TYA/USA Virtual Festival & Conference to Feature Appearances by Chelsea Clinton and More

TYA/USA, the national organization for Theatre for Young Audiences, will present the 2020 TYA/USA Virtual Festival & Conference May 14-16, 2020. Keynote speakers will include Chelsea Clinton, author of She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World, now a new musical developed and originally produced by Bay Area Children's Theatre; Dr. Yalda T. Uhls of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers; Amelia Brown, Founder of Emergency Arts; Brett Egan, President of the Devos Institute; Alex Coulombe, Creative Director of Agile Lens; Alan Brown and Dennie Palmer Wolf, Principals at WolfBrown.

Streaming performances from leading TYA companies will be presented on the new global theatrical streaming platform Broadway On Demand and will include Slingsby Theatre Company (Australia), Metro Theater Company (St. Louis, MO), Dallas Children's Theatre (Dallas, TX), Trusty Sidekick Theater Company (New York, NY), Theatre Heroes (Austin, TX), Bay Area Children's Theatre (Oakland, CA), and Spellbound Theatre (New York, NY).

Unable to meet together in Washington DC as planned, TYA/USA plans to virtually engage the largest audience of TYA professionals the organization has ever served through an event, reaching across the country and beyond to bring artists, educators, administrators, and theatres together. The Virtual Festival & Conference will provide powerful keynote speakers offering tools for managing the current moment and envisioning the future; dynamic discussions featuring voices from across our sector and offering a range of perspectives as the field contemplates the present; inspiring and joyful artistry through community creation projects; and exclusive streaming of exciting TYA productions to fuel creativity and hope.

"As our industry, and our world, face so much uncertainty for the future, it is vital for the TYA community to come together to navigate this crisis and envision a path forward. We know that it is and will continue to be essential for us to serve children and families nationwide. Together, we will figure out the ways we can creatively fulfill our mission while we experience the impact of the pandemic," says Jonathan Shmidt Chapman, Executive Director of TYA/USA. "Now is the moment for us all to unite with the loudest voice possible." In an effort to serve the largest audience possible, the event will be offered to everyone regardless of their ability to pay through our Access For All initiative.

Curated by TYA/USA, the national organization representing the field of Theatre for Young Audiences, the 2020 TYA/USA Virtual Festival & Conference is scheduled for May 14th - 16th, with conference content from 12pm EST to 4pm EST each day. Registration will go live April 30th and is being offered free for all registered participants.

Conference Highlights include:

• A featured Keynote Conversation with Chelsea Clinton about the creation of the new musical inspired by her best-selling book, She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World. Originally produced and developed by Bay Area Children's Theatre, Ms. Clinton will be in conversation with creators Deborah Wicks La Puma and Adam Tobin, along with director Khalia Davis and founder and executive artistic director of Bay Area Children's Theatre Nina Meehan.

• Keynote Addresses exploring strategies and insights in response to the COVID-19 crisis from Amelia Brown, Founder of Emergency Arts; Brett Egan, President of the Devos Institute; and Alan Brown and Dennie Palmer Wolf, Principals at WolfBrown.

• A Presentation exploring the latest in Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality technology and its applications to creating theatrical experiences from Alex Coulombe, Creative Director of Agile Lens.

• A Keynote Presentation featuring early results from a TYA/USA commissioned research study from Dr. Yalda T. Uhls and the Center for Scholars & Storytellers, a UCLA-based non-profit that looks to advance the art of youth-targeted storytelling by grounding its creative process in child development research and social science insight.

• A Keynote and Artistic Provocation from award-winning playwright and poet Idris Goodwin, as well as artistic provocations from Art Apart Together/Off the Page and Trusty Sidekick Theater Company to inspire participants to create.

• Cross-Community Dialogues featuring leaders from across the national TYA landscape, representing a diverse range of voices and perspectives in conversation about the issues we are currently facing as a field.

• "Singing for A Brighter Day: A Virtual TYA Song Slam" - Curated by Deborah Wicks La Puma, and featuring musicals that were delayed or cancelled due to COVID-19, as well as those currently in the works for the next season.

• Virtual Performances of :

  • Emil and the Detectives, adapted by Nicki Bloom (Slingsby Theatre Company, Adelaide, Australia)

  • Gretel, written by Jason Tremblay and Suzan Zeder, with original music by Jenn Hartman Luck (Theatre Heroes, Austin, TX)

  • And In This Corner... Cassius Clay, written by Idris Goodwin (Metro Theater Company, St. Louis MO)

  • The Boy at the Edge of Everything, written by Finegan Kruckemeyer (Trusty Sidekick, New York, NY)

  • The World Inside of Me created by Lauren Jost and Christine Dehne, with original music and lyrics by Jono Waldman (Spellbound Theatre, New York, NY/Chicago Children's Theatre, Chicago, IL).

  • Andi Boi, written by Bruce R. Coleman (Dallas Children's Theatre, Dallas, TX)

  • The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus written by Eric Coble (Metro Theater Company, St. Louis MO)

  • More to be announced in the coming days.

For more information and registration, visit www.tyausa.org/festival.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos