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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
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 4 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 4 March 2019 at 2 p.m. PST (Vancouver) / 4 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EST (Montréal) / 22:00 UTC +0 (London).

group of Hawaiian performers singing onstage
I Ola ka Mo‘olelo
Essay

I Ola ka Mo‘olelo

Perpetuating Our Stories Through Hawaiian Medium Theatre

3 March 2019

Playwright and director Tammy Haili‘ōpua Baker talks about the history, practice, and importance of hana keaka—Hawaiian medium theatre.

group of actors playing an improvisation game
Creating a Varied and Exciting Theatre Culture in Malawi
Essay

Creating a Varied and Exciting Theatre Culture in Malawi

26 February 2019

Isaac Mafuel looks at the dominant performance style in Malawian theatre and speaks to local theatremakers and enthusiasts about how to create a more varied and exciting landscape.

two people look at each other intensely
Put Some Latinx Representation in Your Puta Syllabus
Essay

Put Some Latinx Representation in Your Puta Syllabus

20 February 2019

Andres Osorio reflects on the fact that as a student of playwriting, he was never once assigned a play by a Latinx writer.

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 11 February 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 11 February 2019 at 2 p.m. PST (Vancouver) / 4 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EST (Montréal) / 22:00 UTC +0 (London).

Front entrance of American Conservatory Theater's Stand Theater in San Francisco
Bay Area Arts Fellowship/Internship Fair 2019
Video

Bay Area Arts Fellowship/Internship Fair 2019

Learn about paid fellowships and internships that focus on getting your career started in the arts

Saturday 9 February 2019
San Francisco, California, USA

The 2019 Bay Area Arts Fellowship/Internship Fair livestreamed from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 9 February 2019 at 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. PST (San Francisco) / 2 p.m - 3:30 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST (New York).

Actor covering another actor's mouth from behind
Who is Being Triggered? 
Essay

Who is Being Triggered? 

Consent, Power, and Trauma in the Acting Classroom

30 January 2019

Scott Harman reflects on acting students’ increased sensitivity to traumatic material, how that plays out in classrooms, and what teachers can do to create safe spaces where their students can thrive.

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

Monday 17 December
New York

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 17 December 2018 at 2 p.m. PST (Vancouver) / 4 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EST (Montréal) / 22:00 UTC +0 (London).

doodles on a chalkboard
Performing Knowledge: A Day of Lecture Performances
Video

Performing Knowledge: A Day of Lecture Performances

Martin E. Segal Theatre Center

Monday 10 December 2018
New York City

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City presented Performing Knowledge: A Day of Lecture Performances livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Monday 10 December 2018 at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 7 p.m. EST (New York).

performer in white dress sits in the fiction section of the library
Making Theatre in Non-Traditional Venues
Essay

Making Theatre in Non-Traditional Venues

10 December 2018

Theatremaker Callie Nestleroth discusses devising a show for a library space and shares the process she developed when approaching new site-specific projects.

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

Monday 26 November 2018
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 26 November 2018 at 2 p.m. PST (Vancouver) / 4 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EST (Montréal) / 22:00 UTC +0 (London).

two performers with hands up
When a Show Gets Cancelled, Make Art Anyway
Essay

When a Show Gets Cancelled, Make Art Anyway

14 November 2018

Arizona State University student Ricky Quintana talks about taking his education into his own hands—by devising his own show—after a school production was cancelled earlier this year due to unforeseen circumstances.

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  

Monday 5 November 2018
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 5 November 2018 at 2 p.m. PST (Vancouver) / 4 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EST (Montréal) / 22:00 UTC +0 (London).

Graph of total PhDs graduated 2011-2017
Strengthening Job Prospects Within and Beyond the Academy
Essay

Strengthening Job Prospects Within and Beyond the Academy

A State of the Field Address for the Fourth Symposium of Doctoral Programs in Theatre and Performance Studies

7 October 2018

Tufts professor Dr. Noe Montez's keynote speech at the Fourth Symposium on Doctoral Programs in Theatre and Performance Studies in Boston, MA on 5-6 October 2018.

tufts university logo
4th Symposium of Doctoral Programs in Theatre and Performance Studies
Video

4th Symposium of Doctoral Programs in Theatre and Performance Studies

Tufts University

Friday 5 October - Saturday 6 October 2018
Medford, Massachusetts, USA

The graduate program in Theatre and Performance Studies at Tufts University presented the 4th Symposium on Doctoral Programs in Theatre and Performance Studies livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Friday 5 October - Saturday 6 October 2018. 

a group of people on stage
The Impact of Youth Theatre in Palestine
Essay

The Impact of Youth Theatre in Palestine

25 September 2018

Ash Marinaccio examines the importance of youth theatre in Palestine through the work of a number of organizations, including ASHTAR Theatre, the Freedom Theatre, and Al Rowwad Cultural and Theater Training Center.

several large puppets
Breaking Away from the Institution
Essay

Breaking Away from the Institution

How to Take Control of Your Education

5 September 2018

Theatre student Abigail Warhus talks about feeling stuck at university and taking her education into her own hands.

The 2018 Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Conference
Video

The 2018 Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Conference

Theatres of Revolution: Performance, Pedagogy, and Protest

Friday 3 August 2018
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

The Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) presented their 2018 conference in Boston, USA with the theme Theatres of Revolution: Performance, Pedagogy, and Protest livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Friday 3 August 2018. 

a group of people on stage
Talking about Protest with the Language of Actor Training
Essay

Talking about Protest with the Language of Actor Training

17 July 2018

Actor and literature/theatre professor Courtney Bailey Parker talks about national anthem protests, performance as activism, and theatre artists as mediators.

a poster with four people on it. it reads "a snowflake: or rare white people"
Dramaturgical Work with College-Aged Artists around Race and Whiteness
Essay

Dramaturgical Work with College-Aged Artists around Race and Whiteness

2 July 2018

Dramaturg Gaven D. Trinidad reflects on workshopping Snowflakes, or Rare White People by Dustin Chinn as a part of UMass Amherst's New Play Lab in December 2017.

a person onstage
Mad-Lib Theatre
Essay

Mad-Lib Theatre

Making Plays with Audience Stories

24 June 2018

Director Meggan Gomez reflects on working with her youth ensemble based in New Mexico to create _____ Historias, a play that is created in real-time in response to stories shared by the audience.

an actor onstage
Outside the Mainstream
Essay

Outside the Mainstream

Working with Student-Run Theatres

11 June 2018

Playwright Paco José Madden explores what it means to be produced by student-run theatre companies: the pros and cons, what factors to consider, and how a playwright can make the best of their experience in a similar setting.

a group of people
Finding Purpose in the Pause
Essay

Finding Purpose in the Pause

22 May 2018

Benjamin Viccellio reflects on the Kenyon Playwright’s Conference in Ohio, as the program nears its fifth anniversary.

How R.Evolución Latina is Reinventing the Bard
Essay

How R.Evolución Latina is Reinventing the Bard

21 May 2018

Jose Solís explores R.Evolución Latina’s production To Be or Not to Be, the culminating project of the company’s spring 2018 workshop, which brought Latinx artists from all over to New York to create a piece based on Shakespeare’s texts.

Playwrights Say #NeverAgain
Essay

Playwrights Say #NeverAgain

8 May 2018

Rachael Carnes discusses organizing Playwrights Say Never Again to School Shootings, a new anthology of work on gun violence by nineteen playwrights with readings all over the United States.