Call for Paragraphs on the Pedagogy of the Now

Theatre Topics invites submissions of short reflective descriptions of activities, exercises, assignments, and scripts currently used in the theatre and performance classroom for a March 2025 special section on the pedagogy of the now. We seek paragraphs of no more than 300 words about how theatre educators are meeting the needs of today’s students.

How has your teaching changed since 2019? How are you responding to generative AI, political division on campus, the climate crisis, or administrative cutbacks in arts programming and diversity initiatives? What exercises or assignments meet the various needs of post-pandemic students? What scripts or performances pair well for analysis or classroom discussion? What activities help students navigate concepts of live performance today? What assignment prompts excite students?

We seek submissions from educators with a range of experiences from a variety of institutions teaching any theatre or performance-related topic. This special section will offer Theatre Topics readers a pedagogical resource as well as a snapshot of current practices and innovations.

Submissions should describe and reflect on one contemporary pedagogical practice currently being used by the author in a theatre or performance classroom. These practices might include, but are not limited to:

  • Discussion prompts
  • Classroom exercises
  • Assignment descriptions
  • Pairings of scripts or performances
  • Adaptations of activities
  • New or changed syllabus language
  • New or changed course policies
  • New approaches to grading
  • Practical application of theory
  • Interdisciplinary approaches
  • Responses to a specific campus issue

Submissions will be reviewed and edited by the Theatre Topics editorial team. Email your paragraph, along with a short biography, to Editorial Assistant Dr. Katie Van Winkle at vanwinkle@utexas.edu by October 25, 2024.