The Dramatists Guild's Institute for Field Learning Announces National Teach-In for Art and Healing

The Dramatists Guild's Institute for Field Learning has announced a National Teach-In for Art and Healing on Friday, February 26 to Sunday, February 28.

Designed to help theatre professionals of all disciplines keep their artistic spirits kindled during this long, difficult winter lockdown, workshops will cover writing, solo performance, movement, song, project development, design, and creative self-care.

Workshops will include "Even When You're Angry, There Will Be Joy" led by Byron Au Yong, "Sparking 'Something': Unleashing Big Stories in Small Ways" led by Karen Zacarías, "Exploring Impulse & Action: Channeling Instinct, Emotion, & Imagination in the Actor's Work" led by Danyon Davis, "Writing, Wronging, and In Between--Writing as a Balance of Risks" led by Erik Ehn, "Creating Your Own Solo Performance" led by Madeline Sayet, "A Bag of Water and a Pin: Telling Stories with Ordinary Stuff" led by Rachel Hauck, "Sustaining Your Artistic Spirit" led by Masi Asare, "Tapping Back In: Meditative Moments & Free Writing" led by Emily Mann, "This is Who I Am: Remember, Reclaim, Redefine" led by Evren Odcikin, and "NOW: Performance as Archive" led by Tamilla Woodard.

"For so many theatre makers, the COVID lockdown has had the double impact of keeping them from the place of their art and, in a profound way, keeping them from themselves, from the excitement and vital discovery that come from working together or creating toward something," stated Todd London, Director of the Dramatists Guild Institute of Field Learning and host of the National Teach-In. "Our Teach-In is designed to address this inner quarantine. It's designed to surround participants with creative community, to put them in conversation with brilliant, eclectic workshop leaders. The goal of the weekend is to kindle inspiration, to stir creative movement, even though we don't yet know when our theatre will return or what it will look like. In the meantime, we can come together and learn. We can come together and feed our artistic fires."

Dates and Times:

The Teach-In begins on Friday, February 26 at 6:30pm EST/3:30 PST.

Friday, February 26 from 6:30pm to 10:30pm EST.

Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, February 28 from 10:30am to 7:30pm EST.

There will be three half-hour breaks on Saturday and Sunday.

Participants can register for all three days or for two days (either Friday and Saturday, or Friday and Sunday)

The Teach-In will be hosted by Todd London (Director, Dramatists Guild Institute of Field Learning)

Workshop Artists:

Todd London is the Director of Field Learning at the Dramatists Guild and on faculty at the New School. The former artistic director of New Dramatists, he is the author of numerous books, including An Ideal Theater, Outrageous Fortune: The Life and Times of the New American Play, and most recently This Is Not My Memoir with Andre Gregory, and If You See Him, Let Me Know, a novel.

Byron Au Yong is a composer and educator who creates music for chamber ensembles, moving choirs, contemporary dance, short films, museum installations, site-specific locations, taiko groups, and theatre performances. Honors include a Creative Capital Award and Time Warner Foundation Fellowship. He teaches in Performing Arts and Social Justice at the University of San Francisco, located on occupied Ohlone land.

Karen Zacarías is one of the most produced playwrights in the nation. She is one of the inaugural Resident Playwrights at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, and is a core founder of the LATINX THEATRE COMMONS. She is the founder of Young Playwrights' Theater, an award-winning theatre company that teaches playwriting in local public schools in Washington, DC.

Danyon Davis is head of the MFA at The American Conservatory Theatre and former head of movement at Stella Adler Studio. Davis has performed in classical, contemporary, and experimental plays throughout the U.S. and Europe. A former associate with Bill T. Jones and with the SITI Co., Davis also performed, taught, and directed for many years with the Guthrie Theater.

Erik Ehn's work includes The Saint Plays, No Time Like the Present, Beginner, Erratics (with puppet artist Dan Hurlin), Clouded Sulphur (with puppet artist Janie Geiser), and Vireo (w/composer Lisa Bielawa). The Soulographie project, a series of 17 plays on U.S. history from the point of view of its genocides, was produced at La MaMa, NY, 2012. Founder and Co-Artistic Director, Tenderloin Opera Company. Recent graduate of the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley California (MTS). Currently visiting professor, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

Rachel Hauck is a set designer based in New York. She designs new plays and musicals on Broadway, Off Broadway, and for regional theatre, frequently working on world premiere productions. She has taught at Brown University, Vassar College, NYU, Cal Arts and currently teaches at Princeton University. She remains dedicated to new play development and the education of young artists.

Madeline Sayet is a citizen of the Mohegan Tribe and the Executive Director of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program. For her work as a director, writer, and performer she has been honored as a Forbes 30 Under 30, TED Fellow, MIT Media Lab Director's Fellow, National Directing Fellow, Native American 40 Under 40, and a recipient of The White House Champion of Change Award from President Obama.

Masi Asare is a composer, lyricist, and playwright. A past Dramatists Guild Fellow, Masi won the inaugural Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award for a woman composer of musicals, as well as awards for composition and lyrics from the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, a Theater Hall of Fame Emerging Artist Grant, and the Stacey Mindich "Go Write A Musical" Lilly Award. An advisory board member for MAESTRA Music, she holds a BA from Harvard and a PhD from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in performance studies. She is Assistant Professor of Theatre at Northwestern University.

Emily Mann is a Tony-nominated playwright and director and the Tony Award-winning Artistic Director and Resident Playwright Emerita of the McCarter Theatre Center, where she wrote 15 new plays/adaptations, directed over 50, and produced 180 productions.

Evren Odcikin is a theatre director, writer, and arts administrator with a deep commitment to championing underrepresented voices in the American theatre. He serves as the Associate Artistic Director at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and is a founding member of the MENA Theater Maker Alliance steering committee, a founder of Maia Directors, and a resident artist at Golden Thread Productions.

Tamilla Woodard is the recently named co-Artistic Director of the Working Theater and former Bold associate artistic director at WP Theater. She is the co-founder of the site specific theater partnership, PopUP Theatrics, which has created immersive and participatory theatre for audiences in Europe, South America, Mexico and the US since 2007. Recently named one of 50 Women To Watch on Broadway, Tamilla is also the recipient of The Josephine Abady Award from The League of Professional Theatre Women and The Charles Bowden Award from New Dramatists.

Prospective Schedule:

Friday

Byron Au Yong: "Even When You're Angry, There Will Be Joy."

Karen Zacarías: "Sparking 'Something': Unleashing Big Stories in Small Ways"

Saturday

Danyon Davis: "Exploring Impulse & Action: Channeling Instinct, Emotion, & Imagination in the Actor's Work".

Erik Ehn: "Writing, Wronging, and In Between--Writing as a Balance of Risks."

Rachel Hauck: "A Bag of Water and a Pin: Telling Stories with Ordinary Stuff."

Madeline Sayet: "Creating Your Own Solo Performance"

Sunday

Masi Asare: "Sustaining Your Artistic Spirit"

Emily Mann: "Tapping Back In: Meditative Moments & Free Writing"

Evren Odcikin: "This is Who I Am: Remember, Reclaim, Redefine"

Tamilla Woodard: "NOW: Performance as Archive"

Please note that schedule and participants are subject to change.

The Dramatists Guild Institute offers hands-on, rigorous training for writers at all skill levels, providing students with an engaging and empowering educational experience. Now, more than ever, the opportunities for self-expression and connection through storytelling sustain us and reinforce our community of dramatists. www.dginstitute.org.

The Dramatists Guild of America is the national, professional membership trade association of theatre writers including playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists. The Guild was established for the purpose of aiding dramatists in protecting both the artistic and economic integrity of their work.

To learn more about fees and registration, please visit: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/product/dgi-field-learning-national-teach-art-healing

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