AATE 2025 National Conference

Engage in a hands-on workshop exploring how devised theater combined with movement, writing, and visual art can expand storytelling, deepen ensemble-building, and connect communities—both onstage and through creative artifacts like zines and illustrated books.

The connection between teacher and student was severed during the pandemic, and has not been fully restored in the years that followed. This damage is even more profound in the drama classroom, because the work done in Theatre classes requires a relationship between teacher and students that is based on mutual respect and trust. Those relationships need to be rebuilt in order to bring stability and enjoyment back to the classroom. This workshop will examine the importance of relationships in educational settings and explore ways to restore the relationship between teacher and student, as well as between students, in the drama classroom.

Objective: To offer educators and practitioners the opportunity to concentrate on how we craft the first session(s) of working with young people (K-12 and Undergraduates) in the classroom and rehearsal room. This workshop will focus on healthy communication, guidelines, and practice toward through community building on the front end of ensemble practices. Tailored community building has the lasting effect of creating a safe environment where best practices are honored, met, and sustained. Through experiential learning methods, attendees embrace these inclusive concepts and generate workable solution-based ideas through a 75 minute workshop of engagement, play, small group laboratory-style collaborations, and a shared collective closure process. Abstract: Artmaking with others impacts our lives, purpose, and a sense of community. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access remain at the forefront of the spaces we want to maintain, encourage, and expand. Artmaking, ensembleship, and community building are intertwined. What we do with and for the students has the potential to impact their social-emotional growth and perspectives on the human condition through modes of expression, agency, and guided peer interactions.

Dr. Morgan Soja and Dr. Evan Mack present a dynamic session on Dragon’s Breath, an award-winning children’s opera by composer Evan Mack and librettist Joshua McGuire. Winner of the American Prize, this charming and impactful show explores themes of coping with anger and the emotional challenges young people face. The story follows Alan, a young boy who learns to navigate his emotions and discover healthy ways to respond to life’s difficulties. Rooted in Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Dragon’s Breath is designed to not only entertain but also to serve as a catalyst for meaningful discussions about emotions. The presentation will delve into how the opera fosters emotional intelligence through interactive audience engagement. Participants will experience exercises used in the performance, such as acting out emotions and guided meditative breathing, which allow young audiences to explore emotional self-regulation in an accessible and creative way. Additionally, attendees will get a behind-the-scenes look at the world premiere of Dragon’s Breath through clips from the production, showcasing the opera’s engaging storytelling, music, and interactive elements in action. Dr. Soja and Dr. Mack will also discuss the power of art as a conversation piece, emphasizing how Dragon’s Breath bridges performance and education to spark important discussions about emotional growth. They will outline plans to bring this production to wider audiences through touring, aiming to reach schools, community centers, and theaters nationwide. This session invites educators, theater practitioners, and advocates for SEL to discover how Dragon’s Breath can inspire creativity, foster emotional awareness, and build connections with young audiences and their families. Join us to explore how this work transforms art into an interactive tool for growth and understanding.

An important part of AATE’s mission and core values is to foster scholarship. In order to do that effectively, the Research & Scholarship Network have committed to create a publishing guide for AATE that will serve members and the wider field of theatre education. In this working session, members of the Research & Scholarship Network and anyone else who is interested will collaborate on generating an initial draft of the publishing guide. Participants will contribute to one of the following groups: [1] Steps to Publish, [2] Database of Journals or other outlets & style guides for each, [3] Database of extant work - categorized with abstracts, or [4] Other contributions yet to be imagined. When the publishing guide is up and running, members will be able to update, expand, and comment or interact with material. All participants will be asked to contribute their CV to a database to be included in the guide.

All the World's a stage, and all the men and women global players! We come from different cultures that can sometimes clash, but misunderstandings open up opportunities to learn from each other and understand our different perspectives. In this praxis-based workshop, you will explore the uses of theatre in the classroom to negotiate cultural differences, build bridges of intercultural understanding and promote cross-cultural communication. Participants will be exposed to a variety of drama exercises (improv., masks, clown and puppetry) aimed at developing cultural awareness, intercultural understanding and cross-cultural communication. Participants will be immersed in the experience of acting and role-playing in the theatre of everyday life: The Global Stage. You will leave the workshop with a solid new way of integrating mistakes and misunderstanding as opportunities to learn and grow, using cultural conflict as a catalyst for transformational understanding, acceptance and belonging. We all want our students to become genuine citizens of the world, so… Let’s Go Global! This session explores cultural differences as a lens to explore each other’s culture and play “cross-culturing” roles to promote intercultural understanding. The theatre provides us with a privileged space to champion diversity, to promote inclusion and to create a sense of belonging. Understanding each other is essential: putting ourselves in someone else’s skin opens up the possibility of deep connection and understanding. It might seem that cultural barriers divide us, but the stage gives us the opportunity to bring them down, experiencing community and belongingness through the recognition of our shared humanity.

What do you associate with a hospital? Perhaps the words institutional, sterile, or isolated come to mind. The Jeanette M Gould Traveling Theater, a partnership between University of Central Florida’s School of Performing Arts and College of Nursing, aims to reimagine a child’s hospital stay, bringing joy and healing through the art form of live theatre. Join us for a participatory workshop exploring how we create bedside performances for pediatric patients ages 2 and up, using purposeful play to inspire imagination and honor the whole child. Participants will learn about the creative process of “Let’s Go Camping!,” our first bedside play, and will engage in the development of our next show, “Sketch Out!”

The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia serves 450 schools annually through its in-school programs: teaching artist residencies, one-time student workshops, and professional learning events for teachers. These research-based programs have improved students’ literacy skills, transformed educators’ teaching practices, and established the Alliance Theatre as a leader in arts integrated and theater-based instruction. Despite its successes, the Alliance Theatre’s in-school programs face two major challenges: 1) a lack of funding for arts education programs and 2) teaching artist retention. In this session, learn how the Alliance Theatre has navigated these challenges while honoring established best practices and adapting to a changing landscape. Georgia ranks 50th in the nation in state arts funding, leaving schools and professional theaters with limited resources to support arts-based programming. In this session, the Alliance Theatre will share how it has diversified its funding streams through government support, corporate revenue, earned revenue, additional grants, and more, allowing our programs to evolve and meet schools’ needs. As the Alliance Theatre expands its reach, the need for qualified teaching artists grows. Learn about the Alliance’s teaching artist retention efforts, including pay increases, complimentary childcare, ongoing training, and health benefits. Participants will leave with strategies and ideas to replicate at their own professional theaters.

This session involves the synergistic collision between our field’s history and the full potential of what we can become as a multigenerational panel examines an untold story from our past and considers its compelling applications for our future. Community activist and historical scholar Joan Lancourt (Ph.D.) has done extensive primary-source research on the remarkable Junior Programs, Inc. (1936-1943), one of the most successful pioneering performing arts companies devoted exclusively to touring professional theatre for young audiences. Her research has uncovered dynamic responses to a world not so different from our own in which rising fascism, a climate of fearing the “other,” and the shadow of armed conflict threatened the very foundations of democracy. Junior Programs harnessed the power of the arts in defense of Democratic ideals, recognizing that their work was infinitely more than entertainment. The intentional presentation of restorative narratives, their partnerships with K-12 schools and teachers, their ability to harness an army of local volunteers as their productions of theatre, opera, and ballet crisscrossed the country –– these are but a few of the multifaceted strategies employed by the company that introduced four million children to quality arts experiences that celebrated America’s rich diversity. Following a presentation, our diverse group of multi-generational respondents will share implications for the future. While some elements of Junior Programs may seem dated after almost a century, we will engage in a dynamic conversation about the underlying principles and practices that contributed to their success, and discuss how they may be used to inform our current and future struggles as we prepare children for full participation in a vibrant democracy.

No Script? No Problem! Discover the magic of devised theatre in this fast-paced, interactive workshop designed to spark collaboration and creativity. Participants will learn and apply our Six Principles of Collaboration, practicing skills like sharing power and rotating leadership to develop original scripts from unexpected source material. Whether you're new to devised theatre or an experienced creator, this session offers a fresh approach to collective storytelling. We’re all here to learn—what can you contribute? This workshop kicks off by exploring devised theatre in its various forms and unique processes. Participants will engage with scenarios to identify and explore the Six Principles of Collaboration, gaining a deeper understanding of effective teamwork in a devised theatre setting. Participants will engage with scenarios to identify and explore the Six Principles of Collaboration, gaining a deeper understanding of effective teamwork. In the second half, the focus shifts to hands-on application. Working in groups, participants will use their newfound skills to stage an original story from an unconventional source, overcoming challenges such as collaborating with new people, managing time constraints, working with limited resources, and staying true to the story author’s intent. The session concludes with a live performance of their collaboratively created stories, celebrating the shared creativity and commitment of the group. Join us for an unforgettable experience where teamwork and storytelling take center stage!