AATE 2025 National Conference

Pre-Purchase Required - $60 per ticket

Join renowned puppet master Michelle Zamora and discuss the art of puppetry, storytelling, and her project The Throwaways a community-based play focused on the impact of parental incarceration currently being workshopped at Clevland Play House as part of their Family Theatre series. Learn to conceptualize your own story and create puppets that can bring it to life! The Cleveland Play House Family Theatre program focuses on bringing adverse childhood events (ACES) to light is a gentle way that begins a dialogue on resiliency and healing.

Pre-Purchase Required - $60 per ticket
Join internationally renowned playwright José Cruz Gonzales & award-winning playwright Eric Schmiedl discuss their latest collaboration The Throwaways a community-based project focused on the impact of parental incarceration currently being workshopped at Clevland Play House as part of their Family Theatre pillar of education. The Cleveland Play House Family Theatre program focuses on bringing adverse childhood events (ACES) to light is a gentle way that begins a dialogue on resiliency and healing.

Pre-Purchase Required - $60 per ticket

This masterclass will explore the transformative power of reclaiming hidden histories in Theatre for Young Audiences, amplifying structurally marginalized identities, and challenging systemic inequities. Participants will learn about and engage with theatre practices inspired by the artists and practitioners highlighted in the Hidden and Erased BIPOC History Project, delving into Theatre for Young Audiences' past, present, and potential futures. We will share our journey of restoring erased narratives and bridging the past with the present to envision a more inclusive and equitable citational future. Through interactive activities, dialogue, and storytelling, participants will reflect on their personal roles as artists and educators in reshaping the field, centering community, equity, and collective action. This space is designed to activate our hopes, plans, and inspirations—not only to use theatre as a tool for healing and connection but also to transform how we engage with and document history. This session invites anyone interested in the intersections of theatre, history, and social justice—whether you’re exploring the field, teaching our history, refining your practice, or seeking new ways to create meaningful change.

Pre-Purchase Required - $60 per ticket

Want to incorporate sensory friendly/relaxed performances? Provide access services and tools for blind and low vision audience members or d/Deaf or hard of hearing patrons? How about all of the above! This hands-on master class will introduce participants to a myriad of accessibility tools that can be implemented for productions with a variety of budgets, building foundational techniques toward comprehensive accessibility design, with materials to keep for future use.