Check-in for the conference begins! If you miss the check-in time today, you can still attend the Welcome Toast at Berkeley Rep and theatre performance at Aurora Theatre (if you RSVP'd) and check in in the morning at Berkeley Rep, beginning at 8:30 am.
Join us in the upstairs lobby of the Roda Theatre at Berkeley Rep for a Welcome Toast with your CETA Board members. If you RSVP'd before the ticketing deadline, you can also pick up your theatre ticket for the 7 pm show at Aurora Theatre Company.
Thursday October 24, 2024 5:00pm - 6:30pm PDT
Berkeley Repertory Theatre2025 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
Join us Thursday evening at Aurora Theatre Company to kick off the conference! Afree ticket is included in your registration (if you RSVP'd by the deadline). Pick up your ticket at the Welcome Toast or 6:30 - 6:45 pm for the 7:00 pm performance.
Fallen Angels by Noël Coward Five years into their supposedly happy marriages, Jane and Julia’s perfectly polished lives are thrown into delightful disarray when an old flame announces his sudden return to London. Past passions and present desires – along with generous helpings of champagne – send the two friends into a frenzy of anticipation, jealousy, and determination to choose their own destinies. Set in the glamorous 1920s, this classic from the famously witty and charming Noël Coward is a hilarious excavation of the complexities of love and desire. Post show party with the cast to follow.
CETA President Gale Caswell welcomes you to the conference!
Conference Overview, followed by:
• A Welcome from Anthony Jackson, Berkeley Rep School of Theatre • Special Event: Keynote Address from Johanna Pfelzer, Artistic Director/Berkeley Rep • Special Event: Presentation of CETA's Visionary Award to Director/Playwright/Educator Mary Zimmerman • A Conversation with Special Guest Mary Zimmerman
Friday October 25, 2024 9:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Berkeley Repertory Theatre2025 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
Join us in the Crystal Ballroom (ground floor of the hotel) for lunch and our annual business meeting. Also, get the latest information on the CA Theatre Education.
Who doesn’t love the magical world of the circus?! This workshop will focus on the benefits and applications of integrating improvisational theatre, balancing and juggling skills, and puppetry into the classroom. This experiential workshop will provide teachers with activities and tips for engaging the full diversity of learners, from English Language Learners, to those on the spectrum, and those with behavioral challenges. It is my belief that providing opportunities for creative expression and collaboration is key to educational success, engagement and SEL. Teachers will leave this fun workshop with strategies to help primary students self-regulate through balancing and juggling, express their thoughts and feelings through puppets, and build community through improvisation.
Teachers will learn a variety of strategies and activities that target early literacy. Attendees will walk away with tangible activities that they can use with their young learners that will empower students to analyze character, create character, and find text evidence to support their analysis. Attendees will also walk away with lessons that will build a setting.
We will establish norms that are helpful in a primary classroom.
We will then explore character, focusing on using drama-based strategies inspired by the Globe Education Academy (via the Globe Theatre in London). Strategies include Archetypes (using 4 archetypes and combinations of archetypes to help learners physicalize characters) and 7 essential questions (simple questions that can help direct learners to understand point of view and perspective of a character).
We will establish and explore a setting using the 5 senses with a strategy called Magic Canvas.
We will conclude with a debrief about how to apply these strategies to a wide variety of texts, ensuring we elevate BIPOC authors.
Have you ever felt intimidated when it comes to other accents–from a teacher/director and/or performer perspective? Accents are everywhere in the theatre world… They serve as a crucial story-telling device for both actor and audience. Approaching Accents will introduce you to a step by step process for breaking down accents, and sharing them with your students.
Proposition 28 is a permanent change to funding arts education and requires a paradigm shift as it provides the theatre education community with the opportunity to engage in creative long-term planning. Based on analysis of budgets and data from school districts, this workshop will provide a space for learning about the opportunities and challenges of recruiting a diverse teacher workforce, credentialing, and building new teacher pipelines under Proposition 28. There will also be a chance to learn how different theatre programs are implementing the law, to learn how theatre teachers are working across school sites to provide k-12 theatre curriculum, to brainstorm about how to creatively build our collaborative future, and to ask questions about Proposition 28.
In this workshop we will be hands-on, looking at everything QLab can do to revolutionize your production tech. We will build cues from scratch, answer questions, and examine how a single GO button for every sound, projection and lighting cue makes for a much tighter show, and a lot less anxiety. After years of using QLab for SFX, it was an easy decision to integrate projections. But when my lighting board died, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go all-in on a single software. Friends, I’m never going back.
Friday October 25, 2024 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Medak Center Studio2009 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704
What an exciting time! Prop 28 is set to boost arts educator staffing in our schools, opening up amazing opportunities for our Performing Arts Departments. We all dream of having a collaborative department we’re proud of, and guess what? It’s totally achievable with a bit of planning and teamwork. Join this upbeat workshop where we’ll dive into the four key cornerstones that have helped our Performing Arts Department thrive for the last 12 years. Discover how to set clear goals, create a long-term vision, and let every team member shine. Let’s come together to foster educational excellence and build strong, supportive relationships that will make your department truly exceptional. Get ready for a fun, inspiring session that will leave you motivated and ready to take your Performing Arts Department to the next level!
Have you ever wondered about the mental health benefits of young people engaged in theatre? What about social-emotional benefits? How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact the mental wellbeing of our young people? How can local theatre companies address the mental health and wellness of young performers? These questions and more will be addressed as Chris Miller, Ed.D. provides insights on the mental health benefits of youth participation in theatre. Through a review of the literature, a real-life case vignette of suicidal youth, and sharing of best practices, Dr. Miller will speak about the broader mental health and social- emotional benefits of youth theatre and conclude with recommendations for those that are engaged in youth theatre work on how to develop positive social environments that support all of our youth.
Feedback is an essential part of the creative process, but “I liked it,” “It was funny,” and “I don’t get it,” don’t help an actor or designer who genuinely wants to improve. What kind of feedback moves the needle on creative work? How do we help students speak to the work, not just compliment their friends? How do we help emerging artists define their goals for their audience’s experience? Grounded in the Ladder of Inference cognitive model and devised theatre co-creative norms, this strategy relies on 3 simple questions that build critical thinking skills while inspiring authentic, artist-driven improvements.
Geared towards elementary educators, this workshop provides participants with practical tools to enrich their elementary theatre classrooms. Participants will discuss classroom logistics and management strategies, explore engaging theatre games to foster creativity and collaboration, and discover how to capture student learning through simple journaling techniques.
Inspired by the many high school Theatre festivals, Middle Stage Fest allows middle school students to meet peers from other schools, share their passion, showcase their talents, receive feedback and recognition for their work, and participate in professional workshops–on a scale suited to middle school. It is also an excellent way to build great PR for your Theatre program, involve more students (without having to cast larger productions), and to connect with your fellow middle school educators. New to Middle Stage Fest? This workshop will be the perfect opportunity to find out how your school can participate in this fantastic event with minimal stress for you, but maximum success for your students! Already a MSF fan? Please come join the conversation, sharing your insights and ideas about how to make this year’s Middle Stage Fest the best yet!
Introducing your students to scripts can be daunting, especially after weeks of performing and working on your feet. I’m here to tell you that you can do it, and that your students will grow tremendously as artists and as an inclusive community because of it. We’ll cover how to introduce scripts, how to work through them as a class, activities and exercises they’ll love throughout, and summative assessments that will make English teachers insanely jealous. This workshop shows teachers how to utilize specific strategies for using scripts to look at issues of equity, diversity and inclusion in the performing arts, and build capacity with their students to have meaningful conversations about Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
Friday October 25, 2024 3:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Medak Center Studio2009 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704
We will start with an analysis of a theatre program-what’s working, what makes money, what brings in a large audience, how do you connect your program with your community? We will then create a 6-month, 1-3-5-year strategic plan which will include a department mission statement, how to communicate your vision, and how the design of your season can fulfill many of your goals. Participants will walk away with a blueprint for taking their program to the next level.
New members are invited to join President Gale Caswell and board members in the lobby for an informal orientation. No-host cocktails available at the bar.
Friday October 25, 2024 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Hotel Shattuck Plaza2086 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
Seeking a delightfully eerie and free escapade this Halloween? Join us for our Halloween Costume Bash on Oct 25, in celebration of Mary Zimmerman’s fantastical world of The Matchbox Magic Flute!
Step into the Narsai M. David Courtyard, where the air will be filled with the sounds of laughter and music. Savor themed treats and potions and grasp a chance to win magical prizes in our costume contest! Doors creak open at 6:30pm. Come dressed to impress in your most whimsical garb!
Please note: BRT will not allow costumes with masks that fully cover the face, that create a safety hazard, or are sexual in nature.
Friday October 25, 2024 6:30pm - 7:45pm PDT
Berkeley Repertory Theatre2025 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
The Matchbox Magic Flute ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY MARY ZIMMERMAN | BASED ON MOZART’S OPERA | IN ASSOCIATION WITH GOODMAN THEATRE | WEST COAST PREMIERE | RODA THEATRE AT BERKELEY REP Theatrical powerhouse Mary Zimmerman (Metamorphoses, The Arabian Nights, The White Snake) triumphantly returns to Berkeley Rep with a mesmerizing adaptation of Mozart’s iconic Magic Flute, using only 10 singers and five musicians. Join Tamino on a daring quest to rescue the captive princess Pamina. Encounter dragons, birdmen, and trials by fire in this enchanting microcosm of wonder where magic and music intertwine. Hailed as “a box of treasures, a haze of marvels, a banquet of dreams,” by The Chicago Reader, The Matchbox Magic Flute will transport you to realms of imagination and wonder.
Friday October 25, 2024 8:00pm - 10:30pm PDT
Berkeley Repertory Theatre2025 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
Who doesn’t love the magical world of the circus?! This workshop will focus on the benefits and applications of integrating improvisational theatre, balancing and juggling skills, and puppetry into the classroom. This experiential workshop will provide teachers with activities and tips for engaging the full diversity of learners, from English Language Learners, to those on the spectrum, and those with behavioral challenges. It is my belief that providing opportunities for creative expression and collaboration is key to educational success, engagement and SEL. Teachers will leave this fun workshop with strategies to help primary students self-regulate through balancing and juggling, express their thoughts and feelings through puppets, and build community through improvisation.
Saturday October 26, 2024 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
Medak Center Studio2009 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704
This workshop provides practical strategies to grow and sustain your middle school theater program. Learn how to create an Advisory Board with elementary school representation, conduct engaging school visits with PBIS or Character Strong skits, and organize touring shows to feeder schools. Discover how to host school-day performances with fun souvenir giveaways to excite young students, and explore innovative day camp fundraisers. By the end of the session, you’ll leave with the tools, ideas, and skills to engage students, build strong relationships with feeder schools, and inspire participation in your theater program.
As artists, grading can feel exhaustive and unnecessary, maybe even counter-productive. As teachers we understand it is required for the job. In this workshop we will discuss how to use grades to promote Equity and a Positive Growth Mindset, and ACCURATELY communicate a students’ mastery. We will have a chance to share rubrics with each other and I will share scope and sequence template that is easy to understand and your admin will love.
Proposition 28, passed in 2022, provides schools with ongoing funding – approximately $1 billion annually – to equitably increase arts instruction and access to arts education. We’ll share how statewide the arts education ecosystem is working together to identify and respond to opportunities and challenges that advance equity in public arts education. *Participants will be able to describe how collective impact efforts can support statewide arts education initiatives *Participants will be able to identify planning tools created to meet the needs of community advocates working to support the scaling up arts education programs in schools *Participants will engage in a small group collective brainstorming session to surface systems change strategies, resource development needs and potential actions they can initiate in their own work.
Thanks to the television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? students are more interested in improvisation now more than ever. If you're like most theatre teachers, you probably never had any formal training in improv, because most universities don't offer it. This workshop will present a practical approach to teaching improv as the foundation of your curriculum that will provide a deep dive into skills, and enhance all aspects of your theatre classroom. Easy, fun, effective techniques that you can use tomorrow. Take back control from those 15-year old boys who think they know more than you about improvisation!
Have you ever wondered about the mental health benefits of young people engaged in theatre? What about social-emotional benefits? How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact the mental wellbeing of our young people? How can local theatre companies address the mental health and wellness of young performers? These questions and more will be addressed as Chris Miller, Ed.D. provides insights on the mental health benefits of youth participation in theatre. Through a review of the literature, a real-life case vignette of suicidal youth, and sharing of best practices, Dr. Miller will speak about the broader mental health and social- emotional benefits of youth theatre and conclude with recommendations for those that are engaged in youth theatre work on how to develop positive social environments that support all of our youth.
In this session, AME Institute Trainer and Theatre specialist, Jack Mitchell, will share opportunities for theatre teachers in Career Tech Ed. He will share the new Industry Guidance Document (soon to be the new AME Standards), review the new performance and live design pathways in AME and introduce several new professional learning opportunities offered by the AME Institute.
his workshop aims to equip educators with a deep understanding of the Stanislavski method, a cornerstone of modern acting, and provide practical tools they can use to inspire and develop their students’ acting skills. The Stanislavski method, renowned for its emphasis on emotional truth and character development, offers invaluable techniques that can profoundly enhance students’ performances and their appreciation of the craft. Through this workshop, teachers will not only explore the theoretical foundations of Stanislavski approach but also participate in interactive sessions designed to bring these concepts to life in the classroom. The workshop will cover:
Introduction to the Stanislavski Method:
Understanding its principles and historical significance.
Practical exercises: Engaging in key exercises to experience the method firsthand.
Application in the classroom: Strategies for integrating these techniques into high school curriculum to foster a deeper connection between students and their roles.
What do you need to create an experience that’s not on the stage, unscripted, involves your audience? What are the rules to follow and need-to-knows before and during involving players who aren’t performers? Learn how to create a smart and safe experience that touches your audience ‘s hearts and helps change their day (perhaps life) for the better.
This is a participation workshop demonstrating how to adapt theatre games for different special needs groups. You will learn strategies, creative activities, and fun singing improv games for the very youngest primary grades to older. Max has 40 years’ experience teaching improv all over the world and studied with Viola Spolin and Paul Sills.
Saturday October 26, 2024 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
Medak Center Studio2009 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704
What an exciting time! Prop 28 is set to boost arts educator staffing in our schools, opening up amazing opportunities for our Performing Arts Departments. We all dream of having a collaborative department we’re proud of, and guess what? It’s totally achievable with a bit of planning and teamwork. Join this upbeat workshop where we’ll dive into the four key cornerstones that have helped our Performing Arts Department thrive for the last 12 years. Discover how to set clear goals, create a long-term vision, and let every team member shine. Let’s come together to foster educational excellence and build strong, supportive relationships that will make your department truly exceptional. Get ready for a fun, inspiring session that will leave you motivated and ready to take your Performing Arts Department to the next level!
Teachers will learn a variety of strategies and activities that target early literacy. Attendees will walk away with tangible activities that they can use with their young learners that will empower students to analyze character, create character, and find text evidence to support their analysis. Attendees will also walk away with lessons that will build a setting.
We will establish norms that are helpful in a primary classroom.
We will then explore character, focusing on using drama-based strategies inspired by the Globe Education Academy (via the Globe Theatre in London). Strategies include Archetypes (using 4 archetypes and combinations of archetypes to help learners physicalize characters) and 7 essential questions (simple questions that can help direct learners to understand point of view and perspective of a character).
We will establish and explore a setting using the 5 senses with a strategy called Magic Canvas.
We will conclude with a debrief about how to apply these strategies to a wide variety of texts, ensuring we elevate BIPOC authors.
Have you ever felt intimidated when it comes to other accents–from a teacher/director and/or performer perspective? Accents are everywhere in the theatre world… They serve as a crucial story-telling device for both actor and audience. Approaching Accents will introduce you to a step by step process for breaking down accents, and sharing them with your students.
As artists, grading can feel exhaustive and unnecessary, maybe even counter-productive. As teachers we understand it is required for the job. In this workshop we will discuss how to use grades to promote Equity and a Positive Growth Mindset, and ACCURATELY communicate a students’ mastery. We will have a chance to share rubrics with each other and I will share scope and sequence template that is easy to understand and your admin will love.
Devising is THE hot topic in Theatre Arts – not only is it an essential part of the IB Theatre curriculum, it’s also the most powerful way to amplify your students’ voices in your Theatre Arts classroom. But where to start?? In this session, you’ll learn a step-by-step process for devising with your students, including practical tips for turning the messy creative process into a structured performance your students can be proud of (and your admin will applaud!). If you’re nervous about tackling devised theatre with your students, this workshop will give you the tools you need to approach this work with confidence. And if you’re a devising pro, this workshop will give you fresh ideas about how to generate content and polish your performances. This approach is relevant for in-class projects and public performances, short form and full-length productions. Participants will walk away with the know-how to lead a devising process in their classrooms tomorrow.
Geared towards elementary educators, this workshop provides participants with practical tools to enrich their elementary theatre classrooms. Participants will discuss classroom logistics and management strategies, explore engaging theatre games to foster creativity and collaboration, and discover how to capture student learning through simple journaling techniques.
After viewing a screening of STAND!, a 12-minute filmed spoken word and movement performance piece produced by TWP artists based on writing inspired by the Take a Stand exercise done by California State Prison-LA County program participants, CETA workshop participants will learn about TWP’s theatre, movement, and writing techniques that encourage students to express their opinions and beliefs about current socio political issues in a brave, respectful, artistic space. Hands-on improvisational theatre and writing techniques that can form the basis for informal or finished theatre performances while honoring a diversity of students’ perspectives will be shared. A Q & A and links to further exercises and examples of TWP’s work with diverse populations will be provided.
Join us for our CETA Awards Banquet, sponsored by TCAP! Put on your best duds to honor our colleagues who have made significant contributions to educational theatre!
This workshop is a Professional Development Intensive is being provided for free by CETA for all members.
Creating Safe and Brave Theatre Spaces Whether you are an actor asked to be emotionally vulnerable, a director facilitating rehearsals with challenging content, or an educator supporting young artists on their journey- theater needs to be a safe and brave space for all artists. We hear from our students that our classrooms are a haven, their safe space on campus. But is it? While asking our students for radical empathy, vulnerability and agility we also need to ask ourselves what steps we are taking to create an environment safe for these risks. During this interactive workshop, we will expand our perception of what is a brave and safe space while critically examining our own theater spaces. We will collaborate to share tools, ideas and resources to begin to answer the question: how do we make theater a (more) safe space for our emerging young artists?
Lauren Rosi is an award-winning theatre educator, actor, director, choreographer and DEIA consultant based in the SF Bay Area. After pursuing a career in acting and theatre education, Lauren has turned her focus to ensure arts spaces are inclusive and accessible. Her deep commitment to social justice, promoting equity in education, theatre and the workplace led to the creation of Art of Inclusion. As a cultural-responsive practices consultant, Lauren has designed and led professional development workshops for staff and board members in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility practices. Art of Inclusion also offers curriculum assessment, production and organizational consulting. Lauren holds a BA from Emerson College, MA from Regent University, and DEI Certification from Cornell University. Lauren is a professor at Contra Costa College and on the theatre faculty at Oakland School for the Arts.
Sunday October 27, 2024 9:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Medak Center Studio2009 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704
