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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.

This PLC will be in 2 parts - an introduction to the topic with Nicole Perry, and then an interactive workshop for up to 10 participants.

As teachers and directors, we can lean on the power of those roles in our classrooms and rehearsal rooms. However, power doesn't always foster creativity. In this interactive workshop led by Nicole Perry, we will learn ways you may be accessing power and ways you as a teacher or director might disrupt those patterns to create more consent-based, collaborative spaces.

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.

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...

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

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.

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.

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.

• How can theatre evoke empathy? 
• How can we apply empathy outside the drama classroom? 

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.

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.

Summer has flown by and any day now your students will be coming through the door. Are you ready for them? Is your classroom?? Believe it or not, much of the success the coming school year will depend on how you set up your classroom now. Discipline, organization, concentration and classroom management all hinge on a well planned classroom space. Whether you teach in a classroom, a theatre, or something in between, this is a PLC that will help you put your best space forward!

Does your lizard brain make itself heard loud and clear? Do you sometimes feel like you’re living in your very own version of The Play That Goes Wrong? Or The Class That Goes Wrong? You are not alone. Let’s get together and discover how to plan for and even embrace failure. Failure can be a good thing for both you and your students!

When a student walks through the door of your classroom for the first time, they are looking for clues as to what kind of teacher you are and what kind of classroom you run. Whether they are expecting a serious Drama experience or unstructured "play-time", they will know within the first five minutes of the first day what kind of class this is, and what kind it isn't. And they will know it based solely on the tone you set on DAY ONE! So join us for this special PLC on setting the tone in your drama classroom, and be prepared for whoever walks through your door...

If you struggle with tech or want to share your ideas for teaching tech, this is the event for you.

Hosted by DTA Instructors Matt Webster and Karen Loftus.

Recorded July 23, 2015

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.

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.