http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75078 2026-04-11T06:12:19Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75252 Title: Perspectives of Theatre for Young Audience Companies Leaders: A Survey Authors: Omasta, Matt; Felty, Aubrey Abstract: This report offers extensive data from a survey project that invited the artistic, business, and education leaders of every professional Theatre for Young Audiences company affiliated with TYA/USA to share information regarding a wide range of topics including season selection, finances, education programming, staff demographics, leader perceptions of quality TYA, and others. The focus of this piece is a comparison of data from theatres of different types. Specifically, it considers how three influential circumstances—theatres’ budget sizes, their geographic locations, and their longevity—intersect with, and perhaps affect, other circumstances as well as the perspectives and beliefs of their theatre leaders. This article provides copious descriptive data and invites readers to draw insights from their personal analyses of the data most relevant to their own practice and/or research. 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75251 Title: Data-Based Analysis of Diversity and Equity in Theatre for Young Audience Companies Authors: Omasta, Matt; Felty, Aubrey Abstract: There is an urgent need for Theatres for Young Audiences to produce plays that share the stories and experiences of people of color and to ensure works by playwrights of color are produced regularly, but data suggests that this is often not the case. This article draws on data from a comprehensive survey of artistic, business, and education leaders in the field to consider how it might inform the important discussions (and hopefully actions) taking place in the field regarding equity and inclusion, especially those exploring race and anti-racism. 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75250 Title: Measuring a Verbatim Effect with High School Students 12 Hours Away and across the World by Authors: Ates, Alex; Feng, David; Hu, Sam; Zhang, Emily Abstract: Three recently-graduated Chinese-International high school students and their American theater teacher engage in reflective analysis on their digital verbatim performances of American presidential politicians in If You Wanna Switch Seats, We Could, produced by the Verbatim Performance Lab at NYU Steinhardt’s Program in Educational Theatre (2021). In Part One, the context and conditions of the project are outlined. In Part Two, the students engage in reflective analysis on their participation. In Part Three, the teacher synthesizes the students’ insights using pedagogical analysis and reflective practice. In Part Four, a “Verbatim Effect” is measured to consider the impact of the project. The following takeaways are noted: 1) Political verbatim performance allowed the students to exercise emotional release from mounting international tension; however, this release could not be realized through caricature. Instead, catharsis was found in the innate aesthetic conflict of the performance. 2) As a discipline, verbatim performance demanded that the students consider the precise details of their characters, which created a tension between requirements and choices. 3) This mode of performance allowed the students to analyze and interpret political events that were directly impacting their lives. 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75249 Title: Wedunnit: How About Face Youth Theatre Solved the Mystery of Online Ensemble Devising and Learning Authors: Siciliano, Lisa M.; Burke, Mikael Abstract: In March 2021, About Face Youth Ensemble faced the task of creating a show online with both performers and teaching artists stuck in their homes, separated from each other. At the end of the youth ensemble's three-month long devising process, the virtual production of Whodunnit? A Groovy Queer Murder Mystery at Camp Forest Woods! was released online. In this paper, members of the education staff share their reflections on how they designed for and engaged in a learning environment that facilitated a particularly connected ensemble. Key aspects of instructional design addressed in the article include the motivation behind the show, the theatre company's growing commitment to youth mental health, traditional "in-the-room" devising practices, and the utilization of online technology. Recommendations for applied theatre programs and their practitioners that work with teens, as well as arts researchers, are as follows: 1) Investigate the potential of hiring a certified mental health professional 2) Commit to spending significant time together for emotional connection 3) Design devising activities that support more equitable power dynamics and access 4) Explore the promising possibilities of computer-supported collaborative learning especially when returning to in-person creation. 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z