Colorado Thespians Teacher Conference
Friday, September 22nd
Sheraton Hotel Downtown Denver
Check In: 8:30 am
Breakfast 8:30-9:30 am
Chapter Director Welcome & Updates 9:30-10am |
Session 1: 10:15-11:15 | ||
Devised Theater | Introducing Devised Theatre to Young Artists, Samwell Rose, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities | Tower Court A |
Tech / Performance | Props to Engage Scene Work, Nick Taylor, Community College of Denver | Tower Court B |
Directing | Putting the Fun in Fundamentals of Directing, High School focus, Sam Wood & Patrick Elkins Zelgarski, Denver Center Education Team | Tower Court C |
Special Interest/ Mental Health | No One Hears You Unless You Scream, Colorado Arts & Artists Associates/ Pignanelli Partners Roxy Pignanelli & Kennedy Pugh | Tower Court D |
Tech | DMX made Easy. How it works ( and doesn’t work) , Carmel Alston, Oasis Stage Werks | Gold Room |
Networking | Middle School Educator Resource Share and Conference Updates, Colorado Thespians | Spruce Room |
Session 2: 11:30-12:30 | ||
Devised Theater | Introducing Devised Theatre to Young Artists, Samwell Rose, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities | Tower Court A |
Tech / Performance | Props to Engage Scene Work, Nick Taylor, Community College of Denver | Tower Court B |
Directing | Putting the Fun in Fundamentals of Directing, High School focus, Sam Wood & Patrick Elkins Zelgarski, Denver Center Education Team | Tower Court C |
Special Interest/ Mental Health | No One Hears You Unless You Scream, Colorado Arts & Artists Associates/ Pignanelli Partners Roxy Pignanelli & Kennedy Pugh | Tower Court D |
Tech | DMX made Easy. How it works ( and doesn’t work) , Carmel Alston, Oasis Stage Werks | Gold Room |
Networking | Middle School Educator Resource Share and Conference Updates, Colorado Thespians | Spruce Room |
Lunch & Awards 12:30-2:00 |
Session 3: 2:15-3:15 | ||
Acting | Improv Circus, David Saphier, Denver Center Education Team | Tower Court A |
Acting | Saving Shakespeare, Jennifer McCray Rincón, Visionbox Studio | Tower Court B |
Playwriting | Launching Playwriting, Jason Lemire, TIFE Theater | Tower Court C |
CTE | CTE Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology Pathway, Shelley Goerdt, Jefferson County Public Schools; CarrieAnn Mathis, CO Community College System | Tower D |
Tech | How Your Sound System Works, and How to Replace It! Ben Bridgewater, DL Adams and Associates | Gold Room |
Special Interest | Business and Marketing Your Shows and Programs, Tyler Dickerson, On the Stage | Spruce Room |
Session 4: 3:30-4:30 | ||
Acting | Improv Circus, David Saphier, Denver Center Education Team | Tower Court A |
Acting | Saving Shakespeare, Jennifer McCray Rincón, Visionbox Studio | Tower Court B |
Playwriting | Launching Playwriting, Jason Lemire, TIFE Theater | Tower Court C |
CTE | CTE Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology Pathway, Shelley Goerdt, Jefferson County Public Schools; CarrieAnn Mathis, CO Community College System | Tower D |
Tech | How Your Sound System Works, and How to Replace It! Ben Bridgewater, DL Adams and Associates | Gold Room |
Special Interest | Business and Marketing Your Shows and Programs, Tyler Dickerson, On the Stage | Spruce Room |
Social Hour w/ Music 4:30-5:30
Colleague Networking
Registration includes ticket for one free beverage
2023 Colorado Thespians Educator Awards
2023 Hall of Fame
John Kron, retired educator
High School Educator of the Year
Tim Brown, Smoky Hill High School
Middle School Educator of the Year
Emily Hoch-Windus, Doral Academy Colorado
Administrator of the Year
Krista Keogh, Cherry Creek High School
Community Contributor of the Year
Christy O’Connell-Black, Greeley Central High School /
University of Northern Colorado
Colorado Thespians 2023 Teacher Conference
Workshop Title | Presenter | Brief Description |
Improv Circus | David Saphier - Denver Center Theatre Education | Games, Tips and treats to engage middle/high school students of all levels and abilities. |
PUTTING THE FUN IN DIRECTING FUNDAMENTALS | Sam Wood and Patrick Elkins-Zelgarski - Denver Center Theatre Education | Exploring directing concepts, activities and techniques with middle/high school students of all levels and abilities |
No One Hears You Unless You Scream | Roxy Pignanelli & Kennedy Pugh, Arts & Artists Associates/ Pignanelli Partners | Navigating the arts and mental health. This workshop will explore the suicide prevention arts project that is making a difference with our young people. This workshop explores the comprehensive structure that is needed from development, safe messaging, and working with mental health organizations. |
Saving Shakespeare | Jennifer McCray Rincón Visionbox Studio Head of Acting, National Theatre Conservatory Yale School of Drama | The Shakespeare workshops will first go over rules of scansion and the meaning of “articulated thought” in acting Shakespeare. After some interactive lecture, actors from the Visionbox Ensemble will perform a short scene and some monologues and Ms. Rincón will work with the actors giving adjustments and demonstrating the principles outlined above. Solo Shakespeare projects will also be part of the presentation. |
Introducing Devised Theatre to Young Artists | Samwell Rose (they/them), Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities | Do you want to empower young people to develop new work and share their stories? Local theatre artist Samwell Rose will overview simple devising methodology (including Tectonic’s Moment Work) and tools you and your students can use to effectively incubate original work using all of the theatrical elements—and get a taste of creating small devised moments yourself. |
Props to Engage Scene Work | Nick Taylor, Community College of Denver | In this hands-on workshop we will apply props making on-the-fly to engage creative character development and creation choices, deepen script analysis and create engaging work. |
Launching Playwriting | Jason Lemire - TIFE Theater | Award-winning educator and playwright Jason Lemire has designed a totally unique approach to teaching middle/high school students the art and craft of playwriting. Jason uses all sorts of unexpected hooks to help students feel confident about their ability as writers and storytellers. By the end of the session you will be inspired to run your own! |
Business and Marketing, On the Stage | Tyler Dickerson, On the Stage | Description Coming Soon! |
How your sound system works, and how to replace it ! | Ben Bridgewater, DL Adams and Associates | This workshop will layout the basic equipment in a sound system and provide useful insights on how to make it perform better. Ben will also cover how a Theatrical Consultant selects Sound equipment for new and refurbed High School projects. How they determine what gear is best suited to High School use. He has an MA in Architecture with an emphasis in Acoustics, and a BA in Acoustics. There will be time for Q and A at the end. |
DMX made Easy. How it works ( and doesn’t work ) | Carmel Alston, Oasis Stage Werks | Learn the rules of successfully using this Universal standard for transmitting data around your lighting system. Learn common terms and what they mean. Learn how to troubleshoot LED’s and moving lights. Time for Q and A at the end. |
CTE Technical Theatre Theatre Design & Technology | CarrieAnn Mathis, Colorado Community College System Shelley Goerdt, Jeffco Public Schools | Learn about the aspects of getting a CTE program approval for your CTE Technical Theatre/Theatre Design & Technology. Hear about the new updated documents and requirements in the Gateway. Need to get your local CTSO approved? Get examples of a CTSO Program of Work to submit for your program. Meet the CTE Program Director for Engineering, Technology, and Media Arts for Colorado. |
Middle School Networking | Alexa Wynschenk-Ring, Campus Middle School, Colorado Thespians Board Member | Discuss the issues relevant to a middle school teacher’s day to day life with others in your field.
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High School Networking | Ty Eatherton, Lakewood High School, Colorado Thespians Board Member Dr. Mary Schuttler, Univ. of Northern Colorado, Colorado Thespians Board Member | Discuss the issues relevant to a high school teacher’s day to day life with others in your field. Pose questions re: mainstage screening process |