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Theatre for Young Audiences

In this section, you’ll find content all about theatre created with young people in mind. Dive into the conversation with this panel about writing TYA or this series on Latinx and Latin American TYA.

The Latest

Dear England/England Now
Essay
Dear England/England Now
by verity healey
19 October 2023
Producing Malawi’s First Multidisciplinary Arts Festival
Podcast
Producing Malawi’s First Multidisciplinary Arts Festival
by Fumbani Innot Phiri, Thomas Chibambo
9 January 2023
Reinventing Malawian Theatre for a New Generation
Podcast
Reinventing Malawian Theatre for a New Generation
by Fumbani Innot Phiri, Jack Musumba
7 December 2022
Two cast members kneel on stage in The Bluest Eye near the camera, while six others stand in the background.
The Shifting Landscape of Theatre for Young Audiences
Essay

The Shifting Landscape of Theatre for Young Audiences

Searching for (and Creating) New Maps

27 January 2013

Kim Peter Kovac on the changing landscape of Theater for Young Audiences, and the opportunities that presents.

The Twitter logo.
Thursday, December 6th Weekly Howl
Essay

Thursday, December 6th Weekly Howl

Theater For Young Audiences

5 December 2012

This week's Howl goes all the way with TYA

Photo of a wooded trail.
The Path
Essay

The Path

8 November 2012

Lindsay Price offers a meditation about working as a professional playwright for the school market.

In Search of the Artistic Home
Essay

In Search of the Artistic Home

25 May 2012

Jamie Gahlon has asked theater artists from around the country to talk about their personal search for an artistic home. Ashley Forman continues this series.

Friday Phone Call # 29
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 29

Peter Brosius of Children's Theatre Company Minneapolis

25 May 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Peter Brosius, Artistic Director of Children's Theatre Company.

Confessions of a Reluctant TYA Playwright
Essay

Confessions of a Reluctant TYA Playwright

25 May 2012

Sarah Gubbins reflects on the premiere of her play fml, its licensing, and the idea that the line between theater for young audiences and mainstream theater isn't so distinct after all.

Theater of the Young, For the Young
Essay

Theater of the Young, For the Young

24 May 2012

Steven Dietz asks what the perfect audience for a play would look like.

Friday Phone Call # 28
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 28

Tony Graham

24 May 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Tony Graham.

A man on stage poses with his arms outstretched as he holds a balloon and makes a comical face.
Baby Maybe
Essay

Baby Maybe

24 May 2012

Barry Kornhauser argues for the importance of a new brand of TYA: theater for babies.

Writing for Children
Essay

Writing for Children

Getting past the Gatekeepers

23 May 2012

Cheryl West tells of her own experience writing theatre for young audiences surrounding the topic of race, and how children are a lot more well-equipped to process difficult topics than we think they are. Are we holding children back by trying to censor programming "for their own good?"

Chupacabras and Risk in TYA
Essay

Chupacabras and Risk in TYA

22 May 2012

Gabriel Jason Dean writes about TYA, and what themes we do and do not allow children to experience onstage. But when is sheltering and censoring more of a burden than a benefit for young theatregoers?

Interview with Finegan Kruckemeyer
Essay

Interview with Finegan Kruckemeyer

21 May 2012

Under the idea that children’s stories are for all ages, Finegan Kruckemeyer expresses the need for stories to show the complexities of emotions that the youth experience.

Candid photo of Elissa Adams.
At Play in the Field of TYA—a Guide for the Uninitiated
Essay

At Play in the Field of TYA—a Guide for the Uninitiated

20 May 2012

Elissa Adams offers a roadmap to those first jumping into the field of Theater for Young Audiences.

Performances of Ten-Minute Plays from @ArenaStage Student Playwrights at Arena Stage
Video

Performances of Ten-Minute Plays from @ArenaStage Student Playwrights at Arena Stage

Monday 12 March 2012
Washington, D.C., United States

Arena Stage's Student Playwrights Project presented performances of the eight winning plays livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 12 March 2012 at 12 p.m. EST/ 11 a.m. CST/ 9 a.m. PST.

Three people stand on a stage. One kneels on the ground wearing horns, one poses while wearing a pink tutu and orange cape, and other looks out into the audience while wearing a cookie monster t-shirt.
Don't Call it Sweet
Essay

Don't Call it Sweet

11 March 2012

Sarah Coleman talks about the stigma of "sweetness" that surrounds TYA, and the idea that creating plays for children is no child's play.

Two video characters talking to each other.
The Gaming Challenge to Theater for Young Audiences
Essay

The Gaming Challenge to Theater for Young Audiences

3 August 2011

Playwright John Olive looks at what theatre for young audiences (TYA) can learn from video games.

two performers balancing on poles onstage
Latinx and Latin American Theatre for Young Audiences
Series

Latinx and Latin American Theatre for Young Audiences

This series discusses Latinx theatre for young audiences, as a lead up to the 2019 Latinx Theatre Commons Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) Sin Fronteras Festival & Convening.

Interning for The Theater Offensive by Tatiana Gil and Max Cerci
Series

Interning for The Theater Offensive by Tatiana Gil and Max Cerci

Theatre artists Tatiana Gil and Max Cerci speak on their experience working at the Theater Offensive as True Color Expansion Interns.

Making Queer Theatre with Young People in Texas 
Series

Making Queer Theatre with Young People in Texas 

This series documents a junior high LGBTQ+ production of Romeo and Juliet.

Chicago TYA
Series

Chicago TYA

A series that explores youth ensembles in Chicagoland, the communities that encourage them, and how young people create theatre for young people.