Young Latina Protagonists: New TYA Plays Put Mexican-American Girls Center Stage
Terrific piece by Roxanne Schroeder-Arce on young Latina protagonists in TYA theatres in the USA.
Walking Through the World: Reflecting on an Immersive Fairytale
Great article/interview on the TYA/USA blog.
Censorship and Self-censorship/De la censure et de l’autocensure.." by Suzanne LeBeau
I began to write for young audiences thirty years ago because I wasn’t happy with the plays for these audiences that I was performing in. I had fallen in love with an « unformatted » audience. I wanted to offer children the best theatre: accessible, democratic, contemporary, new. But new compared to what? There was no repertoire to point the way, few models to reject or contest.
"Playwriting and Specific Audiences: Strategies for Understanding and Reaching Those Audiences", by Suzanne Lebeau (Canada)
On May 29, 2014, two days of the ASSITEJ Congress and Festival in Warsaw were dedicated to playwriting, coordinated and curated by Zbigniew Rudzinski of the Children’s Art Center in Poznan.
The playwriting platform began with a talk by Suzanne Lebeau from Montreal addressing to topic of Playwriting and specific audiences: strategies for understanding and reaching these audiences. Can authors who write for children escape the double authority of the author over the audience and the adult over the child?
Musings from a Reluctant Playwright by Meredyth Pederson (USA)
Teaching Artist. Dramaturg. Theatre-Maker. Director. Collaborator. Stage Manager. Actor.
This is a sampling of the many artist labels I’ve used to describe myself and the work that I do in the field of theatre for young audiences. Recently, a new one has surfaced somewhat unexpectedly for me:
playwright
You know that thing you swore you’d never do, never be able to figure out? That thing you admired, but didn’t understand. That thing you didn’t know how to start. For me, that thing was and is playwriting.
"The Hundred Languages of Children: Language and Theatre" by Emelie FitzGibbon
The child has
A hundred languages.
So has theatre. And the very young child doesn’t even try to distinguish how meaning is created: gesture, atmosphere, sound, light, dynamics, physical presence, openess of the performer’s body, face, rhythm, pacing, engagement, comfort, safety are all as valuable as the words: all are new and exciting places to explore and mine for meaning. Well maybe theatre hasn’t quite a hundred languages ... but it has a multiplicity and all of them contribute to making the meaning of a performance and all of them re-inforce one another, deepening clarification of meaning and experiences.
How Theatre for Young People Can Save The World
From US Playwright Lauren Gunderson, a wonderful essay on the importance of empathy, something theater teaches us.
Tony Mack honoured as a Member of The Order of Australia
On 26 January 2014, as part of the Australia Day celebrations, Tony Mack was named a Member of the Order of Australia, his country's highest honor. Tony has had a long and distinguished career in the performing arts, with an emphasis on theater for young audiences. He is presently co-founder and co-editor of the Write Local. Play Global. network for TYA playwrights. Previously he served as Vice President of ASSITEJ International, Editor of Lowdown Magazine and has appeared in many films and plays.