Stay connected to the 2026 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference with the Virtual Track!
From June 15th to 22nd, the Virtual Track for the 2026 TYA/USA National Festival & Conference will feature online access to keystone programming from the in-person event – including digital versions of Featured Performances and the recorded Song Slam Cabaret –three live webinars–including the annual TYA/USA Member Meeting and two exploring brand new Virtual Track topics.
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Photo featuring “Rhythm & Thread”. Courtesy of Alliance Theatre.
From June 15th to 22nd, Virtual Track registrants will have access to:
1. On-demand digital versions of Featured Performances from the in-person Conference including:
– The Birthday of the World (Toddler Takeover powered by PNC)
– DINOSAUR! (Toddler Takeover powered by PNC)
– Rhythm & Thread (Toddler Takeover powered by PNC)
2. On-demand access to the recorded Song Slam Cabaret featuring 10 songs from TYA musicals with music direction by Deborah Wicks La Puma
3. Participation in three live webinars, including the annual TYA/USA Member Meeting and two panels exploring major topics of conversation in our field now: sustaining inclusive and equitable TYA programming under legislative DEI restrictions and an update on the TYA Tour Development Collective- a model for funding the development of touring TYA work.
Accessibility Note: Recorded content – including the Featured Performances and Song Slam Cabaret – will be captioned. All live Zoom webinars will have ASL interpretation and Zoom captions enabled.
Organizations that wish to register multiple staff members simultaneously must be organizational members of TYA/USA due to the necessity of registering each participating staff member using linked profiles.
Note that if you registered for the in-person Festival & Conference, you will be automatically given access to the Virtual Track content. No need to register again!
If you choose to register at the ACCESS SPONSOR level: your registration directly supports our ACCESS FOR ALL initiative, offering the opportunity to participate for all who wish to, regardless of capacity to pay.
We are grateful for your support!
| Level | Regular Rate |
|---|---|
| Organizational Registration - Large (10+ Participants): | $300 |
| Organizational Registration - Small (up to 10 Participants): | $150 |
| Individual - Access Sponsor Level: | $100 |
| Individual - Registration Level 1: | $75 |
| Individual - Registration Level 2: | $50 |
| Individual - Registration Level 3: | $25 |
| ACCESS FOR ALL Registration | $0.0 |
| Register |
Webinar Panelists
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Nicole Crowther
Webinar Panelist - "Resilient Stages: Best Practices for TYA Under DEI Restrictions"
Nicole Crowther is an educator, director, and movement specialist with over seventeen years of experience in theatre education and community-based arts programming. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Performance from the University of South Florida and an MFA in Physical Theatre from the Accademia dell’Arte in Italy, where her training focused on circus arts, mask, and physical comedy.
Nicole has dedicated much of her career to working with at-risk, special needs, and refugee youth through performance-based outreach. She previously directed outreach programming for Chicago’s social youth circus, CircEsteem, founded a K–12 performing arts program in Tarpon Springs, and served as designer, performer, and tour director for Creative Arts Theatre, the City of Tampa’s professional Theatre for Young Audiences company.
Her creative and scholarly work centers on devising theatre for social change and cultivating inclusive learning environments. As an Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Tampa, she mentors emerging artists while pursuing research on the impact of shifting DEI policies on theatre education in Florida. In collaboration with her student, Emily Carrucini, she co-developed Resilient Stages: Best Practices for TYA Under DEI Restrictions, exploring sustainable strategies for maintaining equity-driven practices within Theatre for Young Audiences.
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Emily Carrucini
Webinar Panelist - "Resilient Stages: Best Practices for TYA Under DEI Restrictions"
Emily Carrucini is a member of the Class of 2027 pursuing a B.A. in Theatre with a minor in Film and Media Arts at the University of Tampa. Her performance credits include Emotional Baggage (Dead End), Cowboy Mouth (Slim), the Spring Dance Concert, and multiple student film projects.
With a longstanding interest in teaching children, Emily’s mentorship under Professor Nicole Crowther introduced her to the field of TYA. In response to recent DEI policy shifts in Florida, she became increasingly interested in how these changes are shaping theatre education. Through the research project Resilient Stages: Best Practices for TYA Under DEI Restrictions, Emily examined the challenges and innovations emerging among theatre practitioners navigating this evolving landscape. Emily looks forward to carrying these insights into her future work in acting, directing, and drama education.
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Daniel Hahn
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Tour Development Collective: Looking Back & Looking Forward"
Daniel Hahn has served as Playhouse Square’s Vice President of Education since 2013, overseeing nationally recognized programs that serve more than 200,000 individuals annually. His leadership includes the Children’s Theater Series; the Dazzle Awards, produced in partnership with The Jimmy Awards®; Disney Musicals in Schools; Sensory-Friendly Programming; and neurological programming offered through the “Arts & Minds” initiative.
A native Clevelander, Mr. Hahn joined Playhouse Square after 12 years as Director of Education at Great Lakes Theater. He has led and partnered on the commissioning of numerous new works, including the 2026 NEA Award–winning SANKOFA; VELVETEEN: A NEW MUSICAL (2024), which will launch a national tour in fall 2026; NORTH (2022); the stage adaptation of the New York Times bestseller WHAT DO YOU DO WITH AN IDEA? (2020); the NEA- and Joyce Foundation–supported CARTOGRAPHY (2019); HANSEL & GRETEL (2017); AIRPLAY (2016); and multiple innovative virtual productions.
Originally trained as an actor at New York’s American Music and Dramatic Academy and the National Shakespeare Conservatory, he holds a master’s degree in Theatre from The University of Akron and a bachelor’s degree in Theatre from Baldwin Wallace University. His honors include Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year (2021), The Broadway League’s national award for Outstanding Achievement in Education (2019), Milestones Autism Resources’ Community Innovator Award (2016), and the National Rehabilitation Association’s Award for Excellence (2015).
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Reiko Ho
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Tour Development Collective: Looking Back & Looking Forward"
Reiko Ho is a director, playwright, and multi-disciplinary theatre maker from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Her work has been seen throughout Hawaiʻi, as well as nationally. During her decades-long career, she has been committed to giving voice to the stories of the diverse and under-represented communities around her.
This spring, The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac, that she wrote and directed, toured nationally for Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY), and she served as fight choreographer for Kim’s Convenience by Ins Choi at The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol. Also in 2026, she will direct the Hawaiʻi premiere of Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang and the world premiere of Our Okinawan ʻOhana by Lee Tonouchi. In early 2027, Tales of the Sun and Moon (HTY) that she wrote and directed, will tour nationally and she will direct the opera adaptation of Tea by Valina Hasu Houston for Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre.
Reiko holds a Masters in Theatre for Young Audiences and is Artistic Associate and Marketing Director for Honolulu Theatre for Youth. She is also an Invited Artist at the National Institute of Directing and Ensemble Creation, a member of The Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists, a member of The Playwright’s Center, and is proud to serve on the Board of Directors of TYA/USA.
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Sarah McCarthy
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Tour Development Collective: Looking Back & Looking Forward"
Sarah McCarthy has worked in the performing arts field for more than 25 years as an agent, presenter and producer. She founded Dandelion Artists in 2013 to represent an award-winning roster of family music artists and is a producer of new theatrical works including The Yellowroot: A Juke Joint Cabaret and NORTH, The Musical by Ashli St. Armant, as well as York, The Explorer, a folk opera by Aaron Nigel Smith. She is an alumnus of the APAP Leadership Fellows Program, serves on the board of Heartland Performing Arts / Midwest Arts XPO, and is a founding member of the TYA Tour Development Collective, a new commissioning initiative by presenting organizations across the country. She has worked as a presenter and arts administrator at the Getty Center, the Ford Amphitheater, the Philadelphia International Children’s Theater Festival, and London’s Shakespeare’s Globe. She lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon with her husband and two daughters.
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Sarah Saltwick
Webinar Panelist - "TYA Tour Development Collective: Looking Back & Looking Forward"
Sarah Saltwick is a Co-Director of Holden & Arts Associates based in Austin, Texas. HAA creates rich partnerships between artists and venues and seeks to share stories that inspire, educate, entertain, and empower audiences of all ages. Sarah began her work at HAA in 2008. As a playwright, her plays have been produced nationally and received critical acclaim from the Austin Critics Table and B. Iden Payne Committee.
Featured Performances
On June 15th, registrants will be emailed access instructions for Virtual Track content. Recordings will be available to watch through June 22nd, 2026.
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The Birthday of the World (Toddler Takeover powered by PNC)
Alliance Theatre - Atlanta, GA
Created by Jonathan Shmidt Chapman
Inspired by the book Birthday of the World by Dr. Rachel Naomi RemenHow can you repair the world, finding one spark at a time? Gather around and lean forward as we share a gift with you – a story about how the world was born and how it needs your help to be filled with light again. Based on the beautiful children’s book by Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen and drawing from Jewish folklore, this immersive performance brings a timeless and timely story to life through gentle storytelling, visual wonder, and sensory play.
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DINOSAUR! (Toddler Takeover powered by PNC)
Alliance Theatre - Atlanta, GA
Created by Olivia Aston Bosworth & Samantha Provenzano
When you love dinosaurs, they pop up everywhere — at the grocery store, at preschool, and even when your grown-ups are hosting a fancy dinner party! But how can you focus on folding your napkin and chewing with your mouth closed when there’s an apatosaurus munching on your salad and pterodactyls swarming your soup? You can’t! Get ready to find out how even the simplest day-to-day task can turn into an epic dino-tastic adventure that will leave little ones laughing and roaring for more.
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Rhythm & Thread (Toddler Takeover powered by PNC)
Alliance Theatre - Atlanta, GA
Created by Andrea Washington
Composition by Eugene H. Russell, IV
Inspired by the work of Faith Ringgold
This piece features textiles by Marquetta Johnson and is performed in her memory.It’s moving day, and Cassie is helping her grandparents, Gigi and Pop Pop, sort through the attic. Among the dusty boxes, Cassie discovers a collection of Gigi’s quilts, each one a patchwork of stories and adventures waiting to be told. Inspired, Cassie weaves her own tales, transforming the attic into magical worlds while Gigi and Pop Pop join in, sharing laughter and memories stitched into every quilt. Together, they create one final quilt, tying old and new threads into a tapestry of love. Rhythm & Thread celebrates family, imagination, and the beauty of storytelling through the art of quilting.
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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!
FEATURED SONGS AND SONGWRITERS
“Frog in My Throat” by Jacob Ryan Smith
“I Wanna Be Like You” by Jesse J. Sanchez
“Never Be A Loser” by David Mallamud & Peter Charles Morris
“Second Daughter’s Second Day” by Tyrone Robinson & Jacqueline Woodson
“Blue as the Midnight Sky” by Katie Berger Wood & Jessica Rosa Espinoza
“Progress” by Chad Bradford
“Dream of Fuzzy Demons” by Amy Engelhardt and Molly Horan
“Mama, Tell Me” by Letitia Bullard & Nathan Leitão
“Yellow Dog Blues” by Melvin Tunstall, III
“Every Color” by Elle Tyleri
Webinar Schedule
Zoom Webinar access information is included in your registration confirmation email and will be sent in reminder emails to Virtual Track registrants prior to the webinar dates. All webinars will be recorded and available to watch for registrants who were unable to attend during the live programming.
Note: Times listed below are in EASTERN Time.
Resilient Stages: Best Practices for TYA Under DEI Restrictions
This webinar offers timely, hands-on strategies for sustaining inclusive Theatre for Young Audiences practices in the context of current legislative constraints on DEI. Participants will engage in interactive exercises, reflect on real-world challenges, and leave with practical tools for their own programs. The workshop also uses structured prompts and live feedback to reveal a range of perspectives and approaches, supporting participants’ ability to adapt their practices in a shifting landscape.
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Nicole Crowther
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Emily Carrucini
TYA/USA Member Meeting
All are welcome! TYA/USA Executive Director Sara Morgulis and Board President Olivia Aston Bosworth will share an update on current and future TYA/USA organizational operations and programming, including an announcement of the 2027 Conference Save the Date.
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Sara Morgulis
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Olivia Aston Bosworth
TYA Tour Development Collective: Looking Back & Looking Forward
Get the inside scoop of the evolution of the TYA Tour Development Collective, a group of venues working together to help fund new US-based touring work. The Collective is now almost two years old and gone through multiple application and funding cycles. What have we learned along the way? Where are we going next? How can more venues and artists get involved? Ideal for anyone looking to learn about partnerships and new funding models.
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Daniel Hahn
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Reiko Ho
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Sarah McCarthy
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Sarah Saltwick
Our 2026 Sponsors
We thank our generous sponsors for their support of the 2026 National TYA/USA Festival & Conference.
Access for All Supporters
• Deborah Wicks La Puma • Ashley Woods • Catherine von Storch • Cameryn Richardson • Paul McGinley •
• Ariel Marcus-Hollenbeck • Daniel Hahn • Marilee H Miller • Suzan Zeder • Kassie Misiewicz • Camille Blaydes •
• Jose Casas • Jeff Revels • Sammy Lopez • Gloria Bond Clunie • Judge Luckey • John Maclay • Elizabeth Sherr •
• Deanna Mae • Joan Lancourt • Sandra Asher • Sabrina Rodriguez • Bonnie Dudovitz • Gregg Henry •
