the book by Jason Reynolds/Adapted for the stage by Martine Kei Green-Rogers

Sixty seconds. Seven floors. One elevator. Fifteen-year-old Will’s brother has just been shot, and Will is ready to follow “The Rules”: 1) “No Crying.” 2) “No Snitching.” 3) “Get Revenge.” But on the ride down, with his brother’s gun in his pocket, his plan is interrupted by a few visitors. D.C.-area native Jason Reynolds’s New York Times best-selling book comes to the stage in a compelling and timely production. Told entirely in free-form poetry, Long Way Down captures the potent minute Will contemplates retaliation. As mysterious guests appear at each floor, Will realizes there might be a bigger story to be told. He knows who he’s after. Or does he? A world premiere Kennedy Center commission (set to open at the Kennedy Center October 27, 2018).
Me...Jane

Kennedy Center - Washington, DC

Me…Jane: The Dreams & Adventures of Young Jane Goodall

Kennedy Center/Directed by Aaron Posner/Choreographed by Christopher d’Amboise/Based on the book Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell/Music and lyrics by Andy Mitton/Adapted by Andy Mitton, Patrick McDonnell, and Aaron Posner

Before she was a renowned humanitarian, conservationist, and animal activist, Dr. Jane Goodall was a little girl with a very special toy chimpanzee named Jubilee. Together, Jane and Jubilee went on outdoor adventures and observed all the miracles of nature around them. As they learned more and more on their expeditions, Jane dreamed of spending the rest of her life living with and helping animals. And one day, she would go on to do just that. In this brand new musical adaptation, join young Jane and her special friend as they learn about the world around them and the importance of protecting all living species. With anecdotes taken directly from Jane Goodall’s autobiography, this adaptation makes this very true story accessible for the young—and young at heart. Part of the U.S. Tour of this world premiere Kennedy Center commission.
Shh...Bang!

Peut-Être Theatre - London, UK

Peut-Être Theatre/Directed by Daphna Attias – London, UK

A delicate dance-theatre performance for children and their adults, playfully exploring silence and noise. Two characters on a journey through boings, wooshes, tick tocks and cacophony. on their journey they also manage to listen to the silence. They learn to feel the noise and see the sounds around them.
A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Children's Theatre of Charlotte - Charlotte, NC

Children’s Theatre of Charlotte/Written by Philip C. Stead and Illustrated by Erin E. Stead/Adapted for the stage by Nicole B. Adkins

Friends come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In this heartwarming story about the joys of friendship, Amos McGee knows friends can come in all sorts of species, too. Every day, Amos visits his animal friends at the zoo, playing chess with an elephant, reading stories to an owl who’s afraid of the dark and caring for a particularly shy penguin. One day, though, Amos doesn’t show up! What will the animals do to repay the kindness shown to them by their friend? Lively and engaging puppets were designed for this show in conjunction with the work of our playwright.
La Tortuga and the Hare

Alliance Theatre - Atlanta, GA

Alliance Theatre/Created & directed by Lauri Stallings and Rosemary Newcott

The race is today! Join in the fun and excitement as the tortoise and the hare hit the starting line. The audience is invited into the center of the race track to experience the action all around them. Through dance, movement, music and bilingual storytelling, young children will engage in this classic folk tale in wholly imaginative and new ways.
Yao Yao

Brush Theatre - Seoul, South Korea

YAO YAO is a playful blend of reality and imagination by using magical screen art technology and live music. YAO is a mischievous little girl who loves playing with her Dad. But every morning Daddy has to dress up in his suit, pick up his briefcase and go to work. YAO, unhappy with Daddy’s departure grabs his overcoat and accidentally pulls a thread that leads to the start of a magical world of adventure and discovery. Join YAO on her ingenious journey to find out what’s waiting for her at the end of the thread…

Schedule

Plan your trip and explore the range of programming that will be offered May 8-11, 2019 at the 2019 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference. (Programming specifics and timing subject to change).

8:00 am
8:30 am
9:00 am
9:30 am
10:00 am
10:30 am
11:00 am
11:30 am
12:00 pm
12:30 pm
1:00 pm
1:30 pm
2:00 pm
2:30 pm
3:00 pm
3:30 pm
4:00 pm
4:30 pm
5:00 pm
5:30 pm
6:00 pm
6:30 pm
7:00 pm
7:30 pm
8:00 pm
8:30 pm
9:00 pm
9:30 pm
10:00 pm
10:30 pm
11:00 pm

Wednesday May 8, 2019
Thursday May 9, 2019
Friday May 10, 2019
Saturday May 11, 2019

Planning Your Trip

Information on hotels, travel directions, and local attractions near The Alliance Theatre can be found below.

Hotels

Group rates are available at three local hotels, all located within short walking distance to the Woodruff Arts Center.

Artmore Hotel – Midtown Atlanta ($119 USD per night)

Atlanta Marriott Suites Midtown (164.00 USD per night)

Residence Inn Atlanta Midtown/Peachtree at 17th (135.00 USD per night)

Transportation

Directions from Atlanta International Airport to Woodruff Arts Center:

Address:
1280 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30309

PUBLIC TRANSIT (MARTA)

The Arts Center MARTA Station (N5) is located directly behind the Woodruff Arts Center and is handicapped accessible.

Take either the North or South Rail line to Arts Center Station (N5). Follow the signs to the Woodruff Arts Center.

For detailed transit directions, click here and enter your start location.

For more information on MARTA schedules, maps, and connections from other transit providers, please visit www.itsmarta.com.

By Car: 24 min

Get on I-85 N from S Terminal Pkwy for 5 min (1.7 mi), Head east on N Terminal Pkwy for 374 ft, Slight right toward S Terminal Pkwy for 0.2 mi, Slight right onto S Terminal Pkwy for 0.1 mi, Use the right 2 lanes to turn slightly right onto N Terminal Pkwy for 1.0 mi, keep left, follow signs for I-75 N/I-20/I-85 N/Atlanta and merge onto I-85 N. Exit at the 10th Street/14th Street exit (Exit 250). At the end of the exit ramp, turn right onto 10th Street. Go to the third light and turn left onto Peachtree Street. Go five blocks. The Woodruff Arts Center is located on the left side of Peachtree Street at the corner of Peachtree and 15th Street. It is the large white building on the left with a large marquee in front.

Driving directions:

FROM NORTH OF ATLANTA (GA 400)

Take 400 South to Interstate 85 South and follow the directions below (From North of Atlanta (I-85)).

FROM NORTH OF ATLANTA (I-85)

Take Interstate 85 South. Exit at the 14th/17th Street/Techwood exit (Exit 84 on I-85). Take a left onto 17th Street. Cross over Spring Street and W. Peachtree Street, then take your next right onto Peachtree Street. The Woodruff Arts Center is located on the right side of Peachtree Street at the corner of Peachtree and 15th Street. It is the large white building on the right with a large marquee in front.

FROM NORTH OF ATLANTA (I-75)

Take Interstate 75 South. Exit at the 16th Street exit (Exit 250 on I-75). Take a right onto 16th Street. Turn right at Market Street. Take the next right onto the 17th Street exit. Cross over Spring Street and W. Peachtree Street, then take your next right onto Peachtree Street. The Woodruff Arts Center is located on the right side of Peachtree Street at the corner of Peachtree and 15th Street. It is the large white building on the right with a large marquee in front.

FROM EAST OR WEST OF ATLANTA (I-20)

Take I-20 toward Atlanta. In Atlanta, get on I-75/85 North and follow the directions below (From South of Atlanta (I-75/85)).

FROM SOUTH OF ATLANTA (I-75/85)

Take Interstate 75 or 85 North. Just before Atlanta, I-75 joins I-85. Continue on I-75/85 North. Exit at the 10th Street/14th Street exit (Exit 250). At the end of the exit ramp, turn right onto 10th Street. Go to the third light and turn left onto Peachtree Street. Go five blocks. The Woodruff Arts Center is located on the left side of Peachtree Street at the corner of Peachtree and 15th Street. It is the large white building on the left with a large marquee in front.

A Day in Midtown: Arts & Attractions

The Center for Puppetry Arts is the largest organization in the United States devoted to the art of puppet theatre. The Center offers visitors access to their museum, puppetry performances, film screenings and educational programs.

Piedmont Park is a beautiful space in the heart of Atlanta with over 200 acres of green space, dog parks, sports facilities, and playgrounds. Piedmont Park hosts a variety of events, including the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Music Midtown, the Atlanta Jazz Festival and the Atlanta Pride Festival, to name a few.

Colony Square is a business, residential and cultural center. Colony Square is currently undergoing renovations, but soon, Midtown’s residents and visitors will have access to exciting new shops, restaurants and amenities just down the street from The Woodruff Arts Center.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a 30-acre garden which offers a place of calm amidst the bustle of Midtown. In addition to welcoming visitors to their garden, they offer a variety of events, such as live music, children’s programs and temporary exhibits.

Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) is the only design museum in the Southeast. They are devoted to the celebration and study of design and to exploring the role of museums in the
21st century.

The Center for Civil and Human Rights is a museum dedicated to the achievements of both the civil rights movement in the United States and the broader worldwide human rights movement.