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Introducing Monthly Town Hall Webinars

By EdTA News posted an hour ago
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EdTA is launching a series of monthly webinars to help members make the most of their membership. Hosted by Executive Director Julie Cohen Theobald and featuring different guest speakers from the staff, volunteer leaders, and active members who are topic experts, the Town Hall series will give members the opportunity to learn more about programs and services, as well as engage with EdTA staff and leaders. The first webinar, Tuesday, Oct. 15th at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time,  is a primer on EdTA’s Theatre Education Community : EdTA Community Engagement Manager Ginny Butsch and Josh Kauffman, a ‘Platinum Most Valuable’ Community participant, will explain how members ...
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Community Tips: Discussion Subject Lines

By Ginny Butsch posted yesterday
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This is one part of a series of blogs about maximizing your experience with our online Community, not only to help newbies get their bearings but to also help experienced users learn more and take the next steps, or assist others. Today, we'll talk about how to write an effective subject line for a new discussion post.  Using the word “HELP!” as a subject line is certainly useful for grabbing someone's attention, but it doesn’t give anyone a hint as to what you actually need help with. Think carefully about how you interact with Community posts. When you are skimming the Daily Digest in the morning, aren’t you more likely to read and reply to ...
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Community Tips: Signatures

By Ginny Butsch posted 8 days ago
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This is one part of a series of blogs about maximizing your experience with our online Community, not only to help newbies get their bearings but to also help experienced users learn more and take the next steps, or help others. Today, we're going to review  personal signatures.  What is a Community signature? A signature is what appears automatically at the bottom of every post you make in the Community. It lets others know a little more about you, like where you are located, where you work, and your title. It's completely customizable, so read on and I'll show you how to make your signature exactly what you want it to be. As you peruse the Daily Digest, ...
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NIEs Is Now the International Thespian Excellence Awards

By EdTA News posted 14 days ago
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The new name reflects EdTA’s dedication to supporting excellence in the theatre arts by recognizing the highest level of achievement in school theatre performance and technical theatre. Exactly the same as in the National Individual Events (NIEs), each student is evaluated against established, national standards-based rubrics. All students who achieve overall Superiors at their chapter and earn the top scores in their category at the International Thespian Festival will earn International Thespian Excellence Awards, or Thespys TM for short. All Thespy Award Winners will be honored on the main stage at the International Thespian Festival Showcase, ...
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Community Tips: Participation Notifications

By Ginny Butsch posted 14 days ago
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This is one part of a series of blogs about maximizing your experience with our online Community, not only to help newbies get their bearings but to also help experienced users learn more and take the next steps or help others. Today, we're going to review participation notifications. First of all, what are participation notifications? Participation notifications help you stay aware of Community content that specifically applies to you. They are email notifications sent in real-time that are separate from your community subscription (Daily Digest). There are two ways to trigger participation notifications: Automatic: -If you start a new discussion ...
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Nominating Committee Accepting Board Applications

By EdTA News posted 15 days ago
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The Educational Theatre Association Nominating Committee is accepting applications from prospective candidates for positions on the EdTA Board of Directors. The Nominating Committee will select a slate of candidates for two board director positions for an election that will be conducted online beginning January 15, 2020, and concluding March 1, 2020. Any EdTA professional member, including Thespian troupe directors, is eligible to stand for election by filing a  candidate vita form  with the Nominating Committee. The Committee has been instructed by the board to seek two to four candidates for each of the two open seats. “The EdTA Board invites leaders ...
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JumpStart Theatre Update 50: 2019 Annual Report

By Ginny Butsch posted 20 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. If you'd like to receive JumpStart Theatre updates by email, contact JumpStartTheatre@schooltheatre.org. To view previous updates,  click here. 2019 Annual Report The 2019 JumpStart Theatre Annual Report is now available! Take a dive inside the 2018-19 school year to learn more about the organizations, performances, teachers, and students involved in the program. ...
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Community Spotlight: Garry Tiller

By Ginny Butsch posted 22 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 Garry Tiller, an EdTA professional member and the theatre teacher at Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C. With nearly 30 years of theatre education experience from four different states, Garry is always willing to help a colleague, most notably with show recommendations and tips.   Why do you believe theatre ...
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Community Tips: @Mentions

By Ginny Butsch posted 22 days ago
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This is one part of a series of blogs about maximizing your experience with our online Community, to help newbies get their bearings and seasoned users learn more in order to take the next steps or help others. Today, we're going to review "@Mentions," which are a great way to make sure a specific person sees a specific post. @Mentions are widely used on various platforms, not only just social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, but also project management software and other professional tools.   Why would @Mentions be useful in the Community? Imagine you are reading a post about building rehearsal cubes, and you remember that your ...
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Community Tips: Discussions

By Ginny Butsch posted 30 days ago
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This is one part of a series of blogs about maximizing your experience with our online Community, not only to help newbies get their bearings but to also help those seasoned users learn more to take the next steps or help others. Before I get into the nitty gritty, I wanted to share the most important tip of all, perhaps one that you've told to your students many times: Take a risk. This is a safe place to cast fear aside. Play around with the different features, click on buttons, test them out, see what they do, ask questions. You won’t break it, I promise. I've always thought that the best way to learn something new is to try it. Use me as a test ...
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Community Spotlight: Annie Rice

By Ginny Butsch posted 08-13-2019
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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 Annie Rice, the theatre teacher and troupe director at Summit High School in Spring Hill, Tennessee, home to Thespian Troupe 7830. Annie has been guiding fellow Community members and seeking advice of her own for several years now. Annie’s adventurous attitude and positive outlook gives her theatre students plenty of new ...
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EdTA Members-Only Professional Development Webinars Announced for Fall 2019

By EdTA News posted 08-04-2019
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This fall EdTA is continuing to offer live professional development webinars.  EdTA polled members to learn what topics were most important for them. The survey generated more than 2,000 responses, with requests for technical theatre topics, acting, and directing ranking the highest. The webinars, which are for EdTA members only, are held twice a month. For questions about any webinar, please contact Education Manager   Cory Wilkerson . Technical Theatre Curriculum Toolkit Sep 5, 2019 7:30 P.M. Eastern B.K. Goodman, theatre educator Join Texas theatre educator B.K. Goodman as he shares his "Tech Theatre Tool Kit" and describes how he ...
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JumpStart Theatre Update 49: National Impact

By Ginny Butsch posted 08-02-2019
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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. National Impact Here’s a snapshot of the impact of the JumpStart Theatre program on students, schools, and communities last school year, thanks to the support of generous donors, sponsors, and partners. Stay tuned next month for an in depth look at what we achieved together in the 2019 Annual Report! Congratulations, ...
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2019 BookTix National Conference Grants Awarded

By EdTA News posted 08-02-2019
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Sponsored by BookTix , the Educational Theatre Association has awarded seven members with the BookTix National Conference Grant for Theatre Educators in support of professional development. This grant was developed to: assist EdTA members in reaching a higher level of professional achievement by participating in EdTA’s National Conference; assist EdTA members with the cost of professional development and create access to valuable continuing education and networking opportunities; and enhance the knowledge and skills of experienced theatre educators so that they can better contribute to their school, students, and the profession. The following members ...
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81st Annual EdTA High School Play Survey

By EdTA News posted 08-01-2019
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According to the annual high school play survey conducted by EdTA, The Addams Family ; Almost, Maine ; and Check Please received top billing for the most produced musical, full-length play, and short play, respectively, during the 2018-19 school year. Conducted every year since 1938, EdTA’s annual survey of the plays and musicals most frequently produced in America’s high schools provides a showcase and a snapshot of what resonates with teens, their teachers, families, and communities.   Gregory Bossler, EdTA’s director of publications said, “Over time, this survey reveals both enduring patterns and new developments. Patterns for frequently ...
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Community Spotlight: Charles Puetzer

By Ginny Butsch posted 07-30-2019
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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 Charles Puetzer, a math teacher at Michigan City High School in Michigan City, Indiana. In addition to teaching math classes, Charles is the Troupe Director of Thespian Troupe 7760, a theatre program that is run entirely after school and on weekends.   Why do you believe theatre is important? Theatre is important ...
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Community Tips: Locating Community Library Attachments

By Ginny Butsch posted 07-29-2019
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With around 800 entries in the Open Forum library, it's easy to get confused or overwhelmed when you're trying to locate a specific item, like that acting rubric you vaguely remember someone sharing years ago. Have no fear, there are several ways to locate attachments shared within the Open Forum Community Library .    First, sign into your EdTA account on the schooltheatre.org website. Click on “Community” in the blue navigation bar, then drop down to “Open Forum.” Click on the “Library” tab. By default, all items will appear alphabetically in “List View.” In List View, you also have the option to sort the documents in the library by most recent, ...
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2019 Honor Chapters

By EdTA News posted 07-18-2019
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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  July 17-19  in Washington, D. C.    Gold Honor Chapters:  Arkansas California Indiana New Jersey Texas Washington Silver Honor Chapters: Georgia Kansas Missouri Nevada Ohio Bronze Honor Chapters: Illinois Massachusetts Montana South Carolina West Virginia Watch for the photo album ...
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Community Spotlight: Jessica Speck

By Ginny Butsch posted 07-16-2019
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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 Jessica Speck, a Theatre/Math/English teacher at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland. Jessica also leads Thespian Troupe 335 at Wootton. Jessica has been contributing to Community conversations since its launch over five years ago and has earned bronze level status for her insightful advice and recommendations. ...
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EdTA Legislator Leadership Award to Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York

By EdTA News posted 07-16-2019
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The Educational Theatre Association  (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 Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21), who accepted the award at EdTA’s Theatre Education Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., July 16. 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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