Workshops

It's a word seldom used for fear it sounds "unprofessional" or "too touchy feely." Love is a key ingredient to our humanity. What is the work of facilitating art if not celebrating our humanity in all its forms? With guidance based in bell hooks' All About Love, this workshop utilizes self-reflective activities, story circles, and small group connections to dig a little deeper into why we do what we do as managers of the performing arts and how we can incorporate LOVE into our practice. 

Typically offered at the beginning of each semester to our undergraduates at Auburn, this workshop gives young career performers the basic tools necessary to incorporate consent-based practices into their work. Tools shared include a definition of consent and the fundamental elements of intimacy direction, boundary check-ins, tap ins/tap outs, placeholders and buttons, as well as different techniques for entrances and closures. 

My training was received through Intimacy Directors and Coordinators and Theatrical Intimacy Education. 

Theatre is in a new stage of growth. As producers, educators, collaborators, and creators, we all agree that we want to promote a more sustainable and people-centered workplace. But, is it even possible? How will we finish tech if we don’t work 7 days a week? Is it possible to have all of the collaborators working 8 hours a day or less? What if we extend load-in days - won’t that exponentially increase our costs? If we add weeks of work to the schedule, how will we meet the deadlines we’ve set?

This workshop is a discussion with participants about creating a more sustainable working environment while maintaining the quality and rigor of our work in both the educational environment as well as the professional realm. Liz Haynes comes from a technical direction background and Sarah Chandler brings a stage and production management lens to the conversation. We share experiences - failure is a great teacher! - and ask for some of your stories. We offer a few specific ways we believe we can alter some of the practices within production in an effort to support all collaborators. We ask that you bring your ideas, too!

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Originally offered at Southeastern Theatre Conference in March 2023, co-presented with Elizabeth Haynes from Vanderbilt University.