Teach or Present at TEC

Submit a Workshop or Research Roundtable Proposal

Deadline: February 26, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET 

Educational workshops and research roundtables are a highlight of the TEC experience. If you’d like to submit a workshop or a submission for a research roundtable, please read the following guidelines before beginning your proposal. 

Note: You must be available for the entire event, June 22-24, 2025, to be selected.

What We're Looking For

For TEC 2025, we are seeking workshop proposals and research roundtable proposals!

Workshops

The Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) is seeking workshop proposals that support a broad spectrum of teaching and learning to further the professional growth of teaching artists, classroom teachers and other theatre arts education stakeholders. Proposals should support the conference's theme: Join the Ensemble – Creating the Future of Theatre Together.

Workshop evaluators will be looking for topics that inspire innovative thinking and collaborative teaching strategies. Workshop proposals that offer strategies for directing and technical theatre in the educational theatre space are of particular interest.

Workshops that support new theatre educators as well as inspire and re-invigorate experienced educators are welcomed.

Proposals should:

  • Demonstrate best thinking in the field.
  • Be informed by practice, theory/research, and experience.
  • Clearly explain how participants will learn and grow from your presentation.

Please be aware that EdTA receives many more proposals than we're able to accept, which unfortunately means turning away many excellent workshop ideas and presenters each year. To provide a wide and varied range of workshops and presenters to events, past participation does not guarantee acceptance at TEC 2025.

Research

To move our field forward and reflect innovation in research, practice, and dissemination, EdTA is seeking a wide range of research related to innovation in theatre education, drama and theatre for youth, and theatre/drama pedagogy to be presented at TEC's Research in Progress Roundtables. We invite diverse practitioners, scholars, and educators to the Teacher Education Conference to discuss their work and engage with others to strengthen their practice and scholarship. We welcome submissions from graduate students, early career scholars, PK-12 educators, college faculty, artists, and community-based scholars. Each roundtable will be facilitated by an accomplished arts education researcher and will include 3-5 research presenters, to maximize interaction and feedback opportunities.

For this call, innovation is defined as "a newly applied method, idea, or product; making changes to something existing by integrating something new; and/or radically re-imagining to improve." Innovation may be present in your work through teaching and learning design; within drama and theatre processes; educational, community, or audience engagement; and/or youth participation, voice, or action. In your submission, please ensure that you state how your research defines innovation and its possible impact and potential in the field.

Submission Types:

  • An abstract for a working paper (maximum 500 words, excluding references)
  • A brief working paper (maximum 1,000 words, excluding references)
  • A research poster that includes summarized information of the research methods, theoretical frame, and findings (submit as a PDF).
  • A 5-minute excerpt of an embodied performance video with an accompanying one-page document that briefly explains the research methods, theoretical frame, and findings.
  • 10-pages (max) of an ethnodrama script with an accompanying one-page document that briefly explains the research methods, theoretical frame, and findings.

Selection Process

Workshops are evaluated by a committee of educators using a field-tested scoring rubric that evaluates each proposed workshop's strength in:

  • Artistic excellence of the presenter and content
  • Educational merit in theatre framework and standards alignment, as well as achievable learning goals
  • Distinction in promoting access and belonging in theatre and alignment with culturally responsive instruction.
  • Relevance to the event's theme/goals, EdTA's mission, and important theatre learning

EdTA staff make the final selections based on scoring and scheduling needs.

Deadline: February 26, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET

Start Your Proposal Below