The Oasis Panels: Escape the Idea Desert
We have created this opportunity as a way to deepen our understandings of different identities, experiences and perspectives in the theatre education community. Come learn, through a safe and open conversation, how to reflect on and implement ways we can support and celebrate historically marginalized communities.This is a wonderful opportunity to safely engage in conversation with strong, active and representative voices in the community.
On behalf of the entire NYSTEA family, the NYSTEA Advocacy Committee invites you to join us on Monday, January
25th from 5:30-6:30 for the first in a series of panel discussions entitled- The Oasis Panels: Escape from the Idea Desert.
Panel #1- Monday January 25th 5:30-6:30
Cynthia Henderson is a Professor of Acting in the Department of Theatre Arts at Ithaca College. She has directed and performed
professionally on stage and on television throughout the U.S., Europe, China, Mexico, Ecuador, and Cameroon. She is the founder and
director of Performing Arts for Social Change (link in photo): a program that uses theatre as a venue to give voice to often silenced
societal issues involving marginalized people in the U.S. and internationally. She is the author of The Actor’s Landscape (available on
Amazon), a member of the National Alliance of Acting Teachers, and Actors’ Equity Association. Cynthia is also a Fulbright Scholar.
professionally on stage and on television throughout the U.S., Europe, China, Mexico, Ecuador, and Cameroon. She is the founder and
director of Performing Arts for Social Change (link in photo): a program that uses theatre as a venue to give voice to often silenced
societal issues involving marginalized people in the U.S. and internationally. She is the author of The Actor’s Landscape (available on
Amazon), a member of the National Alliance of Acting Teachers, and Actors’ Equity Association. Cynthia is also a Fulbright Scholar.
Sara Warner, who, as a theater historian, studies the art of activism. She looks at the ways political actors use performance in appeals for social
justice and the ways stage actors use the theater as a laboratory for reimagining notions of community, citizenship, power, and privilege. As
a producer, Sara is the co-founder of Performance Encounters, a series dedicated to supporting socially-engaged artists, and co-founder of the Bad &
Nasty collective, which stages “patriot acts” on political holidays. Most recently, she collaborated with Civic Ensemble on a pair of community-based
plays about the local impact of climate change and appeared in Therapy as Performance by Leeny Sack.
justice and the ways stage actors use the theater as a laboratory for reimagining notions of community, citizenship, power, and privilege. As
a producer, Sara is the co-founder of Performance Encounters, a series dedicated to supporting socially-engaged artists, and co-founder of the Bad &
Nasty collective, which stages “patriot acts” on political holidays. Most recently, she collaborated with Civic Ensemble on a pair of community-based
plays about the local impact of climate change and appeared in Therapy as Performance by Leeny Sack.
Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. is a Senior Lecturer teaching Acting at Cornell's Department of Performing and Media Arts. He originally came to
Cornell as an actor in Cornell's RPTA program from 2003-2005, where he performed opposite the late Yolanda King in A Raisin in the Sun and
played Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, among other shows. Godfrey is also Artistic Director of Civic Ensemble, an Ithaca-based theatre
company that produces new and overlooked plays by or about women and people of color, re-imagined classics, and community-based plays. Civic
enjoys a close relationship with Cornell PMA that has resulted in co-productions in each of the last three years -- Eugene O’Neill’s All God’s Chillun
Got Wings (which Godfrey directed), Kirsten Greenidge's Baltimore, and this season's Climates of Change (a Living Newspaper co-directed by
Godfrey and Sarah K. Chalmers). Other plays produced by Civic include Judy Tate’s Slashes of Light, Athol Fugard's My Children! My Africa!, and the Community-Based Plays Safety, On The Corner, Parent Stories, and this year's The Class Divide. From 2005-2009, Godfrey was a Producing Artist for Off-Broadway's Epic Theatre Ensemble, appearing in the world premiere of A More Perfect Union, Widowers' Houses (which Godfrey co-adapted with Ron Russell), Einstein's Gift, and Measure for Measure, among other plays. With Brandt Adams '06, he also co-wrote and starred in a documentary play about the election of President Barack Obama, Dispatches From (A)mended America, produced by Epic in the fall of 2012. Godfrey has performed Off-Broadway at theatres such as Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, New Georges, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Working Theatre, and Melting Pot Theatre. Regionally, he has performed at Syracuse Stage, Round House Theatre, and People's Light and Theatre Company, among others.
Cornell as an actor in Cornell's RPTA program from 2003-2005, where he performed opposite the late Yolanda King in A Raisin in the Sun and
played Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, among other shows. Godfrey is also Artistic Director of Civic Ensemble, an Ithaca-based theatre
company that produces new and overlooked plays by or about women and people of color, re-imagined classics, and community-based plays. Civic
enjoys a close relationship with Cornell PMA that has resulted in co-productions in each of the last three years -- Eugene O’Neill’s All God’s Chillun
Got Wings (which Godfrey directed), Kirsten Greenidge's Baltimore, and this season's Climates of Change (a Living Newspaper co-directed by
Godfrey and Sarah K. Chalmers). Other plays produced by Civic include Judy Tate’s Slashes of Light, Athol Fugard's My Children! My Africa!, and the Community-Based Plays Safety, On The Corner, Parent Stories, and this year's The Class Divide. From 2005-2009, Godfrey was a Producing Artist for Off-Broadway's Epic Theatre Ensemble, appearing in the world premiere of A More Perfect Union, Widowers' Houses (which Godfrey co-adapted with Ron Russell), Einstein's Gift, and Measure for Measure, among other plays. With Brandt Adams '06, he also co-wrote and starred in a documentary play about the election of President Barack Obama, Dispatches From (A)mended America, produced by Epic in the fall of 2012. Godfrey has performed Off-Broadway at theatres such as Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, New Georges, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Working Theatre, and Melting Pot Theatre. Regionally, he has performed at Syracuse Stage, Round House Theatre, and People's Light and Theatre Company, among others.
Saviana Stanescu is a cutting-edge Romanian playwright, poet, and ARTivist based in New York/Ithaca. Her US plays include Aliens with
extraordinary skills, Ants, White Embers (all published by Samuel French), Useless, Toys, For A Barbarian Woman, Lenin’s Shoe, Waxing
West (New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Play), What Happens Next, Bee Trapped Inside the Window, Zebra 2.0. Saviana's
honors include: Fulbright, Indie Theatre Hall of Fame, John Golden Award, KulturKontakt, Marulic Prize, Best Play of the Year UNITER Award.
Saviana's plays have been developed/produced at Women’s Project, La MaMa, 59E59, NYTW, EST, HERE, New Georges, Lark, Cherry, Civic Ensemble, Teatro La Capilla, Teatrul Odeon, etc. MA in Performance Studies, MFA in Dramatic Writing - New York University. Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at Ithaca College. Founder of “Immigrant/International Artists and Scholars in New York” (IASNY).
extraordinary skills, Ants, White Embers (all published by Samuel French), Useless, Toys, For A Barbarian Woman, Lenin’s Shoe, Waxing
West (New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Play), What Happens Next, Bee Trapped Inside the Window, Zebra 2.0. Saviana's
honors include: Fulbright, Indie Theatre Hall of Fame, John Golden Award, KulturKontakt, Marulic Prize, Best Play of the Year UNITER Award.
Saviana's plays have been developed/produced at Women’s Project, La MaMa, 59E59, NYTW, EST, HERE, New Georges, Lark, Cherry, Civic Ensemble, Teatro La Capilla, Teatrul Odeon, etc. MA in Performance Studies, MFA in Dramatic Writing - New York University. Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at Ithaca College. Founder of “Immigrant/International Artists and Scholars in New York” (IASNY).
NYSTEA is a certified professional development provider in New York State.
The New York State Theatre Education Association is proud to offer professional development for educators.
This summer's professional development day was Virtual Vitality: Tools for the Theatre Educator. Workshops took place on Zoom and included:
Are you interested in professional development in your area? Please contact us at info@nystea.org.
The New York State Theatre Education Association is proud to offer professional development for educators.
This summer's professional development day was Virtual Vitality: Tools for the Theatre Educator. Workshops took place on Zoom and included:
- Teaching Stage Combat and Intimacy Virtually (Niagara University)
- Teaching Uta Hagen’s practical and engaging approach to scenes and monologues online (HB Studio)
- Acting for The Camera (NY Film Academy)
- Licensing After The Pandemic - Live Steaming and More! (TRW and BookTix)
Are you interested in professional development in your area? Please contact us at info@nystea.org.
