Amplify & Ignite: Creative Practice in and With Communities

Hearing Our History: The Sonic of Historic Sonic Happenings

The Society of Historic Sonic Happenings
Presenter: Adrienne Kapstein

This presentation will profile The Society of Historic Sonic Happenings (SHSH): an immersive, participatory performance and sound art project about the hidden histories of our surroundings. At its core, SHSH is a playful invitation for deep listening, inspiring curiosity for what came before us. The work occurs in partnership with the communities it seeks to serve, engaging audiences of all ages and abilities in thought-provoking dialogues and workshops that occur in situ before the work is presented. We are guided by the question: how can a radically inclusive understanding of a local community’s past help it unite and imagine its future?

The Search For Signs Of Meaningful Inclusion Of Disabled Students In The Public High School  Theater Universe
Presenter: Marianne Pillsbury

This paper seeks to illuminate qualitative research conducted on intentionally including disabled students, identified for special education services, in a public high school theater context. The findings are based on the experiences of a theater educator, artist, and scholar running a "unified theater" program where students with and without disabilities come together to create and present an original devised play. The author dramatizes what "meaningful inclusion" of students with disabilities (particularly autism, ADHD, and anxiety) looks, sounds and feels like by creatively interpreting field log observations and participant interviews in the form of an ethnotheatre-inspired play referencing popular theatre forms including musical theater.

Reimagining Technique: Teaching Theatre Skills in a Changing World
Nigel Semaj
 As we face an uncertain world marked by divisions and transformations, theatre education holds immense potential to bridge gaps, foster connections, and amplify community wisdom. Yet, we find ourselves at a crossroads: How do we teach foundational acting, movement, and voice techniques in ways that resonate with today's learners while staying attuned to the urgent social and cultural concerns of our time? This session invites theatre educators, artists, and scholars to collectively imagine new approaches to teaching theatre skills that are experiential, embodied, and rooted in the realities of our students' lives. How might our classrooms whether on campus, in community centers, or other shared spaces serve as places where techniques are not only learned but also practiced as tools for connection, reflection, and change? How do we engage Gen Z learners, who crave immediacy, application, and purpose, while nurturing their artistry and critical awareness? Through facilitated dialogue and collaborative inquiry, we will explore how reimagining the ways we teach and assess technique can better reflect the cultural brilliance found in classrooms, schoolyards, kitchens, and street corners. Together, we will grapple with questions about the role of performing arts education in movements for justice, equity, and community-building. This session is not about presenting answers but about sharing questions, reflecting on challenges, and envisioning possibilities. How can our pedagogical practices foster artistry that both honors tradition and amplifies contemporary concerns? What can we learn from the beautiful failures and inspiring successes in our work as we adapt to meet the needs of this generation and the communities we serve?