Monday, September 29, 2014

No Beach this summer!



No Beach this summer!
Mari Martinez
 
This past summer, I decided to forgo the beach and instead headed to the mountains in beautiful Denver, CO.  I didn’t get a tan, or sport a new bikini, but instead saw old friends, made new connections and learned new and exciting things about the field of theatre education at the AATE conference.

Going to the conference this summer was such a great experience. I was a bit hesitant about going alone; I was worried about feeling out of place and under experienced to be at National Conference of this size-but immediately felt a sense of relief and empowerment when I saw that I knew people there! Our field is indeed, quite small! I re-connected with a former boss and mentor from over five years ago when I worked as a teaching artist at the Omaha Children’s Theatre.   

We both felt a sense of nostalgia at reconnecting and it was so great being able to discuss the field not as an employee or student, but as a peer in the filed. It turns out that my former boss is very much involved with AATE and through him; I was able to meet many artists from all over the country and many AATE committee members as well. We promised to keep in touch and remember to share new ideas and he also said he would be more than happy to connect me to other people and opportunities in the future. I also was able to meet with other teaching artists I worked with at the children’s theatre who have since moved on to work in other theatres all over the country and through them was able to meet new people and learn about new programs.

The sessions offered at AATE were numerous and at times, hard to choose which ones to attend. Even if you went to a session that turned out to be not as great as you expected, it still was an opportunity to meet and talk to new people and form new relationships. No session, or event at AATE was a waste of time. 
 Most of the time, you did go to very interesting sessions-but there seems to be one in particular that stands out to every person who attends. Again, going to AATE for just that one session-that one that shows you something new, or inspires you in a new way it is worth it all. For me, that session was with a theatre company called C&T based in England. This company presented new ways technology and theatre can work together to engage and teach students.  As someone who isn’t very tech-savvy, this session was very exciting and interesting to me. It definitely got my creative juices flowing and opened my mind to new possibilities.

So, no tan, no beach but I got the mountains and the amazing experience that AATE made possible. I am so glad that I was able to go-and I am so thankful to Sobha for introducing me to new people and for guiding me throughout the conference. After four days, I left the conference feeling engaged, inspired, validated as an artist that was lucky to belong to such an amazing community. See you all in Milwaukee next year!



Thursday, September 4, 2014

Welcome Back, Everyone!



Welcome Back, Everyone! 
Jackie Avitabile

The Ed Theatre Club Officers would like to welcome everyone to a new semester at City College!  Last night at the Cupcake Social it was wonderful to see so many new and familiar faces.  
 


  I think it’s super exciting to hear about all of the interesting and varied experiences that our fellow students had this summer, and know that we are all coming back together to continue the journey as grad students this fall.
 My name is Jackie Avitabile, and I am one of the Ed Theatre Club Officers.  I am starting my second year in the program, in Stream A, and plan to graduate in May 2015.  What I have loved most about my time in the program are all of the opportunities to gain hands-on experience in classrooms and in the community.  Sobha’s Devising Theatre class this past summer was no exception—we spent the majority of our class days creating and reviewing lesson plans in the morning and then traveling to a transitional home and a senior center in the afternoon to facilitate our lesson plans with participants there.  Seeing the joy on faces ranging in age from 2 years to 82 years is a great reminder about why I decided to go to grad school and what I love about teaching theatre.

After Devising Theatre, I spent the rest of my summer working, traveling, and missing my friends from the program!  I am excited to be back for my last year and know that there are a lot of wonderful teaching and learning opportunities ahead of us this semester.  Here are just a few of the things that I am most looking forward to:

1) Three chances to learn from the greats: talks with guest artists Nilaja Sun and Amanda Gronich, and a process drama workshop with Cecily O’Neill.  I had the good fortune of seeing Nilaja Sun’s No Child… in Minneapolis and found this story about the impact that theatre can have on urban students incredibly moving.  And, I am a huge fan of Tectonic Theatre Project’s work (The Laramie Project, Gross Indecency) so it should be fascinating to hear from company member, Amanda Gronich, about their process.  Cecily O’Neill, master practitioner, did a process drama workshop here last January with the high school cast of The Inspector General, and it was incredible, so this workshop is not to be missed!

2) The Ed Theatre Club is trying something new this year- a Trivia Night(/possible Halloween Costume Contest?)!  This October evening event will be a chance to hang out with your friends in the field, win prizes, and show off your skills, while also reviewing theatre facts for the Theatre CST and/or Drama in Education midterm.  Plus, all proceeds will serve as a fundraiser for the program!  Should be an awesome night!

3) Ed Theatre Meet-Ups.  Stay tuned for specifics, but basically we were feeling like we don’t get enough chances to hang out together and we want to meet up with y’all!  Meet-ups may or may not include fieldwork opportunities, chances to study attending theatre performances as a group, etc!  We want to hear your ideas for meet-ups, so let us know what you would like to do!

4) The Little Mermaid at P.S. 161.  I had such an incredible time co-directing Aladdin last year with my Fundamentals of Teaching Theatre class.  I can’t wait to see those talented middle schoolers go underwater this year as Ariel, Sebastian, and the rest of the crew. 

Oh, Ed Theatre, I am so glad to be “Part of Your World”!

Have an amazing first month back, and we’ll see you soon!

And of course check out the fantastic items you can purchase with the Ed Theatre logo 

-Jackie Avitabile, Ed Theatre Club Officer