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Spring is still in full swing, but it’s already time to start looking to the fall. Believe it or not, this is the time for choosing plays, and to start adjusting your curriculum for your next group of drama students. It’s never to early to get organized and start checking things off of that to-do list for next year. This will be a discussion of the do’s and don’ts of planning ahead.

You and your students want a good story and script, even if you have to write it yourselves! But what does that look like? Who's in control? How would that work? How exactly do you devise new work with students? Join us in this PLC on Devising to learn the ins and outs of generating new works with your students.

Being a teacher makes its hard to say no. Being a Drama teacher makes it almost impossible! Drama teachers wear so many hats - instructor, director, designer, councilor (not to mention parent and partner!) that there is always something, or someone, that needs your time and attention. It’s just a matter of time before a ball is dropped and everything comes crashing down. It’s no wonder that drama teachers burn out! With so many people and projects fighting for your time how do you find balance? Sometimes you just have to say…No! Join us to talk about finding balance between life, work and art.

Technical Theatre Tips Tips for set design, costuming, lighting, and more! Dealing with small budgets, overcoming obstacles, and making the most of what you have. BONUS material at the end of the PLC! Hosted by DTA instructors Holly Beardsley, Matt Webster, and Lindsay Price. Recorded on September 15, 2015 at 8pm.

What makes us reluctant or afraid to fundraise? How can we involve the students, community, and reach beyond to get resources for our programs? Listen in to find out and hear some great ideas from our hosts and participants! The discussion is led by Matt Webster, Lindsay Price, and Kristin Caraway. Recorded February 1, 2016.

A new school year has begun, and the importance of Social Emotional Learning has never been greater.  With everything that has been going on in the world, teachers and students alike are navigating a very different school environment, and Social Emotional Learning could be the key to establishing a healthy, high-functioning classroom this year.  Join us for an exploration of SEL from concepts to curriculum and everything in between!

As we approach the end of another difficult year, we face one last hurdle before we wrap up our classes with a little bow: Assessment! Assessment in the Drama classroom can be hard enough, but assessment in a VIRTUAL Drama classroom can present some real challenges. How do we fairly assess students who we may never have seen in person? Or started virtually and then went hybrid? Or a "half and half" class? There has to be a way to give honest, useful, feedback to ALL of our students, isn't there? Join us for this PLC and find out...

How do you advocate for yourself and your theatre program? Listen in to find out and hear some great ideas from our hosts and participants! The discussion is led by Matt Webster, Lindsay Price, Gai Jones, and Carolyn Greer. Recorded February 16, 2016.

Our host and panel discuss budgets, production options, student/parent contracts, and the tips that make staging a musical worthwhile. Hosted by Matt Webster, joined by Tricia Oliver, Roxane Caravan, and Lindsay Price. Recorded on January 12, 2016 at 8pm

Join the creators of People Like Us, and learn more about Teaching Strategies for Students with Disabilities. We know many teachers are looking for step-by-step guidance and practical resources so you can leverage the power of the performing arts in your classroom. Nontraditional and kinesthetic methods, like those in the performing arts, provide more robust educational opportunities for students of all abilities. Learn more from these experts and find out about an upcoming opportunity as a DTA member, to engage in online learning with this leading organization.

Are your theatre classes a “dumping ground”? Some kids choose your class but others are placed there by admin or counsellors? Join us for a chat about a) how to manage classes like these and b) how to prevent your classroom from becoming a dumping ground.

Learn from teachers who've been there, done that - the ins and outs of taking your students to festivals and competitions. What should students aim to get out of the experience? What pitfalls should you avoid? Turn it into a memorable, positive experience for all involved.

Getting lesson plans is easy. Adapting them can be challenging. Join us for a conversation on modifying and shaping existing lesson plans to meet the needs of your classroom.

Another school year comes to an end and that means it's time for the annual house cleaning we call a Postmortem. Why do a Postmortem? Because - The past is prologue and the future is closer than you think! Join us as we talk about the good and the bad, the do's and the don'ts, of this last year. We'll do it with a handle on the past and an eye to the future.

The days of putting up a poster in the hallway and expecting people to see it are long gone. People aren't looking at posters, they are looking at social media! Students are looking at their phones, parents are checking the theatre program Facebook page, and the public is looking for show information on the school website. No doubt about it: If you are going to reach people in the 21st century, you are going to have to do it electronically! So join us as we put together a panel of social media savvy theatre types and discuss Social Media as the number one communication tool.

As we face the prospect of not seeing our students again for the rest of the year, it is time to start thinking about how to retool traditional lessons for distance learning classrooms. For this PLC we'll be talking to Steven Stack, author of the DTA course The Empathetic Classroom to answer the question: How do you adapt something that was made for classroom instruction, into something suitable for distance learning? Check in for our tips and ideas!

We are halfway through the spring semester with the starting gun a distant memory and the finish line not yet in sight. But the marathon goes on. What better time to check in on each other and see how we all are holding up! Join us for this PLC check-in to get the fresh ideas, collegial commiseration and positive feedback that just might get you to the end of the race.

In the depths of the pandemic, teachers dreamed of a time when they could just go back to "normal".  As the virus slowly released its grip, many teachers joyfully returned to the classroom only to be perplexed, flustered and frustrated to find that "normal" was nowhere to be found!  Teaching and learning changed in the two-plus years of distance learning and instability.  What changed in those years? Can we ever get back to "normal" again?  Does normal even exist anymore?   Join us in this PLC as we look back - and look forward - searching for a new normal.

As teachers return to their classrooms, they are desperate to rebuild the collaborative and supportive environments that are so vital to a well functioning Drama class.  Thankfully, there is a resource in the DTA created just for such a task. The Empathy Project is one of the most popular resources in the entire DTA library. Based off the Empathetic Classroom course by Steven Stack, the project focuses on these essential questions:   • How can theatre evoke empathy?  • How can we apply empathy outside the drama classroom?  Join teachers who have used, adapted, and successfully led the Empathy Project with their students, and add this powerful tool to your classroom management toolkit.

Want to try a playwriting unit but have no idea where to start? Or have you tried introducing playwriting in the past but didn’t get the results you hoped for? We’ve got a great panel of playwright/teachers who are here to share their most successful approaches and strategies.