Stay connected to the 2023 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference with the Virtual Track!
Spanning over two weeks from June 5th to 20th, the Virtual Track for the 2023 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference featured online access to keystone programming from the in-person event – including digital versions of the Featured Performances, recorded keynote, recorded Song Slam Cabaret and two Breakout Sessions remounted as webinars – as well as the addition of two Virtual Track exclusive webinar topics.
The Virtual Track concluded on June 20, 2023.
Thank you so much for joining us online!
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Photo from Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s The Paʻakai We Bring
From June 5th to June 20th, Virtual Track registrants had access to:
1. On-demand digital versions of the four Featured Performances from the in-person Conference – The Pa’akai We Bring, The Hula Hoopin’ Queen, Cenicienta: A Bilingual Cinderella Story, and Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster
2. On-demand access to the recorded Conference keynote speech – “Letting Go: When the Story x Stage Collide” from Mahogany L. Browne
3. On-demand access to the recorded Song Slam Cabaret featuring 10 songs from TYA musicals with music direction by Deborah Wicks La Puma
4. Participation in four live webinars exploring major topics of conversation in our field now including Disability Justice in TYA (from the Insights to Advancing Access Breakout Session team); creating sustainable TYA organizations; TYA research; and TYA approaches to advocacy in the wake of censorship (from the TYA Advocacy in the Time of Book Banning Breakout Session team).
Accessibility Note: Recorded content – including the Featured Performances, Song Slam Cabaret, and Opening Ceremony + Keynote – will be captioned. All live Zoom webinars will have ASL interpretation and Zoom captions enabled.
Keynote Speaker & Webinar Panelists
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Mahogany L. Browne
Keynote Speaker - "Letting Go: When the Story x Stage Collide"
Writer, organizer, vocalist, performance poet, and educator Mahogany L. Browne is the author of poetry and fiction. Her YA poetry book Black Girl Magic celebrates a black girlhood that is “free, unforgettable, and luminous” (School Library Journal), while her children’s book Woke Baby is for all the littlest progressives who grow up to change the world; both were published in 2018 by Roaring Brook/Macmillan. Her most recent books include the YA titles Vinyl Moon (Penguin Random House, 2021) and Chlorine Sky (Penguin Random House, 2021). Her poetry collections are Chrome Valley (W. W. Norton, 2023); I Remember Death By Its Proximity to What I Love (Haymarket Books, 2021); Kissing Caskets (YesYes Books, 2017); and the NAACP-nominated chapbook Redbone (Willow Books, 2016). Of Redbone, Ross Gay wrote: “What I may love most about Redbone is the way it strains formally, with syntax and diction, with voice and perspective, searching for the right space on the page to make of this complex family story which, like most family stories, is made of sweetness and plain old hurt a kind of bearable song. It’s such a moving act. Such a caring and true telling. Such a singing.”
Browne has co-edited the anthology The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 3: Black Girl Magic, declared by Dazed as “one of the most important volumes of poetry in recent years.” She is also the author of the the YA anthology WOKE: A Young Poets Guide To Justice (Roaring Brook Press, 2020), co-edited with Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood.
Born in Oakland, California, Browne dropped out of high school after being told not to write poetry during a English honors class. Using her personal experiences with addiction, racism, sexism and oppression to inspire her own brand of shameless authentic work, Browne’s spoken word performances create a platform for women and girls to feel empowered and heard.
She has a MFA in Writing and Activism from Pratt Institute, where she founded the Women Writers of Color Reading Room and became the director of the Black Lives Matter program. Browne is one of the founders of the socially active literary collective #BlackPoetsSpeakOut (with Amanda Johnston, Jonterri Gadson, Jericho Brown, and Sherina Rodriguez Sharpe), created out of urgency and as a response to the non-indictment of the Mike Brown’s murderer.
Browne is the publisher of Penmanship Books, curator of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Friday Night Slam, founder of the Women Writers of Color Reading Room, and the director of Black Lives Matter at Pratt Institute, and artistic director at Urban Word NYC (a non-profit youth literary organization).
Her work has appeared in Poetry, Bustle, BET, Academy of American Poets, and other venues. She has also released five LPs, including a live album, Sheroshima. She is the recipient of literary fellowships from Agnes Gund, Air Serenbe, Cave Canem, Poets House, and Rauschenberg. Browne has been featured in PBS NewsHour reading her poem “Black Girl Magic” and in HBO’s Brave New Voices. She has toured internationally as a member of Global Poetics, an international arts exchange.
Mahogany L. Browne is the current Poetry Coordinator at St. Francis College’s MFA Program. She is the founder of Woke Baby Book Fair, a traveling diverse reading campaign, and is the first-ever poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center. Browne lives in Brooklyn, NY.
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Madeline Geier
Webinar Panelist - "Insights to Advancing Access: Disability Justice in TYA"
Madeline (she/her) is an administrator, educator, director, and accessibility consultant. She has designed and facilitated arts programming within theatres, community organizations, emergency shelters, early childhood centers, day service organizations, schools, and hospitals and specializes in integrating trauma-informed, consent-forward practices. Currently, Madeline serves as Program Director for Arts For Life in Asheville, NC, co-leader of the TYA/USA Disability Affinity group, and as a member of Pink Umbrella Theatre Company’s Education Committee. www.madeline-geier.com
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Lily Lipman
Webinar Panelist - "Insights to Advancing Access: Disability Justice in TYA"
Lily (she/they) is committed to creating accessible and creative spaces for everyone to enjoy. She has a BFA from NYU for acting and is based in NYC. Lily works for a multitude of cultural institutions to facilitate education, structured fun, and moments of connection for a diverse public. Some positions include Lincoln Center Moments Associate where she creates artistic programming and engagement opportunities for folks impacted by dementia. She is also Accessibility Director for Emit Theatre and works to make their immersive productions for young people accessible. She is disabled in a bunch of different ways. One of her special interests is chatting, playing Settlers of Cataan, and changing the world with other disabled people. For additional information or to chat feel free to contact her at www.LilyLipman.com.
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Shanna Sorrells
Webinar Panelist - "Insights to Advancing Access: Disability Justice in TYA"
Shanna (she/they) is Imagination Stage’s Senior Manager of Access and Inclusion, Disability Inclusion Committee member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, and Board of Directors member for VALIDEAF, a nonprofit striving to end language deprivation for Deaf children. Previously, she was Edlavitch DCJCC’s Director of Inclusion and Disability Programming and taught ASL and theatre at schools and colleges. Shanna has a Theatre Education M.A. (University of Northern Colorado) and Education and Child Study B.A. (Smith College).
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Tom O’Connor
Webinar Panelist - "What Really Makes a Healthy Arts Organization?"
Tom O’Connor is the Founder and President of Tom O’Connor Consulting Group (TOCG) and is
a New York-based strategist, marketer, and executive search consultant serving the arts and
culture industries, spanning music, theatre, opera, dance, visual art, multi-disciplinary
performing arts centers, and museums. He founded TOCG in 2015 with a focus on
organizational and audience strategy, executive search, and coaching, and along with his team,
has since supported organizations across the globe in a range of genres, locations, and budget
categories. Select clients include the Metropolitan Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jacob’s
Pillow, Lincoln Center Theater, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, George Mason University,
Hartford Stage, Grand Rapids Symphony, and many others.Prior to his current consultancy, he served as a founding Director of the Tessitura Network’s
Enterprise Consulting division, developing strategic plans and customer engagement strategies
for some of the world’s great arts and culture organizations. He has also served as Director of
Marketing & Audience Development for Roundabout Theatre Company, New York’s largest
not-for-profit theatre, and on the faculty at Yale University and Brooklyn College. Tom resides in
New York City. -
Edie Demas, PhD
Webinar Panelist - "What Really Makes a Healthy Arts Organization?"
Edie Demas PhD, Vice President of Organizational Strategy at Tom O’Connor Consulting Group, is an award-winning, internationally recognized, creative leader with a broad range of experience spanning organizational, school, community, festival, and academic environments. In 2019, she was recognized as a Leading Woman in Business by 914INC and in 2018, she received a Responsible 100 Award from City and State Media, honoring New York’s most outstanding and socially responsible thought leaders and visionaries making transformative change.
Edie served as Executive Director of the Jacob Burns Film Center from 2014 through 2019 during its transition from founding leadership. A critical component of this work included the creation of the organization’s first strategic plan and workplace culture survey, as well as brokering several new programs and partnerships at the national level, including Sundance, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Prior to this, she worked as a strategic collaborator on the opening of The Wallis in Los Angeles, where she consulted on mission, vision, and strategy as well as on the final phase of construction for the center’s education wing; collaborated on artistic programs; and designed a range of education and engagement programs serving people of all ages. She served as the Director of Education at New York City’s New Victory Theater for 10 seasons, launching its renowned Teaching Artist Ensemble. Her international experience includes several years in Ireland, where she worked with the Graffiti Theatre Company and The Abbey Theatre as well as several arts and music festivals.
Edie holds an MA and PhD from the NYU’s Program in Educational Theatre, where she has held positions as a teaching fellow, producer, and adjunct faculty member.
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Idris Goodwin
Webinar Panelist - "What Really Makes a Healthy Arts Organization?"
Idris Goodwin is an award-winning breakbeat poet, playwright, content creator and arts champion. He’s created original content for and/or appeared on Nickelodeon, HBO Def Poetry, Sesame Street, NPR, BBC Radio, and the Discovery Channel. “Your House is Not Just A House,” his first picture book, will be published by Harper Collins in 2024. Idris is the author of over 60 original plays ranging from his Hip Hop inspired breakbeat series to historical dramas to works for young audiences. Titles such as And In This Corner Cassius Clay, How We Got On, Hype Man: A Break Beat Play, and the ground breaking Free Play: open source scripts for an antiracist tomorrow, are widely produced across the country by a diverse mix of professional and academic venues. Driven by a passion for cultural impact and civic engagement, Idris currently serves as Artistic Director of Seattle Children’s Theater. Find him at www.idrisgoodwin.com and on across all the socials.
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Gillian McNally
Webinar Panelist - "Research in TYA: Moving the Field Forward"
Gillian McNally serves as Professor of Theatre Education of the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of Northern Colorado, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate level theatre education students and produces the yearly Theatre for Young Audiences production. She served on the board of TYA/USA for 10 years. Gillian is the recipient of the Alliance for Colorado Theatre’s 2011 Higher Education Theatre Educator of the Year Award. Her writing has been published in TYA Connect, Youth Theatre Journal, ArtsPraxis, Incite/Insight, and Theatre for Young Audiences Today. She has essays published in the books Signs of Change: New Directions in Theatre Education and The Reflexive Teaching Artist: Collected Wisdom from the Drama/Theatre Field. She was chair of the 2014 American Alliance for Theatre and Education national conference. A proud Longhorn, she holds an M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth from The University of Texas at Austin.
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Amanda Rutter, Ed.D
Webinar Panelist - "Research in TYA: Moving the Field Forward"
Amanda Rutter, Ed.D is an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of early childhood education at the University of Northern Colorado. Additionally Dr. Rutter helms the partnership between UNCO and Huzhou University. Dr. Rutter’s research interests pertain to men within the field of education, specifically early childhood education and how teacher preparation programs can better serve men in a predominantly female field, school shootings and teacher preparation, and the breaking down of silos between early childhood education and the theatre for the very young.
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Elizabeth Coen, PhD
Webinar Panelist - "Research in TYA: Moving the Field Forward"
Elizabeth Coen is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies at the University of Houston. Before moving to Texas, she oversaw the development and implementation of arts-based programming focused on the health and wellness of students in grades 6-12 for Seattle Children’s Theatre (SCT). Relevant projects for SCT include productions of Ramón Esquivel’s Above Between Below and Trista Baldwin’s Ghosted in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, as well as the applied theatre school residency program Creative Drama for Mental Wellness. Her articles can be found in Theatre History Studies, the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, and the anthology Teaching Performance Practices in Remote and Hybrid Spaces edited by Jeanmarie Higgins and Elisha Clark Halpin. Elizabeth worked as an AmeriCorps tutor for Northwest Education Access in 2018-2019 and continues to champion organizations that help students from low-income and nontraditional backgrounds thrive in higher education. She received her PhD in Theatre History and Theory from the University of Washington and MFA in Dramaturgy from Brooklyn College.
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Samora Covington, PsyD.
Webinar Panelist - "Research in TYA: Moving the Field Forward"
Samora Covington, PsyD. is a clinical psychologist, community college educator, and mental health and wellness consultant. Her work centers BIPOC individuals and communities and focuses on identity and relational challenges, racial trauma, and empowerment work. Dr. Covington is a recognized speaker on topics focused on culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices in educational and mental health sectors. Her work targets systemic inequities with a particular concentration on eradicating mental health disparities for marginalized and underserved racial/ethnic communities. Dr. Covington’s approach to transformation and healing is rooted in liberation psychology, Womanism, and social justice theories in clinical and community psychology. She recognizes embodied practices, theater and expressive arts as essential pathways to healing. Currently, Dr. Covington is a tenured professor of psychology at Highline College where she teaches courses in general psychology, abnormal psychology, research methods, community psychology, and the psychology of human relations. She is a curriculum developer and co-lead for an antiracist teaching community of praxis program that is being offered to faculty campuswide. Additionally, Dr. Covington is a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Her main ambition is to help the BIPOC community access opportunities for education and mental health that allow them to thrive and flourish in life.
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Jenny Millinger
Webinar Panelist - "Research in TYA: Moving the Field Forward"
Jenny Millinger is Associate Artistic Director at Childsplay, where she is director of the David P. Saar New Plays Program. For the past fifteen years, she has spearheaded Childsplay’s research-based programs in arts integration, with a focus on professional development programs for early childhood educators. She has served as a project director on four multi-year research-based grant programs, funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the Helios Education Foundation, which studied the impact of arts integration learning on child and teacher outcomes in mainstream and dual language environments. Jenny is a director, dramaturg, and playwright for young audiences. Her latest play, Eddie and Vinnie, premiered at the Magik Theatre in 2022. She recently co-edited the anthology I Have A Story: Plays from An Extraordinary Year, featuring short plays for young performers co-written by TYA playwrights and young people (Dramatic Publishing, 2021). She is a trustee of the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America.
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Dr. Katie A. Bernstein
Webinar Panelist - "Research in TYA: Moving the Field Forward"
Dr. Katie A. Bernstein is a former preschool teacher, an applied linguist, and an early childhood education researcher. She studies young multilingual children and the contexts that shape their language and literacy learning—from peer interactions to education policies For the past 8 years, Katie has collaborated with colleagues from Childsplay Theatre Co. in Tempe, Arizona to understand how drama can support playful learning in preschools, with positive outcomes for both teachers and students. As an early childhood educator, Katie worked with many multilingual children and families, first in Brussels, Belgium and then in San Francisco, CA, before earning her PhD in from UC Berkeley in 2014. She is currently an associate professor at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, where she teaches future early childhood educators about early language and literacy.
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Joe Gfaller
Webinar Panelist - "Research in TYA: Moving the Field Forward"
Joe Gfaller joined Metro Theater Company as Managing Director in the summer of 2019. Since his arrival and in the face of the pandemic, MTC has seen record growth in donor and audience households and developed innovative new programs responding to the COVID-19 pandemic from The COVID-19 Memory Project to an all-St. Louis virtual reading of A Christmas Carol featuring Ellie Kemper, Sterling K. Brown, first responders, and many others. During this time, MTC has also launched its Every Child Initiative, engaged in a multi-year contract with St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund to provide arts-based conflict resolution and violence prevention training to young people across the county, and begun to build an endowed fund whose earnings will be earmarked for program underwriting for lower resourced school districts. Over his 4 years as Managing Director, shifts in MTC’s revenue and programming have grown the company’s budget by 50% to $1.4M.
Prior to joining MTC, Joe served as Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Opera Theater of Saint Louis, where he received national recognition for his work in building young, diverse, and national travel audiences for the company and in expanding OTSL’s civic footprint through Opera Tastings, artist community tours, and the company’s Engagement + Inclusion Task Force and Young Friends Steering Committee. He has also served in marketing and/or development roles the Alliance Theater, the American Repertory Theater, and 7 Stages. As a consultant, he has worked with the National Blues Museum, the documentary Flint: The Poisoning of an American City, and the Utah Symphony, among others and served on a wide range of boards. As a professional stage director, he has directed over two dozen productions, including regional premieres by Caryl Churchill, David Mamet, Peter Sinn Nachtreib, and Addae Moon. He serves as adjunct faculty at Webster University in their Arts Management and Leadership MFA program, is a member of the Leadership St. Louis Class of 2013, the LEAD Atlanta Class of 2006, and graduated with honors from Harvard University.
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Brian Kisida
Webinar Panelist - "Research in TYA: Moving the Field Forward"
Dr. Kisida is an Assistant Professor in the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri and Co-Director of National Endowment for the Arts-sponsored Arts, Humanities, & Civic Engagement Lab. He has over a decade of experience in rigorous program evaluation and policy analysis. He has extensive experience conducting randomized controlled trials and has co-authored multiple experimental impact evaluation reports through the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education.
The dominant theme of his research focuses on identifying effective educational options and experiences for at-risk students that can close the achievement gap, the experience gap, and the attainment gap. His research has examined the educational benefits of cultural institutions, school-community partnerships, art and music education, teacher diversity, urban charter schools, school integration, and the cognitive and non-cognitive effects of means-tested urban scholarship programs for at-risk students. Increasingly, his research agenda has evolved toward examining policy outcomes broader than student achievement on standardized tests, such as non-cognitive outcomes, cultural and social capital, student engagement, civic outcomes, and long-term educational attainment. His academic publications include articles in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Sociology of Education, Educational Researcher, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, Economics of Education Review, Policy Studies Journal, School Effectiveness and School Improvement, and Education and Urban Society. His work has been cited in congressional testimony before the U.S. House and Senate, and it has appeared in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN.
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Jody Drezner Alperin
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Advocacy in the Time of Book Banning"
Jody is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Off The Page. Off The Page are the adapters of All American Boys based on the book by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, published and available for license from Playscripts. All American Boys examines how the violent arrest of a Black teenager witnessed by his white classmate impacts their communities over the course of a week, and grew out of work in a classroom. Off The Page are currently adapting the beautiful novel-in-verse White Rose by Kip Wilson, with developmental support from the New Victory Theatre (NYC) and The Alliance Theatre (Atlanta, GA).
Jody is also part of the team of the groundbreaking cross-country collaboration between four theatres for young audiences that created Missing From The Museum. Launched at the height of theatre shutdowns, two-time NEA grant award winning Missing From The Museum is an online, choose-your-own adventure series for young people and their families that examines who is represented in museums, who gets to decide that, and who even gets to declare what art is.
Additionally, Jody works as a facilitator in group settings learning and advocating for racial equity and as a leader of white affinity groups. She co-facilitated the opening sessions of TYA/USA’s 11-part series, Listen Learn Lead: Anti-Racism in Theatre for Young Audiences. Jody has also worked with Bank Street College’s Center on Culture, Race, and Equity as a facilitator and as Project Manager for the Black Lives Matter at Schools Week Early Childhood Symposium: Disrupting Anti-Black Racism in Early Childhood Education: Center, Abolish, Liberate.
Jody has been a guest lecturer at colleges and universities on using arts education methods in the classroom and a presenter at conferences across the country. She is also an organizer and activist, sits on the steering committee of NYC Opt Out, and works with many other organizations on issues of education equity in NYC schools and racial justice within our systems. Jody is a graduate of Northwestern University in theatre.
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Amber Sales
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Advocacy in the Time of Book Banning"
Amber lives in Omaha Nebraska with her husband and 4 dogs. She has been working in education for 16 years, she has an MFA in cross-curricular education, and is currently in the Doctoral program at Baylor University in the Organizational change in learning program, focusing on equitable data collection metrics, in play-based learning. She is an education program coordinator at the Omaha children’s museum.
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Brittny Bush
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Advocacy in the Time of Book Banning"
Consulting Creative Director for Brave Little Company; Teaching Artist; Missing from the Museum Creative Team; Grandpa’s Garden actor collaborator, director
Brittny Bush is a Houston actor and teaching artist with a BA in Theater Acting and Directing from the University of Houston. Ms. Bush has performed with many local theater companies through the years, including Brave Little Company; Main Street Theater; Catastrophic Theatre Company; Classical Theater Company (Company Member); Next Iteration Ensemble (readings); Cone Man Running Productions; Boiling Point Players; A.D. Players; Alley Theatre Education; Horse Head Theatre Company; Mildred’s Umbrella; and InterACTive Theater. Ms. Bush has consistently worked as a theater teaching artist since 2006 with Main Street Theater, Alley Theatre, and most recently the Hope Stone Project. She is currently the Primary School Theater Teacher for St. Francis Episcopal School.
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Chris Tennison
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Advocacy in the Time of Book Banning"
Chris Tennison has spent the last 25 years as an Actor, Director, Designer, Arts Educator and advocate. He earned his BA from the University of St. Thomas, and his MFA from the University of Arkansas. Currently Chris serves as the Theatre Director for Alvin Community College’s Theatre Program and Children’s Theatre Festival. Previously Chris was Associate Artistic Director, and Head of Academy for Trike Theatre in Northwest Arkansas. He has worked as a professional Actor, Director, Teaching Artist and Designer for various theatre companies around the country. In Houston, Chris was the Founding Artistic Director of Town Center Theatre, where he was also the head of their “Tomorrow’s Acting Professionals” program. Recently Chris has worked on the multi-theatre collaboration Missing From The Museum as well as working with The No Book Bans Coalition.
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Kristy Lozano
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Advocacy in the Time of Book Banning"
Kristy Lozano grew up by the border to Mexico in Brownsville, Texas. She can proudly speak Spanish fluently. Kristy Lozano holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Sam Houston State University. She has been in three productions at Sam Houston State University, including Our Lady of 121st Street as Norca (directed by Patrick Person) and The Government Inspector as Grusha (directed by David A McTier). Kristy Lozano was also an ensemble member in the production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at The Camille PlayHouse in Brownsville. She is Brave Little Company’s Social Media Manager and also plays the role of Robin Goodfellow in the touring production Wooden O: An Interactive Shakespeare Adventure. She is a Young Audiences of Houston teaching artist, teaching theatre enrichment at Garden Oaks Montessori Magnet and other locations. She continues to share her passion for theatre through arts education for Houston’s kids!
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Rachel Elizabeth Thuermer
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Advocacy in the Time of Book Banning"
Rachel is pleased to spend her time working with children and theatre, helping them find the magic in themselves and discover their dreams. With a lifelong passion for theatre and the wonder of the arts, Rachel spends time onstage (when possible) offstage (as Artistic Director for Dare to Dream Theatre) in front of the camera (as an actor in regional film/television projects) and backstage (doing whatever needs to be done!) Rachel has a BA in Theatre from Wisconsin Lutheran College. For the past 20 years, Dare to Dream has been a labour of love for Rachel, and she treasures the many people who have joined her in this dream over the years. She is proud of the growth she sees every day from the talented kids she works with, and can’t wait to be a part of their journey as they continue to Dare to Dream!
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Troy Scheid
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Advocacy in the Time of Book Banning"
Troy Scheid is a director and teaching artist based in Houston. She is a founder of Brave Little Company – Theatre for Everyone, where she facilitates the collaborative creation of new work for kids and their grownups.
Recent works devised in collaboration with other artists at Brave Little Company include Paper Offerings (a series of three plays told through letters and short films), First Day, Nueva Escuela; Wooden O: An Interactive Shakespeare Adventure for Ages 3-5, and more. With Brittny Bush, she is the co-writer of Missing from the Museum, an online adventure series exploring the erasure of marginalized artists, co-created in a nationwide partnership with Dare to Dream Theatre, Off the Page, and Trike Theatre. She serves as lead facilitator on THE BIG “US” PROJECT, a community-driven theatre piece created by 100 members of Houston’s refugee communities and funded in part by the City of Houston/Houston Arts Alliance.
Independent work includes numerous world and regional premieres, including at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Houston Grand Opera; The Ensemble Theatre; Mildred’s Umbrella; the Landing Theatre Company; Wordsmyth; Classical Theatre Company, and Main Street Theater. Additional work has appeared at the New York City International Fringe Festival, the NYC Midtown International Theatre Festival, the New York New Works Theatre Festival, and Chicago’s Rhinoceros Theatre Festival.
She is a graduate of Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and of Rice University (B.A. History, Medieval Studies), and also studied at the University of Houston, Rose Bruford College (London) with the pioneering company Oily Cart, and Lincoln Center Education.
She is an associate member of SDC, the union for professional stage directors and choreographers in the United States. She serves on Holocaust Museum Houston’s Educator Advisor Council and the Advisory Council for Refugee Services of Texas.
Featured Performances
Virtual Track content access ended on June 20, 2023.
Thank you so much for joining us online!
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The Pa’akai We Bring
Honolulu Theatre for Youth - Honolulu, HI
By Moses Goods & The HTY Ensemble Fall 2022
Directed by Moses Goods and Eric JohnsonThis original production introduces audiences to Native Hawaiian ideas of balance and healing by exploring our relationship to pa‘akai (salt). This original production introduces young audiences to the Native Hawaiian relationship to pa‘akai (salt). Traditionally, pa‘akai is food, medicine, a sacrament and a treasured gift. The play follows a family with multiple generations of salt farmers on the island of Kauai, mixing in ancient stories, hula, live music, original songs and plenty of audiences participation into a tasty potluck of performance, joyously served up with aloha.
Created in partnership with the Bishop Museum and cultural elders and leaders, the performance is intended for a multi-generational audience, so audience members young and old can have this restorative experience together.
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Song Slam Cabaret
The Song Slam Cabaret features performances of 10 original songs from TYA musical theatre writers with music direction by Deborah Wicks La Puma! Hosted by Deborah Wicks La Puma and Min Kahng.
Featured Songwriters and Setlist
“Lamb on the Lam” by Clayton Daniel Briggs & Molly Reisman
“Grandma’s Hands” by Julia Gannon & Fernanda Douglas
“It’s Offi-Shell” by Guinevere Govea
“Little Seeds” by Katie Norregaard
“Worrying” by John Maclay & Brett Ryback
“Level Up” by David Mallamud & Nathan Christensen
“A Girl Like Me” by Jenn Hartmann Luck
“Plastic, Plastic Everywhere” by Nico Raimont & Ashlee Thomas
“Worthless Princess” by Todd Hulet
“You’re Going Places” by Doug Katsaros & Amanda Yesnowitz -
The Hula-Hoopin' Queen
Childsplay - Tempe, AZ
Based on the book by Thelma Lynne Godin, Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
ADAPTED BY GLORIA BOND CLUNIE
Co-commissioned by Childsplay Theatre (Tempe, AZ) and Imagination Stage (Bethesda, MD)
Directed by Chanel BraggKameeka is confident that today she will finally beat her rival, Jamara, and become the Hula-Hoopin’ Queen of 139th Street. But then Mama reminds her that today is their neighbor Miz Adeline’s birthday, and Kameeka has a ton of chores to do to get ready for the party they are hosting. Kameeka is so preoccupied with thoughts of victory that she accidentally ruins Miz Adeline’s birthday cake, and has to confess to her that there won’t be a cake for her special day. And Miz Adeline loves chocolate cake. But to Kameeka’s surprise it turns out she also loves something else — hula hooping!
The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen is a charming celebration of family and community ties. Set in Harlem, this intergenerational story shows the importance of staying young at heart.
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Cenicienta: A Bilingual Cinderella Story
Glass Half Full Theatre - Austin, TX
Ten-year-old Belinda is a budding poet and loves to tell stories, but when she’s stuck in the basement preparing for a party upstairs that her stepmother and stepsisters will host, she’ll have to get creative. It’s a story within a story; Belinda lives out her version while also re-enacting the classic tale of Cinderella, using whatever objects are at her disposal: napkins, teapots, and doilies, to name just a few. With these everyday items, a healthy dose of imagination, and a love of poetry passed down by her father, Belinda imagines a bigger world for herself…
When she learns that the party’s special guest is (real life) writer Gary Soto, Belinda wants desperately to attend the party and share her own writings with Soto. But to do that, she must learn to stand up for herself and take charge of her life and dreams. This captivating bilingual one-woman performance is a modern spin on the beloved fairy tale and tackles cultural heritage, family, and the power of language.
CENICIENTA was commissioned by Zach Theatre and written by Caroline Reck and Rupert Reyes. It was originally created and presented at Zach Theatre in collaboration with Teatro Vivo and Glass Half Full Theatre. The role of Belinda was originated by Gricelda Silva.
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Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster
Manual Cinema - Chicago, IL
Created by Manual Cinema
Inspired by the Books Leonardo, The Terrible Monster and Sam, The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World by Mo Willems
Director Sarah Fornace
Adaptation Manual CinemaLeonardo is a terrible monster. He tries so hard to be scary, but he just… isn’t. Then Leonardo finds Sam, the most scaredy-cat kid in the world. Will Leonardo finally get to scare the tuna salad out of someone? Or will it be the start of an unlikely friendship? The plot thickens when this pair meets Kerry and Frankenthaler, an even scaredier-cat and her monster friend. Kerry and Sam need to make a big decision: will they just be scaredy cats or can they become friends?
Webinar Schedule
Zoom Webinar access information was sent to Virtual Track registrants by email prior to the webinar dates. All webinars were recorded and are available to watch for registrants who were unable to attend during the live programming.
Note: Times listed below are in EASTERN Time.
Insights to Advancing Access: Disability Justice in TYA
What does accessibility and disability justice in TYA look like and how can we support these advancements? In this panel discussion, Disabled TYA colleagues share their experiences in the field. Focused on advocating for and implementing initiatives and programs, panelists will illuminate the experiences disabled folks have working in TYA, share strategies and approaches from multiple companies, and offer insights to the strengths and challenges TYA organizations have in advancing disability justice for our employees, patrons, students, and larger communities.
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Madeline Geier
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Lily Lipman
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Shanna Sorrells
What Really Makes a Healthy Arts Organization?
Tom O’Connor and Edie Demas of Tom O’Connor Consulting Group (TOCG) share their framework for fostering healthy arts organizations with a focus on strategy, structures, and people. In conversation with Idris Goodwin, they will share field examples from their work at TOCG and beyond, leaning on their combined experience in arts leadership and consulting, theatre education, and social work to build a more equitable and sustainable future for the arts. The session will conclude with a moderated Q&A.
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Tom O’Connor
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Edie Demas
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Idris Goodwin
Research in TYA: Moving the Field Forward
Research teams from Colorado, Arizona, Texas, and Missouri will discuss their innovative research projects which will have a significant impact on the future of funding and development of Theatre for Young Audiences and arts in education practice. Information about their specific research projects are below:
• Professors Gillian McNally and Amanda Rutter from the University of Northern Colorado share their study of the impact of theatre for the very young and social-emotional learning for preschool students.
• Dr. Katie A. Bernstein and Childsplay Associate Artistic Director Jenny Millinger share findings from the Literacy@Play project, the US’s first randomized controlled trial of a drama-based professional development program, which examines drama facilitation learning for preschool teachers as well as language, literacy, and socio-emotional outcomes for their students.
• Elizabeth Coen, PhD and Samora Covington, PsyD are part of an interdisciplinary research collaborative that examines whether young people who learn emotional regulation skills using theatre’s embodied practices are more confident using them in everyday life and have better overall self-regulatory skills than students who learn these same principles in a non-theatre-based setting.
• Joe Gfaller, Managing Director of Metro Theater Company and Brian Kisida, the Co-Director of the NEA Arts, Humanities & Civic Engagement Lab and Assistant Professor will discuss their research through NEA Research in the Arts grant funding, which examines the changes in attitudes and behaviors about violence and conflict resulting from 4th, 5th, and 6th grade participation in the forum theater program Say Something, Do Something.
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Gillian McNally
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Amanda Rutter, Ed.D
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Elizabeth Coen, PhD
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Samora Covington, PsyD
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Jenny Millinger
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Dr. Katie Bernstein
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Joe Gfaller
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Brian Kisida
TYA Advocacy in the Time of Book Banning
Book bans are a targeted attempt to remove the voices of underrepresented people from our community stories. What are the obligations of TYA makers to fight this threat, and what tools are needed to be an effective advocate for our youth? Join a coalition of producers, advocates, TYA artists, and youth for a discussion about what is happening in our industry, and what resources are available to combat the growing threat. In addition, participants will engage in a community activation to advocate within their organizations and communities.
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Jody Drezner Alperin
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Amber Sales
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Brittny Bush
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Chris Tennison
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Kristy Lozano
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Rachel Elizabeth Thuermer
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Troy Scheid
Our 2023 Sponsors
We thank our generous sponsors for their support of the 2023 National TYA/USA Festival & Conference.
Access for All Supporters
• Deborah Wicks La Puma • Kathryn Stahl • Elizabeth Coen • Olivia Aston Bosworth • Gayle Sergel Brown •
• Sammy Lopez • Starry Krueger • Suzan Zeder • Marilee H Miller • Jody Drezner Alperin •
• Harold and Ima Jean Oaks • Eric Johnson • Phyllis Wong • Wheelock Family Theatre at Boston University •
• Gloria Bond Clunie • Dwayne Hartford • Asolo Repertory Theatre • Ricky Araiza • Min Kahng • Ana Romes •
• Dr.Tom McEvilly • Sandra Asher • Teresa Fisher • Catherine von Storch • Allison Mui Mitchell • Ken Jones •
• Nicole Hogsett • Brendan Ross • Mark Branner • Amanda Dawson • Patricia Zimmer •
Interested in sponsoring the 2023 National TYA/USA Festival & Conference? Learn more here.
