DRAMA FOR SCHOOLS SYMPOSIUM C E L E B R AT I N G 2 0 Y E A R S O F D F S A N D B E YO N D
The University of Texas at Austin May 15-16, 2026
Artwork by Beth Link
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROGRAM AT A GLANCE F R I D AY, M AY 1 5 Opening Keynote Breakout #1 Breakout #2 Lunch Breakout #3 Tea Time Small Group Imagining Closing Reflection S AT U R D AY, M AY 1 6 Opening Keynote Breakout #1 Lunch Breakout #2 Breakout #3 Tea Time Closing Reflection 2
LOREN WINSHIP BUILDING
WINSHIP First Floor
Rm: 1.164
Rm: 1.148
Brockett Theatre
Payne Lobby 2nd Floor
Rm: 1.108
Winship Atrium Green Room #1
Registration
Green Room #2
Rm 1.134
Entrance Entrance by a Construction Zone
Session Room
Stairs
Gendered Bathrooms
Elevator
3
LOREN WINSHIP BUILDING
WINSHIP Second Floor
Rm: 2.180
Quiet Room
Payne Lobby Rm 2.112
Session Room
Stairs
Gendered Bathrooms
Elevator
4
WELCOME
We would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the Indigenous lands of Turtle Island, the acenstral name for what now is called North America. Moreover, we would like to acknowledge the Alabama-Coushatta, Caddo, Carrizo/Comecrudo, Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Kickapoo, Lipan Apache, Tonkawa and Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo, and all the American Indian and Indigenous Peoples and communities who have been or have become a part of these lands and territories in Texas.
How can drama and the arts reshape classrooms, empower teachers and students, and foster meaningful learning? At the DFS Symposium we invite you to join us as we work together “to go both wide and deep, understand the past and envision the future, work on the inside and on the outside, and dance between individual change and social transformation” ( Ginwright, 2022, p. 49). With appreciation, Drama for Schools 5
DAY 1
Friday, May 1 5 t h , 2026 8:30 - 9:00 AM
Registration and Breakfast
9:00 - 10:00 AM
Welcome + Keynote + Gathering
10:15 - 11:30 AM
Breakout Session #1
11:30 - 12:15 PM
Lunch
12:15 - 1:30 PM
Breakout Session #2
1:45 - 3:00 PM
Breakout Session #3
3:00 - 3:30 PM
Tea Break
3:30 - 4:30 PM
Drama for Schools and Beyond: Small Group Imagining
4:30 - 5:00 PM
Making Meaning: Reflective Exchange
6
Saturday, May 1 6 t h , 2026 8:30 - 9:00 AM
DAY 2
9:00 - 10:30 AM
Registration and Breakfast
Opening Keynote Panel + Reflection: “Transforming Education Through the Arts with Students and Teachers”
10:45 - 12:00 PM
Breakout Session #1
12:00 - 12:45 PM
Lunch
12:45 - 2:00 PM
Breakout Session #2
2:15 - 3:30 PM
Breakout Session #3
3:30 - 4:00 PM
Tea Break
4:00 - 4:45 PM
Making Meaning: Reflective Exchange 7
FRIDAY DAY 1
DRAMA FOR SCHOOLS SYMPOSIUM CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF DFS AND BEYOND The University of Texas at Austin May 15-16, 2026 8
FRIDAY
8:30 - 9:00 AM
REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST
9:00 - 10:00 AM
WELCOME + KEYNOTE + GATHERING BROCKETT THEATRE
BREAKOUT SESSION #1 10:15 - 11:30 AM Title:
“Yes and...Collaboration Through Improv in Large Online Humanities Classes"
Presenter:
Dr. Devon Donohue-Bergeler (University of Texas at San Antonio)
Type:
Workshop
Location:
WIN 1.134
Description:
Many collegiate German programs offer humanities courses in English involving diverse students. At UT San Antonio, these asynchronous online courses enroll up to 100 students. Weekly creative tasks use improv “yes and” to foster collaboration without fixed groups. This session explores tasks, analyzes responses, and develops adaptable prompts for contexts.
Title:
“Bridging Evidence and Action: Drama-Based Pathways to Youth Development."
Presenters: Type:
Dr. Deanna Ibrahim (University of Pittsburgh), Bridgette Perdue and Destiny Nwafor (Alumni Theatre Company) Workshop
Location:
WIN. 1.108
Description:
What are the key ingredients of drama programs that create an environment that is welcoming, equitable, and supportive of youth development?' The proposed presentation aims to address this question by sharing insights from an ongoing, community-engaged research collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh and Alumni Theater Company (ATC). ATC has a long history of providing space for young Black artists in Pittsburgh to voice their experiences while engaging in high-quality training and performance. We will present preliminary insights from mixed-methods analyses that address the kind of environment ATC creates and how it might be welcoming, equitable, and supportive of thriving. We aim to engage audiences in discussions and activities drawn from ATC’s practice, and build dialogue about research and practice – ultimately to strengthen and expand drama-related tools for youth thriving.
9
FRIDAY
BREAKOUT SESSION #1 10:15 - 11:30 AM Title:
“Fostering Critical Consciousness Development for Teens”
Presenters:
Jessica Harris (University of Pittsburgh) and Dr. Bridget Kiger Lee (University of Pittsburgh)
Type:
Workshop
Location:
WIN. 2.180
Description:
In an increasingly complex world, critical consciousness is an essential tool for young people’s success. This session introduces participants to key practices that foster the development of critical consciousness in arts education settings. Through collaborative discussion and guided activities, attendees will leave with tangible, adaptable tools to implement in their own contexts.
Title:
“Passive to Purposeful: Using Drama-Based Pedagogy to Transform Volunteer Engagement”
Presenter:
Meghan Schenker-Fulcher (James Madison University)
Type:
Workshop (30 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN. 1.148
Description:
Volunteers are most effective when they understand why their work matters. This session highlights Drama‑based Pedagogy in philanthropy through JMU’s Women for Madison, demonstrating arts‑based strategies that move volunteers from passive participation to active, reflective contributors who embody mission and values in fundraising, advocacy, and community engagement to meet goals.
Title:
“An Invitation to Create and Play: How DBP Shapes Visitors' Engagement and Meaning-Making in Cultural Institutions"
Presenters:
Xinyue Zhang (Coterie Theatre) and Lindsay Genshaft (Denver Art Museum)
Type:
Panel (30 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN. 1.148
Description:
What communities does your institution aim to serve, and what kind of relationships are you cultivating with those communities? In this roundtable discussion, we showcase three community engagement projects at an art museum – "Create & Play," "Foxy and Shmoxy: Art Detectives," and the "All Stars Youth Audio Guide" – that impact visitors’ interactions with the artworks and shape relationships between visitors of all ages and the museum. We invite the participants to reflect on the relationship(s) their institutions are cultivating with the communities they serve, and how DBP strategies might play a role in envisioning a more accessible and equitable space for community-building through an invitation to explore, create, and play.
10
FRIDAY
Title:
“Building Creative Learning Systems at Scale, Center Arts-Based Pedagogies“
Presenters:
Dr. Brent Hasty (MINDPOP) and John Green-Otero (AISD)
Type:
Panel
Location:
WIN. 2.112
Description:
Austin's Creative Learning Initiative began more than 15 years ago, and now serves 55,000 students in 99 schools, over 3000 teachers know Creative Teaching strategies, a form of arts-based pedagogies, and provides an average of 10 hours of community arts partnerships to all students at every grade level. This session will explore the design framework and lessons learned, allowing the work to persevere through five district superintendents, countless system reorganizations, and hundreds of educational fads. We will also explore some of the impact data and choices we made that had positive and negative impacts on our ability to scale the initiative. We'll share good and bad stories of systems change work -- where we've seen things move, the places we still feel stuck, and our theories of why.
Lun ch: Payn e Lobby 1.100 Mix an d Min gle Winship Atrium 11:30 -12:15 PM
BREAKOUT SESSION #2 12:15 - 1:30 PM Title:
“The Public Health Academy: Applied Theatre for Health Equity in Public Health”
Presenters:
Natalie Goodnow, Melissa Hernandez, Helen Howell, and Carolyn Nesby (Austin Public Health)
Type:
Presentation and Workshop
Location:
WIN. 1.134
Description:
The Public Health Academy incorporates various Applied Theatre strategies to help health department staff to better understand and more easily discuss the root causes of health inequities, and to generate, learn, practice, and normalize the use of strategies for addressing those root causes. In this presentation/workshop, we will share a brief introduction to the field of public health, why and how the Public Health Academy curriculum was developed, how its creators and facilitators have navigated legislative attacks and attempts at censorship, and then an overview of the curriculum developed in this context.
11
FRIDAY
BREAKOUT SESSION #2 12:15 - 1:30 PM Title:
“Yes, And… for University Classrooms: Drama-based Strategies for Faculty”
Presenter:
Jen Moon (University of Texas at Austin)
Type:
Presentation (15-20 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN. 1.108 (Includes Dr. Robert Lemon)
Description:
This project examines a faculty development program that uses improv and drama-based pedagogy to enhance university teaching. Through workshops and supported classroom implementation, faculty build confidence, strengthen classroom climate, and increase student engagement. Mixed-methods assessment indicates gains in teaching self-efficacy, instructional innovation, and inclusive practices in undergraduate STEM courses.
Title:
"Show and Tell: Using Drama in a College Language Class"
Presenter:
Dr. Robert Lemon (University of Oklahoma)
Type:
Presentation (15-20 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN. 1.108 (Includes Jen Moon)
Description:
This paper describes a 5-week workshop at the University of Oklahoma in the Fall of 2022, in which students prepared and presented in German a dramatic reading of Juli Zeh’s 2009 comedy Der Kaktus (The Cactus). By describing this process, I will convey both the advantages and potential pitfalls of deploying drama in the language classroom.
Title:
"Collections, Communities, and Place: Using DBP to Strengthen Interpretive Practice”
Presenter:
Faith Hillis (Houston Freedman’s Town Conservatory)
Type:
Workshop
Location:
WIN. 2.180
Description:
This session explores how Drama-Based Pedagogy (DBP) can expand interpretive practice in museum and community based education settings. Drawing on my work at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) and the Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy (HFTC), I will share how DBP fosters deeper individual and collective meaning making, strengthens understanding of the source material, and builds more intentional connections to each program’s central questions and broader points of inquiry.
12
BREAKOUT SESSION #2 12:15 - 1:30 PM Title:
Type:
"Beyond Boundaries: Arts-Integrated Learning in Challenging Contexts” Milica Jošić-Milinović (University of Banja Luka) and Dr. Alma Žero (University of Sarajevo) Panel
Location:
WIN. 2.112
Description:
This session presents a long-term drama-based pedagogy program in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its impact on educators. Highlighting cross-institutional and international collaboration, it traces the shift from skepticism to shared ownership. Through lived experiences, the panel reflects on teachers as agents of change in a complex, slowly transforming educational landscape.
Title:
"Reading Image Work as Relational Practice"
Presenters:
Mateo Hernandez (Teatro Vivo) and Lily Odekirk (Emerson College)
Type:
Presentation (30 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN. 1.148
Description:
From personal identities to socio-political factors to systemic power structures, creating and reading embodied images requires a relational facilitation practice. Using each of their experiences in Poland and the Rio Grande Valley as micro-case studies, Lily Odekirk and Mateo Hernandez offer examples of the Image Work relational practice in action.
Title:
"Drama for Schools and Creativity Across Continents"
Presenters:
Professor Michael Anderson (University of Sydney) and Dr. Michael Finneran (University of Limerick)
Type:
Presentation (30 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN. 1.148
Description:
Despite strong evidence that drama enhances learning through embodiment and creativity, it remains under-resourced and undervalued, with declining participation globally. This presentation explores why this gap persists while highlighting successes from Ireland and Australia. It shows how drama can extend beyond a subject to reshape teaching, relationships, and school culture, fostering creativity, student voice, and a stronger sense of belonging.
FRIDAY
Presenters:
13
BREAKOUT SESSION #3 1:45 - 3:00 PM Title:
FRIDAY
Presenters:
"Drama-Based Pedagogy in Community Settings: Story, Dialogue, and Embodied Practice" Michelle Dahlenburg, Bethany Corey-Ekin, Riley Benham and Piper Smith (Texas State University) and Meg Greene (MINDPOP)
Type:
Panel
Location:
WIN 1.108
Description:
This panel brings together practitioners and collaborators in dramabased pedagogy to explore how drama-based pedagogy practices can shape learning, dialogue, and feelings of belonging in community settings. Drawing on projects spanning university courses, arts nonprofits, early childhood education, public health initiatives, justice-involved women, and digital storytelling, the panel highlights the expansive possibilities of this work beyond traditional classroom environments.
Title:
"Making Plays and Changing (Sex) Lives"
Presenter:
Nina Lemon (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama)
Type:
Workshop
Location:
WIN. 2.180
Description:
Making Plays and Changing (Sex) Lives – a workshop exploring how theatre created with and for teens can support comprehensive Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). Participants will explore extracts from plays by playwright Nina Lemon, written for young audiences of different ages and abilities, and consider how engaging with live performance can counter misogyny and digital polarisation by sparking empathy, dialogue, and critical thinking.
Title:
"School and Community impacts of educational theatre in regional and remote Australian Towns"
Presenter:
Dr. Natasha Beamont (University of Sydney)
Type:
Presentation (15-20 minutes + discussion)
Location:
WIN. 1.134 (includes Selina Busby and Joshua Streeter)
Description:
This qualitative case study examined perceptions of a touring drama program in remote Australian towns with limited arts access. While free in-school performances sparked excitement and broadened students’ cultural awareness, their impact faded over time. Findings suggest one-off visits have limited lasting effect, and participants emphasized the need for sustained, repeated engagement to foster creativity, expand opportunities, and address cultural disadvantage in regional communities.
14
FRIDAY
BREAKOUT SESSION #3 1:45 - 3:00 PM Title:
“Theatre, Schools and Politics: My Future."
Presenter:
Professor Selina Busby (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama)
Type:
Presentation (15-20 minutes + discussion)
Location:
WIN. 1.134 (includes Natasha Beaumont and Joshua Streeter)
Description:
In this paper, I will draw on a five-year relationship with The Donmar Warehouse Theatre in London, specifically Donmar LOCAL, the theatre's participation department, and its work in schools, to explore young people’s relationships with theatre, climate change, and politics. This paper will analyze Donmar LOCAL’s My Future project, which explores climate activism and theatre-making, and consider how ‘radically new’ the stories the young people of London are when staged at a West End venue.
Title: Presenter:
“The Power of Collective Practice: PLCs and Action Research in Visual and Performing Arts Classrooms” Joshua Streeter (University of Texas at Austin)
Type:
Presentation (15-20 minutes + discussion)
Location:
WIN. 1.134 (includes Selina Busby and Natasha Beaumont)
Description:
This session highlights the Connected Arts Network (CAN), a five-year grant using collaborative inquiry to interrogate inequity in their classrooms. Centering Muhammad’s Culturally and Historically Responsive Teaching framework, teachers engage in equity-focused praxis through yearlong PLC action research, building facilitation, leadership, and capacity to dismantle systemic inequities in schools.
Title:
“DBP in Translation: Three Stories of Using DBP Around the Globe in Schools, Universities, and Organizations”
Presenters:
Yi-Ren Tsai (National University of Tainan, Taiwan), Jan Bliźniak (CEO, Poland), Katarzyna Grubek (CEO, Poland), and Mikelle Miegel (Department for Education, Australia) with moderator Lily Odekirk (Emerson College, United States)
Type:
Panel
Location:
WIN. 2.112
Description:
How do we apply drama-based pedagogy across different cultures and contexts? Join experienced practitioners from Taiwan, Australia, and Poland as they reflect on how drama-based pedagogy has shaped their practice and offered transformational learning moments, as well as the hopes they have for the future of the field of education.
15
FRIDAY
BREAKOUT SESSION #3 1:45 - 3:00 PM Title:
“Rituals of Resilience: Ethnographic Performance in Museum Spaces with Underrepresented Communities”
Presenters:
Madison Palomo, Kanea Macdonald, Kylie Mask, Carley Robinson (University of Texas at Austin)
Type:
Presentation
Location:
WIN 1.148
Description:
This session explores the process and products of a Museum Theatre course at UT Austin, where student-artists worked in collaboration with GirlForward (a local non-profit) and UT’s Center for Students in Recovery to activate art work at two university museums. Using ethnographic methods and performance techniques, each museum theatre project explored themes of identity, ritual, and resilience, through the embodiment of community stories, in connection with art work in a UT museum gallery.
Tea Break an d Sn ack Winship Atrium 3:00 -3:30 PM
DRAMA FOR SCHOOLS AND BEYOND: SMALL GROUP IMAGINING WINSHIP ATRIUM 3:30 - 4 :30 PM MAKING MEANING: REFLECTIVE EXCHANGE WINSHIP ATRIUM 4 :30 - 5:00 PM
16
SATURDAY DAY 2
DRAMA FOR SCHOOLS SYMPOSIUM CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF DFS AND BEYOND The University of Texas at Austin May 15-16, 2026 17
SATURDAY
8:30 - 9:00 AM
REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST
9:00 - 10:30 AM
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL + REFLECTION: “Transforming Education Through the Arts with Students and Teachers” BROCKETT THEATRE
BREAKOUT SESSION #1 10:45 - 12:00 PM Title:
“A Bilingual Drama Lesson about Immigration"
Presenter:
Evelyn Gualdron (University of Texas at Austin)
Type:
Workshop (30 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN 1.134 (with Lauren Rosa)
Description:
This lesson engages 3rd–5th grade students in a bilingual, dramabased exploration of Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote by Duncan Tonatiuh, integrating language arts standards with culturally relevant and arts-integrated pedagogy.
Title: Presenter:
"The Curious Garden: Creating Meaningful Relationships to the Environment with Young Students" Lauren Rosa (University of Texas at Austin)
Type:
Workshop (30 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN 1.134 (with Evelyn Gualdron)
Description:
Drama-based reading of The Curious Garden, integrating soundscapes, artifact and narrative pantomime.
18
SATURDAY
BREAKOUT SESSION #1 10:45 - 12:00 PM Title:
“Setting the Stage for Life-long Learning Classroom Instruction with a Drama Lens”
Presenters: Type:
Mikaela Andres (MINDPOP) and Rebecca Corona (Bertha Sadler-Means Young Woman’s Leadership Academy/AISD) Workshop
Location:
WIN 1.108
Description:
How does one approach the intersectionality of learning new information with respecting lived experiences in academic spaces? Explore with us, from the learner lens, how drama-based and creative instructional practices open space to actively approach learning through rigorous embodiment of personal understanding. Arts-based learning can help ‘set the stage for life’ while fostering environments that center deep analysis and building skills often under-considered or not easily developed in traditional instructional methods. See, hear, and feel how drama and creative instructional strategies disrupt the notions of traditional instruction by weaving the threads of identity, exploration, and retained learning together.
Title:
Type:
“Courage in Action: Activating Youth Agency through DBP in an Interactive Theatre Model" Noah Martin, Jenny Arffmann, Darwin Ragsdale, and Kaylynn Barreiro (Creative Action) Workshop
Location:
WIN 2.180
Description:
Creative Actions interactive theatre programs Brave Schools have been touring to PK-5th grade classrooms in schools across Austin,TX for 25 years. Youth agency is a guiding principle that threads through these programs, beginning with puppets and identifying feelings and scaffolding towards moments where young people are challenged to step in as courageous bystanders. We wish to share how these programs seek to do this with live excerpts and brief activities taken from the programs. Additionally, you will get to hear reflections from youth and teachers who experienced the program, as well as the actor/facilitators.
Title: Presenter:
“From Heartbeat to Heart of the Story: Using Embodied Strategies to Teach Personal Essays" Jenni Hewett (University of Texas at Austin)
Type:
Research Presentation and Workshop
Location:
WIN 1.148
Description:
Participants explore creative strategies to help students develop the “heartbeat” of personal essays. Using interactive activities like Heartbeat Ball, Tiered Storytelling, and Role on the Wall, the session connects movement and reflection to writing, supporting voice, structure, and revision while offering practical, classroom-ready 19 techniques for deeper engagement.
Presenters:
SATURDAY
BREAKOUT SESSION #1 10:45 - 12:00 PM Title:
"Embodied Learning at Scale: Adapting Drama-Based Pedagogy Across Class Sizes"
Presenters:
Bethany Corey-Ekin and Michelle Dahlenburg (Texas State University)
Type:
Panel and Workshop
Location:
WIN. 2.112
Description:
Within the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film at Texas State University, Drama-based pedagogy (DBP) is an essential component of teaching and learning across multiple courses and student populations. This session examines how DBP practices adapt to the demands of varying group sizes, demonstrating the flexibility and intentionality required to maintain depth, engagement, and rigor.
Title:
Creating Constellations of Change with Students and Teachers: Climate Resilience with Youth at Ann Richards School
Presenters: Type:
Student Teacher Learning Community at Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders Presentation and Workshop
Location:
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre
Description:
This workshop explores how an STLC can use the arts to explore climate resilience across 7th grade curriculum. We will describe the structure of our STLC and invite participants to experience strategies that were important to the student/teacher/adminstrators experience, leading, and research.
Lun ch Payn e Lobby 1.100 Mix an d Min gle Winship Atrium 12:00 -12:45pm
20
SATURDAY
BREAKOUT SESSION #2 12:45 - 2:00 PM Title:
"The Migration Project: A Collaborative Coding Workshop"
Presenters:
Keith Huff and Joe Salvatore (New York University)
Type:
Workshop
Location:
WIN 1.134
Description:
NYU Verbatim Performance Lab (VPL) Director Joe Salvatore and Associate Director Keith R. Huff will lead participants through an exercise to model how VPL initiates a scripting process. Participants will learn how to read a scored transcript, have the opportunity to sift through parts of the data set from interviews about migration in the US, and be in conversation with colleagues about recurring ideas and patterns that emerge. The workshop will culminate in a debrief session that will discuss potential next steps and how sessions with stakeholders can inform the artistic development process.
Title: Presenter:
"Roll for Drama: Using D&D & Process Drama to Teach Theatre" Briana Bower (Cedar Park Middle School)
Type:
Workshop
Location:
WIN 1.108
Description:
Have you ever played D&D, watched D&D, or heard about D&D, and thought, “Wait a minute, that’s just improv with dice?” This session explores how to combine the elements of Process Drama and Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPG) to create a dynamic theatre curriculum for students.
Title: Presenter:
“The Superpower You Already Have: Storytelling and Silent Film” Sally Baker (Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM)
Type:
Workshop and Presentation (30 mins+discussion)
Location:
WIN 2.180 (with Courtney Boddie)
Description:
In a world hungry for connection, storytelling may be the most powerful tool in a teacher's kit. In this hands-on session, participants will experience a silent film strategy that challenges them to create a curriculum-based story from the ground up. No film skills needed! Just creativity, collaboration, and the timeless power of narrative. Participants will leave with a standards-based strategy they can use immediately to build empathy, engage critical thinking, and weave meaningful human connection into existing curriculum.
21
SATURDAY
BREAKOUT SESSION #2 12:45 - 2:00 PM Title:
“Catalyst for Change”
Presenter:
Courtney Boddie (New Victory Theatre, NYC)
Type:
Workshop and Presentation (30 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN 2.180 (with Sally Baker)
Description:
Centering the evolution of the New Victory Speak Up, Act Out program —which invites young people to examine artivism, identify hyperlocal issues, and create theatrical advocacy pieces—Courtney J. Boddie asks participants to discuss ways that civic arts engagement programs can expand missions and core values, and impact implementation practices.
Title:
"Toward a Collective Improv Pedagogy."
Presenter:
Dr. Lisa Barker (University of Wisconsin)
Type:
Workshop
Location:
WIN 2.112
Description:
Let’s nerd out about applied improv! The principles and practices of improvisational theatre are applied to a range of learning environments, though there is little shared language among facilitators to describe their work. For example, what would appliedimprov facilitators agree are the core practices of facilitating improvbased workshops effectively (e.g., how to sequence activities in a learning experience, give directions for an exercise, facilitate a wholegroup debrief)? In this session, we’ll play, then talk about our play in order to gather language for and questions about applied improv practice--all in the spirit of moving toward a collective improv pedagogy that eases practitioners’ abilities to reflect among one another and to educate future facilitators of applied improv.
Title:
"Emotional Lines: Bridging Conversations in Arts-Integrated Classrooms”
Presenters:
Laura Clay (Creative Learning Initiative/AISD) and Maggie Martino Fucile (Blanton Museum of Art)
Type:
Workshop
Location:
WIN 1.148
Description:
In arts-integrated learning, the performing and visual arts share a common goal—helping students make meaning through creative expression —yet each offers distinct affordances for emotional safety and reflection. This interactive Workshop explores how visual art can operate as both a buffer and bridge in navigating challenging classroom dialogues around emotions, empathy, and social awareness.
22
SATURDAY
BREAKOUT SESSION #2 12:45 - 2:00 PM Title:
“At the Intersection of Arts Integration and Social Justice”
Presenters: Type:
Beth Link (Ohio State University) and Laura Epperson (Cal Poly Pomona) Presentation & Workshop
Location:
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre
Description:
How do the visual arts, theatre, dance, and music spark and mediate critical dialogues? How can the arts help us critique power and imagine more just futures? Together we investigated these questions and began to theorize about the distinct and overlapping pedagogical functions of each artform in an undergraduate Arts Integration course. This session shares insights from the course and highlights multi-arts strategies.
BREAKOUT SESSION #3 2:15 - 3:30 PM Title:
"Courageous Cadence: Writing for Justice Through Spoken Word"
Presenters:
Jasmine Games (The Poet House), Jazelle Harris, and Maxochitl Cortez
Type:
Workshop
Location:
WIN 1.148
Description:
Courageous Cadence is an immersive spoken word workshop using poetry for healing, cultural affirmation, and civic engagement. Participants explore identity and justice through guided writing and performance techniques like cadence and stage presence. This inclusive session empowers individuals to craft original poems, fostering confidence and storytelling as tools for social change.
Title:
“Stories of Facilitator Transformation in DFS, DBP and Beyond: Pecha Kucha Series”
Presenters:
Lauren Smith (Bedichek Middle School, Austin Independent School District), Becca Drew Ramsey (Thinkery), Katie McKay (University of Texas at Austin), Mandy Heinhold (Victoria Independent School District), Carla Walk (Arguelles Walk & Peña), Annase Raji (University of Texas at Austin), Irene Chen (University of Texas at Austin)
Type:
Pecha Kucha
Location:
WIN 1.148
Description:
Practitioners from a wide variety of contexts will share Pecha Kuchas about experiences of teaching, learning, and transforming through the use of DBP over the 20 years of DFS history. To conclude the session, participants will engage in arts-based independent and collective reflection about their own transformations. 23
BREAKOUT SESSION #3 2:15 - 3:30 PM Title:
SATURDAY
Presenters:
"Shaping and Being Shaped: Exploring Identity and Context Through DBP"
Type:
Laura Epperson (Cal Poly Pomona) and Faith Hillis (Houston Freedman’s Town Conservatory) Workshop
Location:
WIN 2.180
Description:
Explorations of self, how we are shaped by and in turn shape the contexts we inhabit, can deepen learning across disciplines. In this session, we will engage DBP strategies and adapted models that invite exploration of identity, community, and transformation. Participants will experience how embodied, collaborative practice can sustain curiosity and courage even within systems that seek to limit them.
Title:
"Universal Citizens: A Process Drama Demo"
Presenter:
Elizabeth Brendel Horn (Northwestern University)
Type:
Workshop
Location:
WIN 1.108
Description:
In this process drama demonstration, participants will engage in a 5th grade lesson exploring immigration issues in role as Earth’s first intergalactic community. By establishing fantastical characters, settings, and circumstances, participants will experience aesthetic distance as they navigate issues that mirror current events.
Title:
“From STEM to Stage: Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math through the Dramatic Arts"
Presenter:
George Morgan (University of Texas, Dallas)
Type:
Presentation (30 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN 2.112 (with Tamara Goldbogen)
Description:
The United States has fallen far behind other developed countries in students pursuing STEM careers. Currently we need 100,000 more STEM graduates than what are expected. Students need to catch the vision of how exciting and rewarding a STEM career can be. In this seminar I will discuss my research at UT Dallas and hands-on experience at on how we can use theatre and the dramatic arts to inspire more students to consider science and technology in their future endeavors.
24
SATURDAY
BREAKOUT SESSION #3 2:15 - 3:30 PM Title:
"Drama-Based Pedagogy in Action: Students Building Community Through Story, Science, and Puppetry”
Presenters:
Tamara Goldbogen (Weber State University)
Type:
Presentation (30 mins + discussion)
Location:
WIN 2.112 (with George Morgan)
Description:
This session highlights how applied theatre fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement, and student storytelling. In Weber State’s Children’s Literature course, students use drama-based pedagogy, scientific exploration, and devising to create an original children’s book. Join us to learn more about this course and engage in a hands-on puppet mini-workshop.
Title:
“Creative Teaching and Spreading the Joy”
Presenters:
Laura Clay (Creative Learning Initiative/AISD)
Type:
Workshop
Location:
Oscar G. Brocket Theatre
Description:
This session will discuss how to use Creative Teaching to serve as a bridge for the next step, whether that be a new school, grade, or adventure. We will use Recipe for Me and Stage Picture to discuss the impact of the work in supporting identity and hopes for the future.
Tea Break an d Sn ack Winship Atrium 3:30 - 4 :00 PM
MAKING MEANING: REFLECTIVE EXCHANGE
WINSHIP ATRIUM 4 :00 - 4 :45 PM
25
THANK YOU
SPONORSHIP, THANK-YOUS! The Rea Charitable Trust Carolyn Rice Bartlett Charitable Foundation Texas Global at UT Austin Planet Texas 2050 at UT Austin Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors at UT Austin Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at UT Austin The Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies at UT Austin The College of Fine Arts at UT Austin The College of Education at UT Austin Megan Alrutz Michael Ávila Peter Carpenter Stephanie Cawthon I-Chia Chiu Leah Cox Kayla Dryden Cassie Gholston Conner Gilbert Sharon Grady Jeff Grapko Jenni Hewett Lynn Hoare Mateo Hernandez Bridget Lee Gabrielle Lewis Beth Link Madison Palomo Sydney Pattillo Annase Raji Sara Simons Caleb Solberg Joshua Rashon Streeter David Thomases And 20 Years of DFS Partners and DTYC Graduate Students
26
DFS Symposium Presenters in Alphabetical Order Abramson, Jennifer reads and writes in Austin, Tx. where she currently shares space with her husband and four feline children. With 30 years of literacy learning and leadership in public education, she is currently prioritizing using her platform and privilege to focus on critical ACCESS, CHOICE, VOLUME, and VOICE opportunities for each and every reader and writer she works alongside. Most recently, she’s conferring with readers and writers in Austin ISD working shoulder-toshoulder with students and staff; we are reading and writing for our lives. Andres, Mikaela is the Senior Director of Education for MINDPOP, designing curriculum and professional learning for teachers across the nation! For 13 years, she's experienced education through the lens of District Science Achievement Specialist, Assistant Principal PK-4, Middle School Instructional Coach, 8th Grade Science Teacher, 5th grade Teacher, and PK4 Teacher. Her education journey began even earlier when providing French Horn lessons to band students. Mikaela continually chases equitable education and opportunities for all and gets creative with ways to open up access. She is inspired by the symphonies created when kids enjoy learning in the spaces they are in. Mikaela loves artistic adventure: getting lost in good music, lettering the words of inspirational humans and creating a variety of quirky clay pots! She leaves you with the words of Desmond Tutu, “The power of our dreams and the creativity we employ, can break the chains of injustice and oppression.” Arffmann, Jenny is the Program Director for School Based Residencies at Creative Action where she runs the Brave Schools Theatre programs. She is passionate about how the arts can support interpersonal relationships, inclusive communities and well being for youth. She is a visual artist, and theatre practitioner and has taught in schools and arts organizations all over Austin including: UT, Mindpop, The Zach, The Paramount, and The Contemporary. She earned her MFA at UT’s Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities program. She loves gardening, painting and spending time with her family.
Barreiro, Kaylynn is a Texas native with experience in theatre and film acting in the Austin area. They have a passion for performing and teaching children how to best express themselves through the arts. They are very grateful to be teaching bilingually through Creative Action’s Welcome Armadillo: Somos Comunidad program. Coming from the Rio Grande Valley (Rio Grande City to be specific) meant that Spanish was their first language up until kindergarten. Being able to teach the program has helped students be able to grasp both languages with storytelling. Beaumont, Natasha is a former stage and television actor whose career spans Sydney and London, before transitioning into education as a specialist drama teacher across primary and secondary contexts. Her professional practice is grounded in the belief that drama is a powerful vehicle for language development, creativity, and critical thinking. Natasha holds a Master of Education (Drama) focused on additional language learners and a Doctorate exploring videomaking as a tool for oral language development and critical digital literacy. Her research integrates drama pedagogy with multimodal and digital practices, supporting students to become confident communicators and critically engaged creators. She is currently a Lecturer in Creative Arts (K–6) at the University of Sydney and an Associate Researcher with the University’s CREATE Centre. In these roles, Natasha teaches, researches, and collaborates with educators to strengthen arts‑based approaches to literacy across diverse learning contexts. Alongside her academic work, Natasha mentors classroom teachers and arts educators in drama‑based learning, supporting the design of inclusive, engaging, and language‑rich teaching practices. Her work bridges professional performance, classroom practice, and educational research, with a strong commitment to equity, creativity, and meaningful arts learning. Boddie, Courtney J. Vice President of Education & School Engagement at New 42, oversees all the New Victory School programs serving over 200 NYC schools, after schools and summer programs. Under her leadership, program highlights include Teach with GIVE, New Victory Arts Education Resource Library and Speak Up Act Out: Celebrating Student Voices. Notable Recognition: New 42: Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre (2025); amNY Metro & PoliticsNY Power Players in Education (2024), Crain's New York Notable Black Leader and Executive (2021) and TYA/USA’s Community Impact Award (2019). Courtney is a co-chair for the Arts Education Advisory Committee of the Mayor's Panel for Educational Policy and adjunct faculty at NYU Educational Theatre. She is the Creator/Host of Teaching Artistry podcast and sits on the Curatorial Committee for the Hermitage Artist Retreat. She has sat on several boards and presented at numerous conferences. She is a theater maker/creative artist.
Bower, Briana is a theatre educator and director based in Cedar Park, TX. Originally from Wayne, Pennsylvania, she received her BA in Theatre with a focus in Theatre Education from Northwestern University, and her MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from The University of Texas at Austin. At UT, Briana researched how object/arts-based performance projects impact youth identity formation and perception, and explored the creation of site specific performative installations that invite audience participation and interaction. She now teaches theatre at Cedar Park Middle School. As an educator, she seeks to create theatre curriculum that engages students in performances and projects that respond directly to their lived experiences and communities, while exploring collaborative storytelling and honing their performance and technical skills. Briana also directs several productions at CPMS each year and loves collaborating with other teachers and members of the Cedar Park community. Bliźniak, Jan is Head of the "School of Creative Practices" Program at the Center for Citizenship Education (CEO) in Warsaw, Poland. He holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Warsaw and a postgraduate degree in Cultural Management from the Jagiellonian University. His professional focus lies at the intersection of cultural education, history didactics, and participatory methods in youth engagement. At CEO, he leads a team developing thematic programs that integrate arts-based learning into formal education, and supports the design and implementation of student-led socio-artistic activties at the local level. He advocates for history education as a tool for interpreting contemporary social phenomena. Previously, he served in the Education Department of the Warsaw Museum. In addition to his educational practice, Bliźniak is a published author and recipient of the Kornel Makuszyński National Literary Award – one of Poland's most prestigious distinctions in literature for young readers. He is also a practicing film critic and editor of the long-running film review platform Całe życie w kinie (A Whole Life in the Cinema). Brendel Horn, Elizabeth is an Associate Professor of Theatre for Young Audiences and Creative Drama at Northwestern University. Previously, she taught at the University of Central Florida in partnership with Orlando Family Stage. Elizabeth is a playwright, director, scholar, and applied theatre artist.
Clay, Laura is the instructional coach for the Creative Learning Initiative. She has spent the last three years in classrooms across AISD working on growing adult leaders in creative teaching. Laura graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Communication. Starting her teaching career in Sevilla, Spain as a Cultural Ambassador for middle schoolers, she quickly found that creativity served a vital role in the classroom for not only student buy-in, but also for building a strong community where all learners felt safe to make personal connections to the content. She came back to the states and continued to flourish as an educator with Sylvan Learning while getting her alternative teaching certification from Region-13 and went on to teach 4th
grade at J. Houston Elementary for five years, then 5th grade at Becker Elementary for four years before stepping into the role with CLI.
Corey-Ekin Bethany is an Assistant Professor of Instruction of Theatre Education at Texas State University. At Texas State University she leads the supervision of Clinical Teaching for the T-Cert program and also teaches courses in Creative Drama, Training the Teaching Artist and Introduction to Fine Arts. Prior to coming to Texas State University Bethany worked in a number of school districts in both teaching and professional development positions. In addition, she has worked nationally and internationally as a playwright, educator, actress, director, and teaching artist. Currently her artistic work focuses on the creation of Theatre for the Very Young with several productions through Trike Theatre, Pollyanna Theatre and most recently a production funded by 4.0 Schools. Corona, Rebecca born in Illinois, raised in Clearwater, Florida. Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington, Seattle. Master of Arts in English Education from the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. She's been teaching since 2014. She has two beautiful kids, one tall husband, and a profound love of coffee, volcanoes, and folklore. Her favorite TV show is Supernatural. Her favorite Marvel character is the new Ms. Marvel. Her favorite author is Nnedi Okorafor. Cortez, Maxochitl is woven from Chichimekah & Coahuiltecan lineages, as a queer Indigenous Resistance Artist, Educator, & Community Organizer - they use storytelling as a pathway for collective liberation. They are a host with every.Word poetry, a Black and Indigenous led spoken word organization in so called Austin, Texas. They are the Creative Director of Land Justice Community School, activating art & education as activism. Their poetry can be found in Poetry Society New York’s Milk Press, Native Land Digital, B’K Magazine, and more. The seeds of their storytelling ask what liberation means, what we will do to get there for all people, and what narratives we honor during our path to healing. Find them on instagram: @raya.maxochitl Dahlenburg, Michelle is an Austin-based applied theatre artist, audio producer, and educator. She helps people create engaging, human-centered narratives through audio, digital storytelling, and live performance. She teaches in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Film at Texas State University and works as a freelance audio producer for Art Beat at KUT Austin. She is currently directing State of Mind: TX State, a theatre and public dialogue project about mental health in higher education. Michelle’s audio work has been featured by PRX, WUNC’s 51%, Fusebox Festival, and the podcasts Neighbors and The Voucher Scam. She is a story producer for the live comedy show Mortified Austin, a podcasting instructor with StoryCenter, and a Certified Story Facilitator with Leadership Story Lab. Michelle holds an MFA in Drama & Theatre for Youth & Communities from the University of Texas at Austin.
Dawson, Katie Katie Dawson is a global thought leader who uses the arts to increase equity, access, and belonging in education. She is a professor at The University of Texas in Austin (UT) and serves as the director of the Drama for Schools program. Katie is also a Provost’s Teaching Fellow and head of Creative Collaborations for the Project Texas 2050 transdisciplinary research project at UT. She has ongoing research-practice partnerships with universities, the US Embassy System and NGOs in North America, Europe, East Asia, and Oceana focused on using the arts to increase critical thinking and perspective taking in education. Katie received multiple teaching and research awards from her university, and from the American Alliance of Theatre and Education including the Winifred Ward Scholar Award, the Creative Drama Award, and a Distinguished Book Award. Currently, she is partnering with secondary students and teachers to re-design and research artsintegrated middle school curriculum focused on climate resilience. Katie’s co-authored books include: The Reflexive Teaching Artist, Drama-Based Pedagogy: Activating Learning Across the Curriculum, and Drama for Schools and Beyond: Transformative Learning Through the Arts.
Dossett, Lara is a theatre artist and educator working at the intersection of multidisciplinary art, education, and community engagement. Lara is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin where she teaches collaborative performance-making, theatre for young audiences, teaching artistry, and arts integration for multidisciplinary connections with undergraduate students. At the graduate level she teaches courses in drama-based pedagogy and community engagement. Lara is also the Professional Learning Coordinator of the organization Drama for Schools, which is a collaborative, research-based professional learning model in drama-based pedagogy and arts integration working with K-12 schools to change the culture of learning through the arts. Lara shares her practice-based research at conferences worldwide- recently presenting on a climate resilience Student and Teacher Learning Community at the International Drama in Educational Research Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia. She also published a co-authored book titled Drama for Schools and Beyond: Transforming Education through the Arts in 2025. Epperson, Laura is a teaching artist, performer, and community collaborator. She has worked with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (DC), Creative Arts Team (NY), and Drama for Schools (TX) to develop arts-full approaches to teaching and learning across curricula and age range. She's led social justice arts residencies at over 20 New York City public schools and facilitated professional learning intensives with DFS in Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Taiwan, and throughout Texas. Through the Performing Justice Project (PJP), Laura devises original performances with youth that explore the intersection of identity, power, and (in)justice. She has codirected projects with teens in foster care in Austin (TX), youth theatre board members in Boston (MA), and young adults with disabilities in Warsaw (Poland). Laura is
currently an Assistant Professor of Theatre for Social Change at Cal Poly Pomona (CA) as well as a Founding Co-Director of the Center for Imagining and Performing Justice. Learn more at www.lauramwepperson.com. Finneran, Michael is a theatre scholar, educator and artist. He is an Associate Professor at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland. His research interests are in applied theatre, social justice, arts practice, creativity, and drama education and his books include: Critical Themes in Drama (2021, Routledge); Education and Theatres (2019, Springer); Drama and Social Justice (2016, Routledge). He is a former editor of RiDE: The Journal of Applied Theatre Research and was Academic Convenor for the 7th IDiERI (International Drama in Education Research Institute) in 2012. He has held numerous leadership roles in Ireland, including developing the national high school curriculum in drama and film, leading the development of the Lime Tree Theatre and serving as chair of the boards of Dance Limerick and Branar Téatar. Alongside his academic work, he continues to engage in professional practice as a theatre director and lighting designer. Fucile, Maggie is the Museum Educator for Docents, Families, and Schools at the Blanton. She holds a BA in English from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MA in art history from the University of Iowa. She has over six years of experience teaching with learners of all ages, working in institutions in the Midwest, New York City, and Austin, TX. In her role at the Blanton she works in programming for K-12 and family programs, and recruits, trains, and manages the Blanton’s cohort of 60 Volunteer Gallery Teachers (docents), who work with visitors of all ages. Games, Jasmine (she/they) is a Black, queer poet, theatre maker, and educator born in Dallas, raised in Houston, and based in Austin, Texas. She holds a BA in English and Performance Studies from Texas A&M University and an MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from The University of Texas at Austin. An award-winning artist, Jasmine is the recipient of the 2021 Sexton Prize for Poetry and the Winifred Ward Scholarship for excellence in theatre education, and has been a finalist in multiple national poetry competitions.Her debut poetry collection, Somebody’s Daughter, is available online. She is the Co-Executive Director of The Poet House, home to every.Word Poetry and Courageous Cadence and Event Coordinator at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center. Jasmine produces and directs theatre, facilitates workshops on race, gender, and disability, and creates spaces for poets to grow on and off the stage. Her work has been featured at the Texas State Capitol and across Austin’s literary and performance communities. Genshaft, Lindsay is the Senior Manager of Family Programs at the Denver Art Museum where she runs a variety of live and installed programming for young people and their families. This includes developing, writing, and directing original plays for kids focusing on art and artists and writing audio guides for kids for exhibitions. Lindsay also oversees the development and implementation of self-guided and installed family activities in the galleries. She holds a BFA in Theatre from NYU and an MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from the University of
Texas, Austin. She also has a consulting company at playfulportals.com. Lindsay believes that connection to art can empower, bond, and heal people. Goldbogen, Tamara serves as the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowed Chair for Arts Learning and directs the award-winning Arts Learning Collaborative at Weber State University. A theatre professor with appointments across the College of Arts & Humanities, the College of Social Sciences & Education, and the Honors Program, her teaching emphasizes K–16 pre-service and in-service education, drama and theatre education, and arts integration as tools for meaningful, student-centered learning. Her creative and scholarly work focuses on theatre for young audiences, puppetry, drama-based pedagogy, and creative learning, with particular attention to engagement and interdisciplinary practice. She has received multiple honors for teaching excellence, including the Presidential Teaching Excellence Award and the Joseph and Holly Nye Bauman Outstanding Faculty in Honors Award. Tamara is honored to be a Fulbright Specialist and is excited to engage in international partnerships that foster innovative approaches to arts education, collaborative research, and cross-cultural exchange in teaching and learning. Goodnow, Natalie (she/her) has worked for Austin Public Health as a Training Specialist Senior since 2021. Prior to this, she worked in community arts education for over 15 years - developing, leading, and implementing programs for creative youth development organization Creative Action. She uses interactive and creative methods – such as Applied Theatre – to facilitate learning and dialogue around a variety of social issues. She directed School-Based Programs at Creative Action for over 6 years, leading interactive performance residencies and school-wide arts integration partnerships, among other projects. Natalie holds a B.A. in Theatre with minors in Spanish and Feminist Studies from Southwestern University, and a M.F.A in Performance as Public Practice from The University of Texas at Austin, where she was a frequent collaborator with the Drama for Schools community. Green-Otero, John’s career spans roles as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, district administrator, leadership coach, national speaker, and education consultant. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, and certification in neuro-sequential models in education. Green-Otero’s expertise includes equity of access, innovation, brain-based pedagogy, and collective impact. He has served on numerous advisory councils and boards including Partners in Education, Any Given Child, and was vice-chair of the city of Austin’s Early Childhood Council. At Pre-K 4 SA, he focuses on creating innovative, developmentally safe learning environments that foster curiosity, critical thinking, and equitable opportunities for all children. Greene, Meg is MINDPOP's Director of Convenings and Collaborations. Meg creates inclusive, welcoming opportunities for people to collaborate around the arts and education – whether it's network building, a professional learning workshop, a virtual convening, or a meeting of arts partners. She comes to this work with over 20 years of experience as an artist and educator, teaching workshops in schools, grief
and healing camps, juvenile detention centers, and with military youth experiencing deployment. She's worked as a teaching artist with organizations such as Zach Theater, Arena Stage, Young Playwrights’ Theater, and Imagination Stage. Her teaching expertise spans creative drama with early learners, devising and writing original plays amplifying peoples’ lived experiences, and storytelling through digital media. The common thread of Meg's work is her desire to harness the power of the arts to connect people, ask big questions, build empathy, and spark joy – and the belief that the arts should be accessible for all.
Grubek, Katarzyna Head of the Culture and Media Department at the Center for Citizenship Education in Warsaw, Poland, where she supports coordinators in implementing programs in the areas of cultural, film, reading, and anti-discrimination education. She develop educational programs and materials, courses, and publications. She conducts training sessions and workshops. A graduate of the Department of Theater Studies at the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw and the Teacher Training College of French at the University of Warsaw. Recipient of a scholarship from the Polish Minister of Culture (animation and cultural education). Participant in the International Visitor Leadership Program “21st Century ChangeMakers: Education Leaders Advance Civic Engagement Among High School Youth” run by the U.S. Department of State. Co-founder and board member of the Association of Families and Friends of People with Intellectual Disabilities “A cabin with ideas”.
Gualdron, Evelyn is a graduate student in the Bilingual and Bicultural Education program at the College of Education. Her academic and professional work centers on the dynamic relationship between theater, second language acquisition, and the broader social realities connected to immigration. She is particularly interested in how drama-based practices can create meaningful opportunities for language development, cultural expression, and dialogue in multilingual learning spaces. Throughout her professional career, Evelyn has worked in diverse educational settings in both Colombia and the United States, experiences that have shaped her understanding of teaching across cultures and contexts. These experiences inform her to use inclusive and creative pedagogies that value students’ linguistic and cultural resources. Her interests include process drama, product drama, participatory projects, and drama pedagogy in bilingual classrooms. Through this work, she seeks to foster engaging, equitable, and transformative learning environments for students and educators alike.
Harris, Jazzelle is a multi-faceted writer from Memphis with a background in poetry, spoken word performance, slam and songwriting. She has been a member of META-4 Houston’s 2018 youth poetry slam team, with performances featured on YouthSpeaks and is a member of the META-4 youth poetry fellowship and the Consortium MMT’s Emerging Star network. She currently serves as the Board Secretary of The Poet House and is a teaching artist for Courageous Cadence, a youth spoken word program that teaches poetry and performance to high school students.
Harris, Jessica is an interdisciplinary theatre artist and director who seeks to uplift under-told stories and revitalize the human spirit. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Empowered Players, a 501(c)3 arts education nonprofit in Central Virginia focused on accessible arts programs for K-12 students. Her TEDx Talk titled “The Transformative Power of Theater in Rural Communities” highlights her work. Artistically, Jessica focuses primarily on new work and amplifying historically marginalized voices, and her broader work focuses on the intersection of education, community, and arts. She holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Master’s in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia. She has been published in arts journal Arts Praxis, the American Alliance of Museums, Transformative Social Impact, and other publications. Jessica also serves as the Assistant Director of Community Research at the Center for Community Partnerships at UVA. Hasty, Brent Dr. Brent Hasty is a recognized leader in arts education, serving as the Executive Director of MINDPOP, a nonprofit advancing creative learning in schools. With a background in theatre performance and a Ph.D. in curriculum studies, Brent bridges research, policy, and practice to increase access to the arts. His work has shaped citywide arts initiatives like Austin’s Creative Learning Initiative, and he consults nationally on building sustainable arts-rich ecosystems. Brent has published and presented articles in international peer-reviewed journals and major education conferences. Brent is the recipient of the 2024 Texans for the Arts Exceptional Grassroots Advocate award and actively collects contemporary art.
Hernandez, Mateo is a queer, Latinx theatre maker, applied theatre practitioner, pedagogue, and scholar. Their research interests include critical, feminist of color approaches to arts-based pedagogies as well as queering performance-based pedagogies. They have worked with companies such as UrbanTheatre Co., Filament Theatre, ZACH Theatre, Austin Playhouse, Steppenwolf Theatre, Lifeline Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Teatro Vivo, Cara Mia Theatre, and Creative Action. Mateo is the 2023 recipient of the Don and Elizabeth Doyle Fellowship from the American Alliance for Theatre & Education. Mateo is a member of the Board of Directors for Teatro Vivo in Austin, TX, a theatre company focused on showcasing Latinx experiences. They hold both a MFA and BFA in Theatre from The
University of Texas at Austin. You can learn more and connect with Mateo at mateohernandez.org. Hernandez, Melissa a native Austinite and proud first generation MexicanAmerican, I am a passionate advocate for community empowerment and well being. With a decade of experience in the non-profit sector, I transitioned to public health, where I'm thrilled to serve the very community that shaped my upbringing. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Pre-Physical Therapy and Exercise Science from Texas State University. Beyond academics, my heart lies with dance; I performed with Ballet East, a non-profit dance company, and my love for dance influences my approach to life and work. Every step I take is fueled by my commitment to making a positive impact on the people of Austin. Hewett, Jenni is a PhD student in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Language and Literacy Studies in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Jenni was a 5th grade teacher in Munich, Germany, and Washington State, working with students in intermediate grades and serving as a cooperating teacher for student teachers. At UT she works as a field supervisor, assistant instructor, teaching assistant, and graduate research assistant. Jenni's research interests include multiliteracies; arts-integrated and drama-based pedagogies; children's literature; coaching and mentoring preservice and early career teachers; and culturally sustaining approaches to literacy instruction. Hillis, Faith is a dedicated educator, artist, and performance maker from
Houston, Texas. She currently serves as the Learning and Engagement Coordinator at Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy, where she develops programs and partnerships that celebrate the neighborhood’s cultural legacy and living history. Her practice is rooted in community collaboration and guided by a deep belief in the power of storytelling and collective imagination. Faith holds an M.F.A. in Theatre with a specialization in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from the University of Texas at Austin and remains passionately engaged in communities that center justice, equity, and love as essential elements of embodied practice.https://www.faithalyce.com. Hoare, Lynn is a facilitator, performance-maker, and community builder with over 30 years of experience designing participatory spaces for dialogue, reflection, and transformation. Her practice is shaped by a commitment to shared power, honoring difference, and embodied learning. She is the Co-Director of the Center for Imagining & Performing Justice (CIPJ), a collective that uses applied theatre and the arts to foster connection and belonging. Lynn teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, and is also the co-founder of the Performing Justice Project which devises original theatre with young people about racial and gender justice. Her co-authored book, Devising Critically Engaged Theatre with Youth:The Performing Justice Project, won the distinguished book award from the American Alliance of Theatre and Education (AATE). She has lived and worked in Central Texas for the past 30 years, but grew up in the Pacific Northwest and still calls the mountains home.
Howell, Helen (she/her) Rooted with a background in cultural and applied anthropology, I have deep curiosity and reverence for the creative ways we navigate being human. I’ve found ways to apply this passion across 20 years in the public sector, primarily in developing curricula and professional development training for community-based adult education and working with immigrant and refugee communities. In my current role as a Social Services Funding Specialist Senior with Austin Public Health, I manage our grant making processes with non-profits, train agencies on applying for funding, and facilitate evaluation of grant applications. I’ve facilitated our Public Health Academy for almost two years, where I learn deeply from participants and create spaces that spark connection and honest conversation around equity in public health. You can find me dancing up a storm, deep in the woods, in a swimming hole, or buried in a magical realism book. Huff, Keith R. is a writer, director, and Theatre-Arts Educator based in New York City. As a creative, his interests lie at the intersection where narrative meets reality and how those collisions shape worldview, both past and present. His most recent work, Life in Close-Ups, is an arts-based meditation on grief and grieving through artifacts related to the death of Virginia Woolf. An educator with 20 years of experience in the field, Keith has held many roles: classroom teacher, curriculum specialist, teaching artist, arts administrator, and adjunct professor. He is the Associate Director of the Verbatim Performance Lab in the Program in Educational Theatre at NYU Steinhardt, where he also teaches Directing. Keith is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild of America.
Ibrahim, Deanna is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Human Development. Her research aims to understand the mechanisms and contexts that can support youth’s thriving, with a primary focus on arts-based programming. She leverages multi- and mixed-methods approaches to understand the ways in which adults can structure in-school and out-of-school contexts to support positive youth development and voice. Prior to joining the Department of Health and Human Development, Dr. Ibrahim received her Ph.D. in Applied Psychology from the Steinhardt School of Culture, Development, and Education at New York University. She received her BA in Psychology and Theatre from Muhlenberg College. Dr. Ibrahim is also a trained teaching artist and creative facilitator, a trained dancer, and a theatre artist. Jošić-Milinović, Milica a PHD researcher and a senior teaching assistant at the Department of English Language and Literature as well as an ESL lecturer at the University of Banja Luka. Her interest in DBP began when she participated in the 2018 Applied Drama Institute in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over the years, she went through various teacher-training programs, participated in designing a series of training programs and held workshops on applied drama and theater for educators across BiH. In 2020, she visited the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas at Austin through the Texas Global Visiting Scholars Grant. She
has spoken at numerous conferences and symposiums in BiH and abroad (Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, England) and she carried out her research on applied drama during her participation in Erasmus+ mobilities in Poland, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Greece. Her academic work centers on the integration of DBP in literature and ESP teaching, with a particular emphasis on its application and development within the BiH education system.
Lemon, Bob has been an Associate Professor of German at the University of Oklahoma since 2012. His fields of specialization include the works of Franz Kafka, the literature and culture of turn-of-the century Austria, translation, and adapting German prose texts for the stage. He has translated Kafka’s novel The Trial and, together with Joe Alberti and Genoa Davidson adapted it for the stage, presenting the world premiere in November 2019. He has also translated Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis, which he has renamed The Transformation, and together with Joe Alberti and Genoa Davidson, has reworked this text as an audio drama. He is also interested in using drama in his German classes to engage in outreach and create a sense of community among his students.
Lemon, Nina is a playwright, theatre-maker and educator, and the founder and artistic director of Peer Productions, an award-winning youth arts charity that creates original theatre with and for young people. UK-based, her work addresses complex aspects of young people’s lives, including relationships and sex, gender, misogyny, neurodivergence and mental health. Her plays are performed by specially trained young actors, whose peer-to-peer performances for teenage audiences tour to schools and colleges and are also experienced through digital theatre. Nina is close to completing her PhD at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where she uses practice research, playwriting and ethnodrama to investigate how theatre can support young people’s decision-making about relationships and sex in the context of increasingly sexualised, extreme and polarised digital cultures. Macdonald, Kanea (they/she) is an educator, theatre maker, and director interested in creating cross-disciplinary arts experiences for and with young people. As a storyteller, Kanea loves to explore quotidian magic, lifting up the beauty in everyday, otherwise “mundane” moments. While pursuing their MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities, Kanea is also working towards founding Valley Sunrise Theatre, the first theatre for young audiences to serve the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, where she is from. Other research and practice interests include queer and asexual stories, gender and identity, environmentalism, consent, hope, radical joy, and self-compassion.
Martin, Noah currently serves as the Chief Program Officer at Creative Action in Austin, TX. His work with teachers, teaching artists, and young people focuses on collaborative theatre making processes and playful arts experiences that foster belonging and provoke intergenerational engagement around community issues. He was previously the director of the Changing Lives Youth Theatre Ensemble, a program that employs teen artists to create and tour theatre focused on violence prevention and healthy relationships. He has directed original shows with people of all ages in Austin, Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco, including an annual bicycle pageant seen by hundreds of pedaling audience members. Noah holds an MFA from UT Austin, where his research focused on the importance of play, artistry, and critical pedagogy in teacher professional development.
Mask, Kylie is a theatre maker and educator entering her second year as an MFA candidate in the Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities program at the University of Texas at Austin. A lifelong lover of theatre and nature, her work centers on the intersection of drama and environmental education. She is currently collaborating with UT-affiliated outdoor learning specialists to integrate drama-based pedagogy into outdoor curricula for pre-K childcare programs in Austin, Texas. Kylie’s artistic practice is increasingly focused on writing and devising ethnographic performance as a means of fostering dialogue around climate resilience. Méndez Aguirre, Khristián is a postdoctoral scholar in ecodramaturgy community and climate at the School of Architecture. He has taught researched and practiced ecotheater for almost 10 years and is a rising voice in the field across industry and academy. MFA Ph.D.: UT Austin.
Morgan, George has a BA in Creative Writing from California State University Channel Islands, an MFA in Writing for the Performing Arts through the University of California Riverside's Palm Desert writing program, and a PhD from the University of Texas at Dallas in Visual and Performing Arts. George is an author, playwright, and screenwriter with four books and more than two dozen stage plays and screenplays to his credit. His play Second To Die was adapted into a feature film starring Paul Winfield and Erika Eleniak. He has won numerous awards, including Short Line, which won first place in the International Family Film Festival screenwriting contest and Rocket Girl, nominated by Broadway World for Best Play of the Decade. He is the author of the bestselling book Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America's First Female Rocket Scientist. His current project is promoting STEM studies through science-themed theatre. He can be found online at www.georgedmorgan.com.
Nesby, Carolyn Joyce a Certified Community Health Worker for the State of Texas after graduating from the first class of Austin Public Health CHW Program in September 2022. I have been doing this type of work for 40 years before a title name was attached. I love helping people and I love my position to help more people gain strength, see love with skin on it and know that they are not forgotten. Odekirk, Lillian (Lily) is an applied theatre artist and professor at Emerson College in the graduate program of Applied Theatre and Theatre Education. Her teaching focuses on drama-based and critical pedagogies, and her research and artistic practices engage with autoethnography, Youth Participatory Action Research, digital storytelling, and archive. Recent projects include: a two-year Performing Justice Project residency with Travis County Juvenile Justice (Austin, TX); co-producing Notch Theatre’s Wild Home (Washington, PA and D.C.); facilitating Drama for Schools/The Applied Drama Institute (Austin, TX and Warsaw, Poland). Lily was the 2025 Artistic Producer of the Cohen New Works Festival and the 2024 recipient of the Don and Elizabeth Doyle Fellowship. She holds an MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities (The University of Texas at Austin), a BA in English and Theatre (Wellesley College), and a masters certificate in documentary film (Maine College of Art and Design). Palomo, Madison (She/They/Ella) is a performer, theatremaker, and educator from the Rio Grande Valley based in Austin, TX. Palomo is an MFA candidate at the University of Texas at Austin, studying Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities, and is the recipient of the Don and Elizabeth Doyle Graduate Fellowship 2025. In Austin, Palomo has worked with the community theatres as a teaching artist, actor, writer, and collaborator, including Glass Half Full Theatre, where she toured nationally as an actor/teaching artist with their one-woman object puppetry show, Cenicienta. Her most recent works include Things That Happen To A Girl Walking To A Bus Stop, premiering in The Cohen New Works Festival, and Abuela, which premiered in the Austin Puppet Incident Festival, a collaboration between Glass Half Full Theatre and Troubled Puppet Theatre Company. Ragsdale, Darwin is a local entertainer, from acting in local stage plays around town for all ages you may have seen him at City Theater in Rumors as Glenn, Georgetown Palace Theater in Stop Kiss as George, or Walking Shadow's Julius Caesar Antony and Cleopatra as Casca, to entertaining and cracking jokes on a bus with a band for birthday, bachelor and bachelorette parties or even at your local bar doing stand up comedy for strictly adults Darwin has range. If you'd like to catch a performance oh his, you can find him at the upcoming rendition of the Odd Couple as Felix Unger at Austin City Theater May 1st-17th
Raji, Annase is a Nigerian artist, educator, and community advocate who uses theatre to create positive social change. She has a BA in Theatre and Film Arts, an MA in International and Intercultural Communication, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities. She has a strong background in teaching and working with young people, including supporting youth facing serious mental health challenges. She has also led over 500 volunteers in community service projects. Her research focuses on how creative drama can help young people share their stories and speak up for themselves. Robinson, Carley is a theatre practitioner and graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin studying Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities. As a facilitator, she holds space for participants to explore the bounds of their humanity, and bring that humanity forward into our most ideal community. Carley centers deep listening, vulnerable sharing, and bold imagination to help communities explore and solve the issues that matter most to them. Rosa, Lauren is an Evaluation Associate at the St. David's Foundation in Austin, Texas. She holds a Master of Social Work with a concentration in policy and administration and a certificate in school social work. Her work with drama-based pedagogy includes graduate coursework with Dr. Kathryn Dawson at UT Austin and direct service with the SAFE Alliance's Expect Respect program, a drama-based relationship violence prevention initiative for high school youth. At the Drama for Schools Symposium, she will facilitate a model lesson centered on reading The Curious Garden by Peter Brown.
Salvatore, Joe is a Clinical Professor and Director of Educational Theatre at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, where he teaches courses in ethnodrama, verbatim performance, and communityengaged theatre, and co-leads the MA in Theatre for Social and Civic Engagement. He also serves as the Vice Chair for Academic Affairs for the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions. In 2017, Joe founded the Verbatim Performance Lab (VPL), which, under his direction, has created over 30 video and live performance projects exploring a range of political, cultural, and social topics and facilitated outreach and education programs throughout the United States. Current projects include an international research collaboration examining how interview-based verbatim performance interventions can disrupt discrimination in healthcare delivery and an interview project examining perceptions of migration in the United States. Joe is the author of "Creating Ethnodrama: A Theatrical Approach to Research" (Guilford Press).
Schenker-Fulcher, Meghan serves as the Director of Women for Madison at James Madison University, where she leads a philanthropic giving group dedicated to providing critical scholarship support for JMU students. She oversees fundraising, engagement, and programming efforts and works closely with the Women for Madison Executive Advisory Council, a volunteer leadership group that supports fundraising initiatives and signature events throughout the year. Meghan brings 20 years of experience in education, having spent two decades in K–12 prior to transitioning to higher education. Her background includes 10 years as an elementary educator and 10 years as an instructional coach in Albemarle County Schools and Harrisonburg City Public Schools, where she supported teacher development and instructional growth. Committed to community service, Meghan has been active in local leadership since moving to Harrisonburg in 2017. She currently serves as Chair of the Harrisonburg Education Foundation, is an active Rotarian, and will begin serving as an Area Governor for her Rotary District in July. Smith, Lauren is a middle school teacher and professional development designer facilitator, and yoga teacher based in Austin, Texas. After over a decade in stage management and teaching artistry, she spent the past seven years as an English and AVID teacher and AVID Site Coordinator at Bedichek Middle School in Austin ISD. Her areas of research and practice include effective campus-based professional learning, trauma-informed instruction, and the impacts of high-stakes accountability policies on student learning and teacher wellbeing. She holds an MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.Ed. from Breathe for Change in Social Emotional Learning, and a BFA in Stage Management from Webster University. In the fall of 2026, she will begin a PhD program in Educational and Community Leadership at Texas State University. She's an avid hiker, an aspiring biker, and loves books, dogs, and crocheting. Zhang, Xinyue (she/her) creates artistic and educational experiences for and with young people. She has collaborated with theatres and art museums nationwide and internationally. Her work focused on facilitating art-based collaborations that activate art spaces with wonder, care, and curiosity and invite deep reflection on inclusivity and access to the arts for all ages. She holds an M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently serves as the Community Programs Manager at the Coterie Theatre. Zhiyi, Chen Irene is a playwright, intimacy choreographer, and theatre educator. Chen seeks delight in creating opportunities for people to see themselves fully and build community from a place of spontaneity and honesty. In the classroom, they nurture a commitment to culturally responsive and consent-based practices. Their artistic work dives into in-between spaces with relentless honesty and powerful tenderness, searching for belonging through queer and cross-cultural experiences. Chen graduated from Brown University with a B.A. (Honors) in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies and Education Studies, and is currently pursuing an M.F.A. in Theatre with a specialization in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities at the UT-Austin.