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There's no getting around it: Running a Drama program costs money! Besides a never-ending need for props, costumes and scenery, we also spend money on scripts, rights and travel to contests and festivals. It's enough to break the bank! As much as we may hate the thought of fundraising, sometimes it's the only way to keep a programs afloat. That's why this PLC is dedicated to the art, craft and strategy of raising funds. So break out your receipt book and join the conversation!

We are heading deep into rehearsal season and you can already feel the monotony starting to build: Rehearse, Review, Repeat. Rehearse, Review, Repeat. You are falling into a Rehearsal Rut. Never fear! We have just the conversation to shake up your routine and give your rehearsals a much needed shot in the arm. Get on board and get out of that rut!

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.

Middle School theatre teachers are a special breed. Their highs are higher, their lows are lower, and the drama in their classroom is much more dramatic! But for all of that, middle school drama teachers don't typically get the respect and attention they deserve. Well we have something to say about that! That's right, we are dedicating this PLC to the trials, tribulations and triumphs that can only be found in a Middle School Drama classroom. Join in as we talk about the bravest, the craziest, the awesomest teachers in the whole school: Middle School Drama Teachers! Because Middle School Matters...

This coming school year will be, in a word, unprecedented. It doesn't matter if you are a 30 year veteran or a brand new college grad, teachers have never faced the kinds of challenges that await them when classes start in the fall: Will classes be in person? What will our curriculum look like? Are productions possible? How do we keep our students safe? How do we keep OURSELVES safe? We don't know what this new year will look like, but we know one thing - Teachers will figure it out! We are going to roll up our sleeves, put on our thinking caps, and tap into our unlimited creativity to come up with a plan for ourselves, our students and our programs. Set a reminder in your calendar because you don't want to miss this PLC!

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!

As many teachers take on a new and unexpected challenge of teaching remotely, we will take this PLC to check in, share tips and tricks, and offer support to each other.

Ready or not, the new school year started. And what a start! We were confronted with a mind-boggling array of unknowns and tackled them with a mix of trepidation and creative moxie. Because as drama teachers, that's what we do: We solve problems. And then we share our brilliant solutions with our fellow drama teachers because it takes a village. And we are Village DTA! We are here to help because when one of us succeeds, ALL of us succeed. So join the village for a start-of-year "check-in" where we will talk to drama teachers about the struggles and solutions they have faced so far.

The closing of schools forced a lot of teachers to move their productions online or to an alternative performance model. This shift to virtual performances challenged directors with a whole new set of questions: Does the show have to be live streamed? Can I capture the performance? Is there a way to design lights and sound online? What about costumes? What about radio plays? How do I edit my virtual performance? So many questions! That's why we have dedicated an entire PLC to the ins and outs of virtual performances. We will talk with teachers who have successfully navigated these uncharted waters and learn the tricks and tips that will make your online production shine!

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.

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...

Teachers recognize the fact that the past year has challenged relationships across the board: Teacher/Student, Student/Student, Teacher/Parent and more. In order for our classes to function properly, we need those relationships to be authentic and healthy. Teachers will need to integrate relationship building into their plans for the new year, both on stage and off. That's why this PLC will focus on building relationships. Join us as we talk about how to cultivate and maintain healthy relationships in a "traditional" school setting.

Of all the learning categories that have been affected by the shift to remote education, the most consequential would have to be Social and Emotional Learning. Students around the world have been isolated from teachers and peers alike for months on end, and the result is an entire generation that needs help rebuilding their social skills and recognizing their emotional needs. Thankfully, there is no better place to teach these skills than the drama classroom. Join us for a PLC where we discuss the fact that Theatre teachers are uniquely positioned to help students both explore their emotions AND re-build relationships.

If you have used The Empathetic Classroom or The Empathy Project or you're just looking for a way to approach what everyone has dealt with this past year and a half, join this discussion with Steven Stack. Steven's new DTA course Empathy 2.0 looks at empathy through the lens of what's now: how can students embrace their own and others' narratives and scars? How do we create a stronger classroom community? How do we learn to play again?  Steven will share activities and exercises in the course that you can take directly into the drama classroom.

This PLC was run in 2 parts - an introduction to the course, and then an interactive workshop with Jennine for up to 15 participants. Jennine Profeta is DTA's go to resource for Improv in the drama classroom. Her latest DTA Professional Development course Impowerment Improv is designed to give teachers a framework in which they can use improv to develop real world social and emotional skills; taking risks, embracing failure, confidence, and word choice awareness.  Learn about the course and the tools provided.

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.

Getting a production to the stage is hard enough. Mounting that production in a school setting is even more difficult. And adding the challenges and unpredictability of an ongoing pandemic into the production mix can make it all feel impossible.  But - The show must go on! - and Theatre teachers around the world have rewritten the rules of production in order to get the audience in and the curtain up. In this PLC, teachers will share their tips and tricks to mounting a successful live production under pandemic conditions.

New Drama teachers put a lot of thought into their relationship with their students as a way to build a successful classroom. They don't, however, put as much thought into their relationship to their students. Yet that relationship is the cornerstone of successful teaching. Join us for an interactive conversation about how to define your relationship to your students as you build your relationship with your students. New teachers, and teachers who are new to teaching Drama, are especially invited to this workshop that will focus on relationship building in the Drama Classroom.

Ah, mid summer! The past school year is a speck in the rear view mirror and the new school year isn't quite in view yet.  This little oasis of sanity is a great time to contemplate your curriculum and, as the old saying goes, "Adapt, Adjust and Improve".  What worked? What didn't work? What have you always wanted to teach, but never had the time to include?  The best time to plan your curriculum is when you are not in the middle of teaching it! Join us for a laid back, thoughtful discussion about curriculum planning. We will have the authors of the Drama One (Karen Loftus) and the Middle School (Lindsay Johnson) curriculums on the panel, to help with your planning and answer questions about these popular resources in the DTA.

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.