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Theatre Education, Pedagogy, and Training

In this section, content focuses on best practices and challenges regarding education and scholarship in the theatre. Check out the Latinx Theatre Commons’ series Pedagogy Notebook, where artists, educators, and scholars share their process and work in the classroom, and David Dudley’s long-running guide to theatre education.

The Latest

On Teaching Work Ethic
Podcast
On Teaching Work Ethic
by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, Jennifer Blackmer, Marcus Lane
26 March 2024
Welcome to Teaching Theatre
Podcast
Welcome to Teaching Theatre
by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, Valerie Curtis-Newton, Cynthia Henderson
19 March 2024
Building Trust in New Waters as a Teaching-Artist
Essay
Building Trust in New Waters as a Teaching-Artist
by Deen Rawlins-Harris
19 March 2024
black and white photo of two people standing at a wall with several papers on it
Does the World Need More Undergraduate Playwrights?
Essay

Does the World Need More Undergraduate Playwrights?

15 July 2020

Playwriting professor Tom Horan talks about a recent dilemma he faced at his university: Should he add an official playwriting option for his students? Would that be ethical? In this piece, he presents his arguments for and against, and discloses his decision.

a lightskinned hand reaching up out of water
Faculty on Fall
Essay

Faculty on Fall

Stop Bailing and Build a Better Boat

24 June 2020

Kate Brennan and Kristen Cerelli argue that the education system needs to be radically restructured for fall 2020 and offer suggestions for how to go about this, including discounting tuition and accepting more students.

three actors onstage
How Liberal Arts Theatre Programs Are Failing Their Students of Color
Essay

How Liberal Arts Theatre Programs Are Failing Their Students of Color

17 June 2020

Miranda Haymon argues that liberal arts theatre programs are failing their students of color and offers four concrete steps that colleges and universities can adopt as they work to rectify this.

zoom video chat of several people
Creating a Culture of Play via Zoom
Essay

Creating a Culture of Play via Zoom

15 June 2020

Lavina Jadhwani offers artists several techniques to better utilize Zoom, whether as leaders of classrooms, theatremakers part of shows, or attendees of events.

Call to Action, Academics!
Essay

Call to Action, Academics!

#HigherEdHireArtists

8 June 2020

Olga Sanchez, Juliette Carrillo, Jamie Gahlon, and Armando Huipe issue a call to action: for people currently employed in higher education to leverage their privilege toward maximum paid opportunities for independent artists in the coming academic year.

Aaliyah in Underland promotion.
Aaliyah in Underland (Virtual Reading)
Video

Aaliyah in Underland (Virtual Reading)

A Hip Hop remix of Alice in Wonderland that explores the concepts of structural violence, anti-blackness, memory, and self-discovery.

Friday 8 May 2020
Takoma, Washington, USA

The University of Puget Sound’s Projects in Dramaturgy: “Politics & Praxis of Rememory” class presented the virtual reading of Aaliyah in Underland by Wind Dell Woods on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 8 May 2020 at 12 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 2 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 3 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 20:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 21:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

three people looking at a large projection of a person's face
Lessons in Online Theatremaking from New Paradise Laboratories’ Whit MacLaughlin
Essay

Lessons in Online Theatremaking from New Paradise Laboratories’ Whit MacLaughlin

30 March 2020

Alex Ates speaks with Whit MacLaughlin—the experimental theatremaker who ventured into the online realm before it became our norm—about the intersection between digital technology and live performance and pedagogy.

a person teaching
Teaching Performing Arts During the Pandemic
Essay

Teaching Performing Arts During the Pandemic

23 March 2020

Tracy C. Davis talks to instructors at Northwestern University about how they are preparing to teach acting and dance—quintessentially embodied forms dependent on human-to-human observation and whole-body involvement—online.

two actors onstage
Beyond “Decolonizing” the Syllabus
Essay

Beyond “Decolonizing” the Syllabus

Finding a Path to Anti-Racist, Actively Inclusive Theatre Education

12 February 2020

David Valdes talks about Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s work to shift their theatre department into a more truly equitable program, why using the right language matters in the process, and tips for individuals and institutions looking to be actively inclusive.

five students standing in a classroom
Invisible Labor in Theatre Academia
Essay

Invisible Labor in Theatre Academia

or, How Bulbasaur Saved My Summer

18 December 2019

Kate Busselle talks about the invisible emotional labor inherent to teaching theatre and how, while leading a six-week summer intensive, she was able to establish professional boundaries and delegate some of the labor.

actors onstage
Committing To A Season of Historically Excluded Voices
Essay

Committing To A Season of Historically Excluded Voices

A Moment of Reflection at University of Minnesota

14 November 2019

Lisa Channer, professor at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, talks about her school’s work in crafting a pledge to join the JUBILEE—a yearlong, nationwide theatre festival featuring work by traditionally excluded artists.

four people seated at a conference table
We Are the Next Generation of Critics
Essay

We Are the Next Generation of Critics

Learnings from the Young Critics Program

13 November 2019

Beatrice Perez-Arche and Livian Yeh have a conversation about their experience in the Young Critics Program, “cancel culture” and criticism, gaining confidence, and more.

The State of Acting Training in Canada
Essay

The State of Acting Training in Canada

A Summary of the Results from Got Your Back’s 2018 National Survey

3 November 2019

Sarah Robbins, Neil Silcox, and Jennifer Wigmore share findings from Got Your Back Canada’s national survey on actor training in the country.

actors onstage in masks
Cultivating the Next Generation of Critics
Essay

Cultivating the Next Generation of Critics

On the Young Critics Program at Front Porch Arts Collective in Boston

27 October 2019

Pascale Florestal talks about the lack of critics of color in theatre and creating a training program in Boston, through Front Porch Arts Collective, to counter this problem.

two acting pedagogy textbooks
Whiteness, Patriarchy, and Resistance in Actor Training Texts
Essay

Whiteness, Patriarchy, and Resistance in Actor Training Texts

Reframing Acting Students as Embodied Critical Thinkers

13 August 2019

Amy Steiger reflects on some of the classic acting texts—which are overwhelmingly written by cis white men and use colonialist, binary, and patriarchal language and narratives—and how teachers should be approaching them today.

four people posing
The Responsibility of the Artist-Critic
Essay

The Responsibility of the Artist-Critic

1 August 2019

Kitty Drexel and Regina Victor, both artists and critics, talk about working through biases, accountability, transparency, and more.

two acting books
#MeToo and the Method
Essay

#MeToo and the Method

13 June 2019

Holly L. Derr looks at the history of the Method, where it deviates from Stanislavsky’s System, and the connection between the Method and the behavior called out by #MeToo.

an actor against a projection of rain
Modes of Media in Digital Performance
Essay

Modes of Media in Digital Performance

5 June 2019

David Z. Saltz—director, installation artist, and teacher of digital performance—talks about the early days of digital media in theatre and the six main roles it plays in live performance.

encuentro cover
Toward a More Inclusive Theatre Curriculum
Essay

Toward a More Inclusive Theatre Curriculum

Encuentro: Latinx Performance for the New American Theater

2 June 2019

Trevor Boffone, Teresa Marrero, and Chantal Rodriguez, co-editors of Encuentro, talk about the content of the book and how it can be used as an educational resource.

Suzan-Lori Parks portrait
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work from The Public Theater, New York
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work from The Public Theater, New York

A playwriting masterclass

Monday 6 May, 2019
The Public Theater, New York City

Watch Me Work is a play with an action and dialogue — it’s also a meta-theatrical, free writing class! Come join us. Livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 6 May 2019 at 2 p.m. PDT (Vancouver) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EDT (Montréal) / 22:00 UTC +0 (London).

Suzan-Lori Parks portrait
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work from The Public Theater, New York
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work from The Public Theater, New York

A playwriting masterclass

Monday 22 April 2019
The Public Theater, New York City

Watch Me Work is a play with an action and dialogue — it’s also a meta-theatrical, free writing class! Come join us. Livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 22 April 2019 at 2 p.m. PDT (Vancouver) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EDT (Montréal) / 22:00 UTC +0 (London).

an actress onstage
A Look into Theatre’s FutVRe
Essay

A Look into Theatre’s FutVRe

18 April 2019

Carley B. Johnson examines two recent projects that link theatre with virtual reality and augmented reality.

Suzan-Lori Parks portrait
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work from The Public Theater, New York
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work from The Public Theater, New York

A playwriting masterclass

Monday 25 March, 2019
The Public Theater, New York City

Watch Me Work is a play with an action and dialogue — it’s also a meta-theatrical, free writing class! Come join us. Livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 25 March 2019 at 2 p.m. PST (Vancouver) / 4 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EST (Montréal) / 22:00 UTC +0 (London).

two actors onstage in costume
At the Core of Theatre for Young Audiences is Voicing Identity, Intersectionality, and Empathy
Essay

At the Core of Theatre for Young Audiences is Voicing Identity, Intersectionality, and Empathy

20 March 2019

Kim Peter Kovac looks at the way the theatre for young audiences field has changed over the last few years, where it’s at today, and what his hopes are for the future.

The promotional image for a production of Battle of Kuamoʻo
Striving for the Summit
Essay

Striving for the Summit

The Mountain Hawaiian Theatre Artists Must Climb

7 March 2019

Ākea Kahikina traces the geneology of hana keaka (Hawaiian theatre), and muses on the future of the theatrical form.