CSUN: A Conversation About Theatre Pedagogy and Practice

In the midst of a media whirlwind that hurls headlines of the slow painful death of theatre as an art form, it is grounding and rejuvenating to work with those who are on the forefront of changing our industry.

Because, I truly believe, theatre is not dying—it is evolving. And these doom-centered headlines are the last gasps of those who are clinging onto the practices of the past.

The performing arts have thrived as long as humans have. Historical plagues and genocides have not erased these practices, and despite its best efforts to conform all performance practices, colonialism failed to erase the diverse beauty of styles, philosophies, and stories communicated through performance practices worldwide.

Today, I had the honor of working with theatre faculty at CSU Northridge, thanks to the gracious invitation of Sonia Norris, Assistant Faculty of Acting there. I led a TIE Best Practices workshop, and the group brought lively questions and conversations into the room. We talked about theatre as evolving. And, based on my conversations with the brilliant Valerie Clayton Pye, we discussed theatre pedagogy as technology in need of an update. And the faculty at CSUN was excited by the possibility of moving forward in new and different ways, and of meeting their students’ changing needs.

They were especially grateful for my reminder that we have inherited a theatre industry and practice in its current form, but we get to decide what we want to pass on—and how to do it.