Welcome Remarks:
- Alexandra Socarides, Emerson Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
- Alexis Truitt, Executive Director, American Alliance for Theatre & Education
Framing and Goal Setting, Symposium Co-Chairs Lizzy Cooper Davis and Dana Edell
Community Grounding and Activation: Elisa Hamilton and Gillian Epstein
Re-Emerging TogetherElisa Hamilton and Gillian Epstein created "Re-Emerging Together" in the Summer of 2021, funded by the Sketch Model program at Olin College of Engineering. After experiencing prolonged social isolation due to the pandemic, Elisa and Gillian felt that reconnecting in groups was particularly meaningful. They wondered if there was a way to mindfully come back together, as a way to honor the significance of the moment, peel a few layers past small talk, and get to know one another in new ways. "Re-Emerging Together: An Activity" was designed as a mode for activating conversations, as well as a way for participants to share what they wondered, learned, and celebrated in the course of their isolation and re-emergence. Four years later, Elisa and Gillian have adapted this model to speak to our current moment. While the original activity asked participants to look back and consider their internal experiences of the pandemic, the updated activity has a more outward focus on the present. We ask participants to consider and share what they question, embrace, and imagine in our current time of uncertainty. In this playful workshop, participants will ponder timely questions, share, listen, learn, and leave with a tool to engage others in meaningful conversation in the classroom and beyond.
