Master Class 2019

2019 AATE National Conference
August 1-5, 2019

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Master Classes

MASTER CLASS A: Performing Creative Dialogues: Using Theatre to Build Brave Spaces, Activate Courageous Conversations … and Rehearse the Change We Want to Be

Presenters: Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, Helen White and Chris Vine
Friday, August 2, 2019, 9am-1pm

$50

If we are serious about using theatre as a tool for social change, the change must begin with us. In order to work with others to activate progressive theatre practices, we have to interrogate our own values, examine our own assumptions and move our own practices into the spotlight. How do we understand others, and how do others experience us and our work? How do we understand the world we inhabit?

These are difficult questions for anyone to face. To do so honestly, is to make ourselves vulnerable, to feel uncomfortable, to risk missteps and to invite criticism. But working on ourselves is only the first step. We must then assume responsibility for facilitating that process with and for others. So whether as participant or facilitator, we are on a challenging journey. In both cases, we have to navigate difficult emotional and cognitive terrain. This can be a daunting prospect. Fortunately, our art form itself can come to our assistance, bringing creativity and fun to the process!

In this hands-on workshop, participants will experience a wide-range of drama strategies, games, exercises and theatre-making processes, that can be used to build ensemble, establish contracts, democratize space, promote inclusion, pursue equity, and encourage participation in difficult conversations, all leading towards the performance of social justice – in art and actuality!

MASTER CLASS B: Making Student Theater From Interviews: Crafting Non-Fiction Storytelling
Presenters: Amanda Gronich
Saturday, August 3, 2019, 1:45-4:45pm

$50

.How do you work with students to create original non-fiction theater? How do you transform real-life stories – captured in in-depth interviews – into powerful theatrical narratives? In this master class, we’ll touch on diverse techniques to generate non-fiction storytelling. We’ll discover how to develop student-selected subjects, exploring what a non-fiction topic needs to become meaningful theater. We’ll discuss the art of interviewing – how to capture people’s lives, not just their opinions – from crafting interview questions that help students write, to exploring the art and science of empathic listening. We’ll uncover some of the improvisational rehearsal techniques, story structures, character arcs and plotting devices that can help guide a creative group process and that ultimately result in balanced and thought-provoking student theater.

MASTER CLASS C: Devising Theater for Young Audiences: Starting with a Question

Presenters: Renata Townsend
Sunday, August 4, 2019, 2:15-5:15pm

$50 (Photo: Trusty Sidekick's UP AND AWAY at Lincoln Center, 2015, Buatti-Ramos Photography)

What happens to your shadow when you go to sleep?" "How do you make a narrative rock concert for Middle Schoolers?" "How do you bring the great outdoors inside?" "How do you make Shakespeare accessible to 5-year-olds?" This masterclass will explore Trusty Sidekick Theater Company's inquiry-based model of creating theater for young audiences. Participants will experience the process of starting with a question (through the lens of content and/ art form), designing environment, and scaffolding a 360-degree audience experience before, during, and after a performance. The master class will culminate with participants applying the methods to their own art form in order to reconsider the intersection of art and education in any setting.

MASTER CLASS D: The Reflective Educator: How Do We Know If We Are Effective?
Presenters: Peter Avery (Director of Theatre, NYC Department of Education)
Monday, August 5, 2019, 1:45-4:45pm

$50

How often do theater educators have the opportunity to reflect on their own practice by visiting a colleague? This dynamic session engages participants in practical theatrical assessment techniques and a space to examine effective theater teaching and directing by observing video of a peer in action. Through a facilitated process, educators explore the intersection of theater making, student feedback and culturally responsive teaching -- considering their own habits, strengths, and areas for growth to best unleash student creative expression and spark theater learning. Thoughtful theater planning and teaching parallels strong theater production processes.