23
I n c i t e /I ns i ght
W i n te r 201 8
Giving Back and
Paying It Forward
W R I T T EN BY JOAN LAZARUS
Like many of us, I was drawn
to theatre and education by
a love of the art form and a
desire to change the world.
While teaching and working as
a director, actor, and teaching
artist for pre-K through high
school youth in community
based and school theatre
programs, I became active
in professional state and
regional theatre education
organizations. It was there—
due to the generosity of
more experienced artists and
educators who answered my
questions, included me on
planning committees, and
challenged me with bold, new
practices—that I came to feel
like I belonged in this work, it
was my home. Their mentorship
and encouragement made me
hungry to know and do more
and planted the awareness I
had something to give and give
back.
I decided to return to grad
school to focus on theatre
and drama with youth as
an artist and ultimately as a
professor in higher education.
The catalyst for this move
was a conversation I had at
a professional state theatre
conference. Gerry Siks, a well–
known author on drama, was
presenting and I attended her
session. She approached me,
found out my interests and,
after watching me participate
in another artist’s session,
urged me to pursue a career
teaching drama and theatre
education at the college
level. I was overwhelmed by
whatever it was that made
her reach out to a stranger
with such encouragement.
She suggested a grad
school to attend. The head
of that program was at this
conference and he thought the
best fit for me was at Arizona
State University (ASU) where
they then were building into
a comprehensive graduate
program. These two very
senior leaders in our field not
only encouraged me, but they
offered practical suggestions
and introductions that showed
investment in me individually
and the spirit of giving back to
their field by guiding others in it.
It was in grad school that
I first realized that selfishly
gathering best practices,
research and insights from
my peers and leaders in the
field was not what it meant to
be a professional in our field.
What my mentors and their
colleagues were teaching me
was the art of giving back and
subsequently paying it forward
to the end that the field would
grow, survive and, hopefully,
thrive for generations. This was
the spirit that led them to lead
me to American Alliance for
Theater & Education (AATE) and
a decades-long involvement in
the organization and the field.
I was fortunate to attend grad
school with Dr. Lin Wright who
then was heading the Child
Drama program at ASU and
serving as president of the
Children’s Theatre Association
of America (CTAA,) a national
organization that would soon
become AATE. The importance
of rigor and excellence in the
work of CTAA was always at the
forefront of Lin’s thought, for she
fervently believed that, through
commitment to excellence, our
field would grow in respect and
recognition thus enabling us to
better serve young people, their
families, schools and
communities. Through Lin’s
example, and that of her
colleagues around the
country*, I am and my fellow
grad students quickly learned
that everyone in this field needs
to serve, be an advocate for the
importance of this work, give
back and pay forward. AATE
and state and regional
professional organizations are
driven primarily by volunteers.
Our field’s success grows
in proportion to how much we
each give back to these
organizations. Our work must
24
In c it e / In sig h t
expand beyond ourselves and
our time. Lin instilled in us the
need to serve our field by being
of service to others – by working
with theatres and teachers in
the community, by volunteering
on committees and projects,
attending and presenting
theatre and drama sessions
at local, state and national
conferences and by honoring
the contributions of those who
were groundbreakers in the
work we wanted to pursue. She
found ways for us to attend and
present at national conferences,
do research for the field and work
with those on the front lines.
By the time I graduated, through
the example of those before me, I
was organizing a pre-conference
on the (new at the time) field
of Theatre-in-Education (TIE),
heading up a small initiative to
bring in more advertisers to our
publications, presenting at the
national conference, and most
important to me – learning from
some of the best thinkers in our
field. Whatever I gave, I got back
ten-fold in wisdom, knowledge
and collegiality. Following in
their footsteps, I was able to
be active in the transition from
CTAA to AATY to AATE and had
the privilege of working on the
first AATE conference and serving
on the first Board. I was elected
president soon after and served
six years on the Board. Inspired
by the work of leaders in youth
theatre, professional TYA, applied
theatre and drama, playwriting
and devising, I blended my
university work with the mission
of AATE and vice versa. Starting
W int e r 2 018
the National Conference of
Youth Theatre Directors, a pre-
conference for professional TYA
Directors, Think Tanks on Teaching
Theatre and the Education of
Theatre Teachers, Leadership
Forums, Research Forums,
Advisory Councils all allowed
me to engage my students in
this field and their professional
organization. AATE provided
me with some of my closest
colleagues and best friends. The
organization drew on every skill
I had and challenged me to do
more, know more and be more
for our children, my students
and the professional artists and
educators who would serve them.
I came to feel that my real work
was to shed enough light on the
best work in the field so that those
coming behind me might build
on the modest work I had done,
to be able to reach farther and
accomplish more than I could.
That’s what AATE can do. It allows
us the privilege of service that
gifts us with so many benefits
while allowing us the privilege of
gifting the next leaders like my
leaders encouraged me.
JOAN LAZARUS is a teacher,
artist, researcher and writer.
Her practice is collaborative,
democratic and based in
dialogue about issues of
personal and social import. Her
book, Signs of Change: New
Directions in Theatre Education,
focuses on theatre education
practices that are learner-
centered, holistic and socially
responsible. She is Professor
Emerita at The University of
Texas at Austin.
*Among those active in our field
whose example early inspired
me were Gerry Siks, Agnes
Haaga, Nellie McCaslin, Dorothy
Heathcote, Bill Rough, Orlin
Corey, Ruth Beall Heinig, Moses
Goldberg, Jed Davis, Coleman
Jennings, Tom Behm, Ann Shaw,
Ginny Koste, Judy Kase Cooper,
Don Doyle, and many, many
other artists, scholars and
practitioners.