TYA/USA on Tour @ First Stage
• Friday, November 4 •
TYA/USA on Tour continued in the Midwest at First Stage, spotlighting the theme of TYA adaptation in action and bringing beloved stories for young people from page to stage.
Attendees at TYA/USA on Tour at First Stage:
- Saw a live performance of Arthur and Friends Make a Musical! in community with other TYA practitioners
- Heard from keynote speaker, Marc Brown
- Participated in breakout sessions with facilitators
- Connected with colleagues at a culminating reception
Programming took place across two locations in Milwaukee:
- Marcus Performing Arts Center (929 N Water Street, Milwaukee WI 53202)
- Milwaukee Youth Arts Center (325 W Walnut Street, Milwaukee WI 53212)
COVID Safety Policies
As of June 2022, proof of “full vaccination” – as defined by the CDC – is required of all in-person participants at all three of the 2022 TYA/USA on Tour event locations (Seattle Children’s Theatre, First Stage, and Imagination Stage). All TYA/USA on Tour in-person participants, regardless of location, are also required to wear a mask at all times while indoors during TYA/USA on Tour programming. Exceptions to this requirement will be made during the reception and during break times while beverages and/or snacks are being actively consumed. We strongly encourage participants to bring KN95 or N95 masks over cloth masks options if possible.
Please note that these policies are subject to changes and/or additions as we continue to observe the evolution of COVID-19 at our host sites. Please reach out to info@tyausa.org with any questions or concerns regarding our TYA/USA on Tour COVID policies.
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Marc Brown
Keynote Speaker - Author & Illustrator of the "Arthur" series
Marc Brown is the author and illustrator of the bestselling Arthur series and executive producer of ARTHUR on PBS. The show has won seven Emmys, the Peabody Award, The 2019 Television Critics Award and is now the longest running children’s animated show in history. The Arthur books have sold more than 75 million copies and the show is seen by children all around the world. He is currently working on HOP, a new animated preschool television series and two other television productions based on book collaborations with R.L. Stine.
“When my three sisters and I were growing up near Erie, Pennsylvania, our grandmother Thora told us the most wonderful stories anytime we wanted them. Back then I never dreamed I would grow up to tell stories of my own,” says Marc Brown. “But when my first son, Tolon, was born, I started telling him stories every night before he went to sleep. Most of the stories were about animals. One night our story was about an aardvark who hated his nose. The aardvark, of course, was named Arthur, and that story became Arthur’s Nose, the first book in the Arthur Adventure series.”
What began as a simple family ritual soon grew into a full-time profession for Marc Brown. Trained at the Cleveland Art Institute, he went on to create more than one hundred and thirty picture books for children. Before his current success, Marc worked at many jobs, including stints as a truck driver, soda jerk, actor, chicken farmer, television art director, short order cook, and college professor.
Marc is married to psychologist and artist, Laurie Krasny Brown. They have collaborated on the bestselling Dino Life Guides for Families and divide their time between New York City and a small farm on Martha’s Vineyard. They have three grown children and two cats on dietary restrictions.
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Jeff Frank
Breakout Session Facilitator - Adapting in the TYA World & Representation and Age-appropriate casting
Jeff Frank As the Artistic Director of First Stage, the third largest professional Theater for Young Audiences in the nation, Jeff is recognized as one of the top directors in the field with an expertise in developing new work for Theater for Young Audiences. First Stage serves young people and families of southeastern Wisconsin through dynamic in school educational programming and their nationally recognized Theater Academy and Young Company training programs. During Jeff’s tenure First Stage has developed numerous new plays including TYA adaptations of THE WIZ, PETER PAN AND WENDY, and in collaboration with Michael Bobbitt and Adventure Theatre MTC – BIG, THE MUSICAL and ELLA ENCHANTED. In addition to presiding over the development of adaptations of THE THIEF LORD, GOSSAMER, GATHERING BLUE, TOM SAWYER, ON THE WINGS OF A MARIPOSA, and THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS – Jeff has strengthened First Stage’s commitment to new, original plays including A MIDNIGHT CRY, DON’T TELL ME I CAN’T FLY, LUCHADORA, TO THE PROMISED LAND, THE SNOW, and ANTARCTICA, WI. Harry Cherkinian (Chicago Theater Beat/Shepherd Express) proclaimed; “Director Jeff Frank … continues to take Milwaukee’s children’s theater company to new levels ….”
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Alvaro Saar Rios
Breakout Session Facilitator - Adapting in the TYA World
Alvaro Saar Rios is a Texican playwright living in Chicago who creates experiences for multi-generational audiences. His plays have been performed (professionally or by teatristas doing it out of pure love) in New York City, Mexico City, Hawaii, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and all over Texas. He has received playwriting commissions from various organizations, including Kennedy Center, Chicago Children’s Theatre, First Stage, Houston Grand Opera, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Alley Theatre, Purple Rose Theatre Company, Express Children’s Theatre, Milwaukee’s United Community Center, Talento Bilingüe de Houston, Houston Community College, and Zoological Society of Milwaukee.
His award-winning play Luchadora! is published by Dramatic Publishing Inc. Other plays include Blue Bullets, On The Wings of a Mariposa, The Day the Music Came Back, and Piggsville, a quasi-adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. He co-wrote the virtual musical Unmuted with composer Deborah Wicks La Puma. He also wrote a stage adaptation of Matt de la Peña’s New York Times Best Seller Carmela Full of Wishes. Recently, Alvaro’s collection of short plays Musings of a Crazy Texican was published by Theatrical Rights Worldwide.
Alvaro holds an MFA in Writing for the Stage and Screen from Northwestern University, a BA in English–Creative Writing from the University of Houston and an AA in Communications from Houston Community College. He is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists and Playwright-In-Residence at Milwaukee’s First Stage. A proud veteran of the US Army, Alvaro used to drive M1A1 tanks.
Rios co-founded The Royal Mexican Players with his wife, Michelle Lopez-Rios. Since 2004, they have created original scripted and devised plays, which include The Crazy Mexican Show, A Trip Through the Mind of a ‘Crazy’ Mexican, and One Hot Texican Summer (or the summer I found out I was Mexican). They have also developed workshops for high schools, colleges and conferences, including Texas A&M University, Palo Alto College, Voice & Speech Teachers Association, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and the Texas Thespian State Festival. Their work has been seen in London; Bogota; Washington, D.C.; Houston and Denver.
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John Maclay
Breakout Session Facilitator - Adapting in the TYA World
John Maclay is a playwright and lyricist with over a dozen professionally produced titles. In addition to his newest musical Arthur and Friends Make a Musical (with Brett Ryback), his works include Goosebumps The Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium (with Danny Abosch), The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors (with Eric Nordin), Geronimo Stilton: Mouse in Space, Little Piglet Gets a Sister (with Brett Ryback), Nancy Drew and Her Biggest Case Ever (with Jeff Frank), Anatole (with Lee Becker and James Valcq), The Revolting Teens of Sherwood (with Joe Foust), Nate the Great (with Brett Ryback), Hopper, and Apollo and the Trials of Hercules (with Joe Foust). John is a proud member of Actors Equity and the Dramatist Guild and serves as one of the playwrights in residence at First Stage In Milwaukee, WI.
More at www.johnmaclay.com. -
Erica Berman
Breakout Session Facilitator - From Casting to Performance: Deaf & Disabled Actors in TYA
Erica Berman is celebrating her ninth season as the Director of Education & Artistic Associate with CTM. Erica introduced sensory friendly programming to CTM and collaborates on creating accessible programming, internships, and artistic opportunities. Erica has presented on CTM’s autism initiatives to Madison’s Arts Education Roundtable, AATE National Conference, & Inclusive Theater Conference at Northwestern University. She is also the staff representative for CTM’s EDI Committee. Before CTM, Erica was on the planning committee to provide McCarter Theater’s first sensory friendly performance, receiving invaluable training from the Theater Development Fund (TDF). Erica is also an accomplished playwright and director. MA: Theater Education, Emerson College.
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Fran Sillau
Breakout Session Facilitator - From Casting to Performance: Deaf & Disabled Actors in TYA
Fran Sillau serves as the Director of Accessibility at The Rose Theater, where he is leading an expansion of the popular Every Single Child Program (a multi-layered program that serves an average of 35,000 students each year at more than 70 school buildings.) The expansion will develop production and residency programming for students in self-contained special education classrooms in the Omaha area. He also directs mainstage productions at the Rose; some of his credits include Shrek: The Musical, Go,Dog.Go! and the Omaha premiere of Hanna’s Suitcase. He also serves as Executive Artistic Director of Circle Theatre, Omaha’s theater for individuals of all abilities.
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Samantha D. Montgomery
Breakout Session Facilitator - Representation and Age-appropriate Casting at First Stage
Samantha D. Montgomery is the Director of Artistic Inclusion and Community Engagement at First stage. She is a performance artist who is committed to the process of learning. She has worked in both traditional and non-traditional educational settings. Samantha is committed to unified collaboration that nurtures trust, acceptance, inclusion, and community. Samantha is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. She holds a B.A. from Alverno College in Professional Communication, a M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Administrative Leadership and Supervision in Adult Education, and a M.A. from Alverno College in Education. She is currently an online student working on her Masters of Divinity at Anderson University in Indiana.
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Melissa L. Wanke
Breakout Session Facilitator - Representation and Age-appropriate Casting at First Stage
Melissa served as the Production Stage Manager for 14 seasons at First Stage. She was instrumental in creating and implementing systems and logistics that allowed First Stage to support adults and young performers through the rehearsal and performance process. Some of First Stage productions include ELF THE MUSICAL, TINKER BELL, MATILDA THE MUSICAL, NATE THE GREAT, THE WIZ, ELLA ENCHANTED, HOLES, BIG FISH, BIG NATE: THE MUSICAL, SHREK: THE MUSICAL, A MIDNIGHT CRY, BIG: THE MUSICAL, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™: THE MUSICAL, U: BUG: ME, A WRINKLE IN TIME, MISS NELSON IS MISSING, U: BUG: ME, MY SON PINOCCHIO and HOW I BECAME A PIRATE. Melissa has also worked with Door Shakespeare, Optimist Theatre, The Milwaukee Rep, American Players Theatre, Northern Sky Theater, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Florida Studio Theatre. She is a proud member of Actor’s Equity.
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Molly Bunder
Breakout Session Facilitator - The Kids Are in Charge
Molly Bunder (she/her) is the Education Director at Filament Theatre, where she has been a resident artist and educator since 2014. She designs and teaches Filament’s school residencies, camps, classes, and training programs–including SPARK curator training. Molly teaches theatre as a tool for community engagement and empowerment. She works with young people, women’s organizations, first-generation college students, returning citizens, and those experiencing homelessness. She has taught for the award-winning Toonspeak Young People’s Theatre (Glasgow, Scotland), the University of Glasgow, Chicago Ideas Week, Emerald City Theatre, Mudlark Theatre, Adler Arts Center, DePaul University, the University of Chicago(TRiO) and Purdue University.
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Reji Simon
Breakout Session Facilitator - The Kids Are in Charge
Reji Simon (he/him) is a Chicago based performing artist and has been a Resident Artist at Filament Theatre since 2017. In addition to performing, he is a teacher, producer, and casting director. At the heart of all of his work is community and development. He is committed to developing artists through community building and the deconstruction of barriers meant to keep folks out of art making. Reji has worked as a teaching artist at Filament Theatre, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, and Cleveland Playhouse.
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Julie Ritchey
Breakout Session Facilitator - The Kids Are in Charge
Julie Ritchey (she/her) is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Filament Theatre and a Chicago-based theater director and administrator with a primary focus on theater for young and family audiences. Critics describe Julie’s work as a director as “pinpoint” (Chicago Tribune), “captivating” (Chicago Reader) and “incredibly imaginative” (Time Out Chicago). With Filament, Julie created The Van Gogh Cafe, an adaptation of Cynthia Rylant’s book of the same name (staged in Fannie’s Bakery and Cafe with an accompanying a five course meal); a Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Portage Park (an original mystery that took the audience on foot and by bicycle throughout the neighborhood in search of clues); The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles (a play in a sandbox); and Forts: Build Your Own Adventure (an audience-driven performance installation).
Julie maintains strong relationships with theater companies in Chicago and nationally, where she focuses primarily on new and emerging work. She sometimes directs plays for grown-up audiences, too. With Boise Contemporary Theater, Julie directed the premiere production of Hansol Jung’s No More Sad Things (World Premiere), With Love and a Major Organ, Every Brilliant Thing, The Storm in the Barn, Narwhal! Unicorn of the Sea (World Premiere), and An Iliad (Idaho tour). Additionally, Julie co-founded the hugely successful children’s theatre program at the Summer Theatre of New Canaan. Julie received a Bachelor of Science in Performance Studies from Northwestern University. She lives in Chicago with her husband (Grammy Award-winning musician Timothy Munro) and their delicious toddler (Ellis).
Featured Performance
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Arthur and Friends Make a Musical!
First Stage World Premiere
ARTHUR AND FRIENDS MAKE A MUSICAL!
Book and Lyrics by John Maclay, Music and Lyrics by Brett Ryback
Adapted from the books and characters created by Marc Brown
Directed and Choreographed by Khalia Davis
Music Direction by Brett RybackOctober 7 – November 6, 2022
Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater
Sponsored by Children’s WisconsinBig things are happening at Lakewood Elementary School! Mr. Ratburn’s class is asked to write and perform a big show for all of Elwood City. Everyone is so excited! Everyone, except for Arthur. What should he do? Arthur feels more nervous as the big performance gets closer and closer. With the help of his family and friends Buster, Brain, Francine, Muffy – and even little sister D.W. – Arthur learns the importance of being his best, unique self. All aboard for an incredibly fun ride with this world premiere musical! Suggested for families with young people ages 5+.
Schedule
Note: Times listed below are in local time (Central).
Registration & Check-In
Arthur and Friends Make a Musical! Performance
Book and Lyrics by John Maclay, Music and Lyrics by Brett Ryback
Adapted from the books and characters created by Marc Brown
Directed and Choreographed by Khalia Davis
Music Direction by Brett Ryback
October 7 – November 6, 2022
Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater
Sponsored by Children’s Wisconsin
Big things are happening at Lakewood Elementary School! Mr. Ratburn’s class is asked to write and perform a big show for all of Elwood City. Everyone is so excited! Everyone, except for Arthur. What should he do? Arthur feels more nervous as the big performance gets closer and closer. With the help of his family and friends Buster, Brain, Francine, Muffy – and even little sister D.W. – Arthur learns the importance of being his best, unique self. All aboard for an incredibly fun ride with this world premiere musical! Suggested for families with young people ages 5+
Keynote - Marc Brown
Marc Brown is the author and illustrator of the bestselling Arthur series and executive producer of ARTHUR on PBS. The show has won seven Emmys, the Peabody Award, The 2019 Television Critics Award and is now the longest running children’s animated show in history. The Arthur books have sold more than 75 million copies and the show is seen by children all around the world. He is currently working on HOP, a new animated preschool television series and two other television productions based on book collaborations with R.L. Stine.
“When my three sisters and I were growing up near Erie, Pennsylvania, our grandmother Thora told us the most wonderful stories anytime we wanted them. Back then I never dreamed I would grow up to tell stories of my own,” says Marc Brown. “But when my first son, Tolon, was born, I started telling him stories every night before he went to sleep. Most of the stories were about animals. One night our story was about an aardvark who hated his nose. The aardvark, of course, was named Arthur, and that story became Arthur’s Nose, the first book in the Arthur Adventure series.”
What began as a simple family ritual soon grew into a full-time profession for Marc Brown. Trained at the Cleveland Art Institute, he went on to create more than one hundred and thirty picture books for children. Before his current success, Marc worked at many jobs, including stints as a truck driver, soda jerk, actor, chicken farmer, television art director, short order cook, and college professor.
Marc is married to psychologist and artist, Laurie Krasny Brown. They have collaborated on the bestselling Dino Life Guides for Families and divide their time between New York City and a small farm on Martha’s Vineyard. They have three grown children and two cats on dietary restrictions.
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Marc Brown
Lunch on Your Own
Breakout Session #1
Attendees will select from one of two Breakout Sessions offered during the block.
Adapting in the TYA World – Serving the Playwright, the Process and the Community (First Stage Host Breakout Session)
with Jeff Frank, Alvaro Saar Rios, & John Maclay
First Stage Artistic Director Jeff Frank facilitates a conversation with two of First Stage’s Playwrights in Residence – John Maclay (ARTHUR AND FRIENDS MAKE A MUSICAL, LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS and NATE THE GREAT) and Alvaro Saar Rios (MOLE HILL STORIES, ON THE WINGS OF A MARIPOSA and the upcoming world premiere of ESPERANZA RISING) about their respective approaches to adaptation and how First Stage works to support the respective needs of playwrights while ensuring the process serves the needs of the creative team and the theater itself. Following the conversation participants will share in an open discussion about best practices – including the role of the community in the development of new work.
From Casting to Performance: Deaf & Disabled Actors in TYA
with Erica Berman & Fran Sillau
In this interactive session, participants will gain practical tools for the casting, rehearsal, and performance process to include actors with disabilities 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 disability, even for roles that don’t call for a disability.
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Jeff Frank
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Alvaro Saar Rios
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John Maclay
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Erica Berman
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Fran Sillau
Breakout Session #2
Attendees will select from one of two Breakout Sessions offered during the block.
Representation and Age-appropriate Casting at First Stage – Why and How? (First Stage Host Breakout Session)
with Jeff Frank, Samantha D. Montgomery, & Melissa L. Wanke
As we collectively continue our journey toward a deeper thoughtfulness about inclusion and representation, First Stage Artistic Director Jeff Frank, Director of Artistic Inclusion and Community Engagement Samantha Montgomery and former First Stage Production Stage Manager, Melissa Wanke, share the philosophy behind the company’s long-standing history of lifting the voices, faces, spirits and hearts of young people through their commitment to age-appropriate casting. In this session, they will discuss not only the why of age-appropriate casting but also the how – from providing training programs and community connections to auditions to rehearsals and performances, and the key principles and logistics that make it work.
The Kids Are in Charge: A Toolkit for Youth-Led Curating and Collaboration
with Molly Bunder, Reji Simon, & Julie Ritchey
At Filament Theatre, young people ages 8 – 12 select and curate a professional theatrical season through the SPARK new work incubator. Join Reji Simon, Associate Artistic Director, and Molly Bunder, Education Director, for a look at Filament’s unique youth-led development process. Explore the fundamentals of anti-adultist season selection and build a toolkit for creating new work both for and with young audiences.
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Jeff Frank
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Samantha D. Montgomery
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Melissa L. Wanke
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Molly Bunder
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Reji Simon
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Julie Ritchey
Closing Remarks- Executive Director Sara Morgulis
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Sara Morgulis
Reception / After Party
Light refreshments included!
Our 2022 TYA/USA on Tour Sponsors
We thank our generous sponsors for their support of the 2022 TYA/USA on Tour series.
• Vivienne M. St. John • Cathy Archer • Catherine von Storch • Ana Romes • Shavonne Coleman • Ellen Conn •
• Khalia Davis • Suzan Zeder • Paige Hernandez • Allison Mui Mitchell • Gayle Sergel Brown •
• Sean-Joseph Choo • Craig Holland • José Casas • Monica Cortes Vharo •
