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Community Spotlight: James McCulloch

By Ginny Butsch posted 10 days ago
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One of the main goals for our Theatre Education Community is to help theatre students and professionals from all over connect and identify with each other in order to build resources and support the theatre education field. We shine a spotlight on a different member every other week by conducting a simple interview.   Our next spotlight is James McCulloch, the English/Theatre teacher at Marine City High School in Marine City, Michigan, home to Thespian Troupe 8027 . James has directed over 50 productions, allowing him to advise other Community members on a variety of topics. He strives to provide his students with opportunities to develop their ...
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The Show Did Go On!

By Hugh Fletcher posted 10 days ago
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One might have noticed that I’ve been relatively absent from the Community for most of the past school year. While I tried to remain in touch with what questions, concerns, and solutions my fellow educators have posted, for me, this past year was physically, emotionally, and creatively draining. It was one of the most creatively challenging years of my career—a year full of doubt and discouragement, that lead  to frustration and reevaluation.  I began this school year with a situation that’s common to many Educational Theatre programs, but had thus far been foreign to me. I only had one boy in my program. Being that I started this program with a group made up ...
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Recruiting and Fundraising with a Children's Workshop

By Jessica Harms posted 11 days ago
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Children’s workshops are a great way to get district families excited about your shows and program while raising the funds you need to sustain your programming. Most fundraisers tend to make financial asks of the parents and guardians of your current students, and this allows you to find a new source of funding while raising the stature of your program, recruiting future artists, and advertising your upcoming productions. We started our children’s workshops in 2016, and this is what has worked for us. We’d love to hear what works for other schools if you offer workshops! For each show in our season, we offer a children’s workshop for all students in grades ...
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Advocacy Update: August 1, 2018

By Shea Haney posted 15 days ago
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EdTA Advocacy Update August 1, 2018   The Advocacy Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts advocacy and arts education.   EdTA NEWS 2018 Honor Chapters The Educational Theatre Association established the Honor Chapter Program to recognize those chapters that do tremendous work and deserve acknowledgment for their high level of excellence. The chapters were recognized at the national EdTA Leadership Summit this July in Kansas City. EdTA Honors Kansas Representative Jeff Pittman With Legislator Leadership Advocacy Award EdTA annually awards the Legislator Leadership Award for Arts Education ...
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JumpStart Theatre Update 37: Annual Report

By Ginny Butsch posted 16 days ago
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A program designed to build sustainable musical theatre programs in underserved middle schools that currently have none. This is a series of monthly updates about the  JumpStart Theatre  pilot program launched in Cincinnati, Ohio. To view previous updates,  click here .  Annual Report - JumpStart Theatre's Year in Review Introducing the JumpStart Theatre Annual Report! Take a closer look inside the program and the impact that we made during the 2017-2018 school year: Recognition for Holmes' Students Congratulations to JumpStart Theatre graduate, Holmes Middle School! Holmes recently received a New Troupe Charter Grant ...
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80th Annual High School Play Survey Results Released

By EdTA News posted 16 days ago
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Some communications channels come and go (think MySpace and Vine) but theatre--and the tradition of the high school play--are both alive and well. According to EdTA's annual high school play survey, Beauty and the Beast ; Almost, Maine ; and Check Please clinched top billing for most produced musical, full-length play, and short play, respectively, during the 2017-18 school year. Gregory Bossler, EdTA’s director of publications said the annual survey largely confirmed each category’s recent main contenders, while noting some shifts. Beauty and the Beast upset The Addams Family ’s three-year hold atop the musicals list, and Peter and the Starcatcher ...
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Seth Rudetsky Interviews Julie Cohen Theobald and Corey Mitchell for SiriusXM Show

By EdTA News posted 21 days ago
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As part of the late night entertainment at International Thespian Festival, Seth Rudetsky sat down to interview Tony-winning theatre teacher Corey Mitchell and EdTA Executive Director Julie Cohen Theobald for his famous SiriusXM radio show, Seth Speaks . Mitchell's Thespian troupe (5634) is documented in the film  Purple Dreams , bringing the high school premiere of  The Color Purple to International Thespian Festiv
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2018 Honor Chapters

By EdTA News posted 21 days ago
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The Educational Theatre Association established the Honor Chapter Program to recognize those chapters that do tremendous work and deserve acknowledgment for their high level of excellence. The following chapters were recognized at the national EdTA Leadership Summit this July in Kansas City.   Gold Honor Chapters:  Arizona Arkansas Georgia Indiana Kansas Missouri New Jersey Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina Texas Washington   Silver Honor Chapters: California Maryland Virginia   Bronze Honor Chapters: Nebraska Oklahoma ...
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Community Spotlight: Rebecca Fahning

By Ginny Butsch posted 24 days ago
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One of the main goals for our Theatre Education Community is to help theatre students and professionals from all over connect and identify with each other in order to build resources and support the theatre education field. We shine a spotlight on a different member every other week by conducting a simple interview. Our next spotlight is Rebecca Fahning, the theatre teacher and troupe director at Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, home to Thespian Troupe 6125. Rebecca is a lifelong advocate of theatre, having studied acting, performance, tech theatre, and directing at Webster University Jr. Conservatory, and Visual and Performing Arts ...
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EdTA Honors Kansas Representative Jeff Pittman With Legislator Leadership Advocacy Award

By EdTA News posted 28 days ago
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EdTA annually awards the Legislator Leadership Award for Arts Education to a legislator who has demonstrated public leadership in support of theatre and other arts education policy and practice on a national or state level. This year’s recipient is Kansas Representative Jeff Pitman of Leavenworth. Representative Pittman, a Democrat, accepted the award at EdTA’s Leadership Summit in Kansas City, Missouri on July 20. The award was created to demonstrate and support the association’s ongoing and growing national and state advocacy efforts on behalf of theatre and other arts education. Legislators are considered based on specific actions and outcomes that ...
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Advocacy Update: July 18, 2018

By Shea Haney posted 29 days ago
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EdTA Advocacy Update July 18, 2018   The Advocacy Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts advocacy and arts education.   EdTA NEWS Get to Know the 2018 Board Candidates The filing period for ballot petitions has expired without any petitions having been filed. Thus the ballot will carry the names put forward by the EdTA nominating committee, two for one vice president/president seat and four for two director seats.  Advocacy Leadership Network Honored as EdTA Volunteers of the Year The Educational Theatre Association’s   (EdTA) Volunteer of the Year Award  recognizes individuals who support ...
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Advocacy Leadership Network Honored as EdTA Volunteers of the Year

By EdTA News posted 29 days ago
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The Educational Theatre Association ’s (EdTA) Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes individuals who support the Association through exceptional volunteer efforts. The 2018 recipients are the 16 members of the Advocacy Leadership Network (ALN) : Anthony Cimino-Johnson , Rock Ridge High School, Ashburn, Virginia. Michael Daehn , Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. Helen Duranleau-Brennan , Davenport, Iowa. Shannon Horn , Pinewood Preparatory School, Goose Creek, South Carolina. Alison Johnson , Santa Fe High School, Whittier, California. Jennifer Morgan-Beuchat , Leavenworth, Kansas. Mallory Nonnemaker , Dawson County High School, ...
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Scholarships Awarded to Allyson Butler and Mitchell Lewis

By EdTA News posted 07-16-2018
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2018 Melba Day Henning Theatre Education Scholarship Awarded to Allyson Butler The Educational Theatre Association annually awards this scholarship for $1,000 a year, renewable for up to $4,000, to a graduating senior working toward a career in theatre education. This year’s recipient is Allyson Butler, Troupe 5022, Mehlville High School in St. Louis, Missouri. Butler was inducted into the International Thespian Society at the end of her freshman year and went on to take part in 12 productions at her high school and five other productions around the St. Louis area. She traveled Washington, D.C. in March 2018 as part of the Missouri delegation to Arts ...
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Community Spotlight: Elana Kepner

By Ginny Butsch posted 07-10-2018
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One of the main goals for our Theatre Education Community is to help theatre students and professionals from all over connect and identify with each other in order to build resources and support the theatre education field. We shine a spotlight on a different member every other week by conducting a simple interview. Our next spotlight is Elana Kepner, a theatre professional located in Greenville, North Carolina. In addition to serving as the drama teacher and troupe director at The Oakwood School, Troupe 8494, Elana is the Artistic Director of her own theatre, Whirligig Stage. Elana’s range of experience allows her to advise on many different topics in ...
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Advocacy Update: July 3, 2018

By Shea Haney posted 07-03-2018
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EdTA Advocacy Update July 3, 2018   The Advocacy Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts advocacy and arts education.   EdTA NEWS Broadway's  The Prom  Will Donate Portion of All Ticket Sales to Help Theatre Education Programs The upcoming Broadway musical  The Prom , which explores how the theatre scene can (perhaps comically) band together to support a school community in need, will live up to its promise through an arrangement with the Educational Theatre Foundation. ( Playbill )   NATIONAL NEWS Broadway League Announces 2018 League Educator Apple Award Recipients The Broadway League has ...
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Get to Know the 2018 Board Candidates

By EdTA News posted 07-03-2018
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The slate of candidates for the 2018 Educational Theatre Association Board of Directors election has been finalized. The filing period for ballot petitions has expired without any petitions having been filed. Thus the ballot will carry the names put forward by the EdTA nominating committee, two for one vice president/president seat and four for two director seats. The ballot will also feature proposed changes to the code of regulations. You can read more about the proposed changes in the 2018 Election Library . The election will begin on August 10 by way of online balloting. All members in good standing as of August 1 will be eligible to vote. Members ...
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JumpStart Theatre Update 36: Making an Impact

By Ginny Butsch posted 06-28-2018
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A program designed to build sustainable musical theatre programs in underserved middle schools that currently have none. This is a series of monthly updates about the  JumpStart Theatre  pilot program launched in Cincinnati, Ohio. To view previous updates,  click here .  Making an Impact Here's a snapshot of how many people were impacted by the program during the 2017-18 school year, thanks to donors and supporters like you! National Expansion News Our new regional partner,  Alliance Theatre   ( pictured above ), will add the Atlanta metropolitan area to our national expansion beginning with the 2019-20 school year. ...
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Community Spotlight: Kimberly Wibbenmeyer

By Ginny Butsch posted 06-26-2018
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One of the main goals for our Theatre Education Community is to help theatre students and professionals from all over connect and identify with each other in order to build resources and support the theatre education field. We shine a spotlight on a different member every other week by conducting a simple interview.   Our next spotlight is Kimberly Wibbenmeyer, the Speech/Theatre teacher and director at Sullivan High School in Sullivan, Missouri, home to Thespian Troupe 8335. Kimberly is fairly new to the Community, but as a Thespian Alum, she is certainly no stranger to the stage. She’s also an experienced costume designer, so keep her in mind if ...
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Advocacy Update: June 19, 2018

By Shea Haney posted 06-20-2018
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EdTA Advocacy Update June 19, 2018   The Advocacy Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts advocacy and arts education.   NATIONAL NEWS Apply for Our Town Grants Our Town is the National Endowment for the Arts’ creative placemaking grants program. These grants support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes. ( National Endowment for the Arts ) Apply for ARTWORKS Grants Art Works is the National Endowment for the Arts’ principal grants program. Through project-based funding, ...
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Community Spotlight: Natalie Dommer

By Ginny Butsch posted 06-12-2018
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One of the main goals for our Theatre Education Community is to help theatre students and professionals from all over connect and identify with each other in order to build resources and support the theatre education field. We shine a spotlight on a different member every other week by conducting a simple interview. Our next spotlight is Natalie Dommer, a Thespian Alum turned theatre director at Ottumwa High School in Ottumwa, Iowa, home to Thespian Troupe 615. Natalie is a regular at our events (say hello if you see her in Nebraska later this month!) and was recently inducted into the Iowa Thespians Hall of Fame. Why do you believe ...
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