Professional Development Offerings

Our Professional Development currently centers around three statewide conferences; Tennessee Theatre Association Tennessee Thespian Conference & All State Theatre Conference.  Keep an eye out here for specific times and topics as they are determined.   For other resources & lesson plans see our Curriculum Page

Tennessee Theatre Association Conference  (conference registration not required)

Collierville High School  October 25-26,  2024

October 26th 10am: Basic Theater Lighting for Teachers   Corinne Fann Center for the Arts   

Learn about your lighting toolbox! We’ll discuss the elements and functionalities of lighting design and do hands-on, attendee-led lighting demonstrations.

October 26th 11:30am: Theatre games for Technical Theatre                   Donna Seage Ball State University

Why should acting have all the fun? Come participate in theatre games for technical theatre that go beyond the normal Tech Olympics. These short, focused exercises are meant to pair with instruction, build community and culture and stir up interest in technical theatre!

October 26th 2pm: Building Student Leadership in your Department-  Donna Seage Ball State University

Cultivating Student Leadership; The Best Leadership Position You’ll Ever Consider!

Theatre teachers have to do it all! Well, you can do less of it if you have great student leadership! Come and consider a new position for your student leaders that will change your life and get you home earlier!

Register Here 

Corinne Fann is an award-winning graduate of the University of Memphis with a BFA in Technical Theatre and a Minor in Nonprofit Management. While she focuses on theatrical lighting and management, her education and experience range from all different areas of theatre including both performance and technical theatre. Corinne has worked in theatres around the country including Utah Shakespeare Festival and Cumberland County Playhouse. More locally, she has been involved in community theatres including the Center for the Arts in Murfreesboro and the Arts Center of Cannon County in Woodbury.  

Donna Seage is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Education at Ball State University. She has 25 years-experience in the secondary school theatre classroom and works professionally in theatre now and then, and here and there. She is the playwright of TYA One-Acts The Conservation of Mass, Semicolon Juliet, and Belief in Unicorns. Donna is Past-President of Tennessee Theatre Educators Association and Co-Founder of Tennessee All-State Theatre Event.

Tennessee State Thespian Conference 

Middle Tennessee State University  January 17 & 18 2025

January 17 4:30-6:30- SFA 205 (Wright Music building)

Tara Winton Center for the Arts (2 hrs credit) Building student leadership and feeder program

January 18th 10-12:00- SFA 205 (Wright Music building)  Special Needs students in the theatre classroom Cassie LaFever TPAC  (2 hrs credit)

January 18 1:30-3:30 pm:  SFA 205 (Wright Music building) How to institute the BACKstage Exam for your technical theatre Students.                    Dana Taylor USITT (2hrs credit)

The BACKstage Exam (Basic and Comprehensive Knowledge Exam for High School Technical Theatre Students) is designed to evaluate the knowledge and work readiness of technical theatre students at the high school level.  

Register Here 

All State Theatre Conference

Stewarts Creek High School  February 22,  2025

February 22 9-11 am: Tennessee's new Theatre Standards.  Kara Kindall, Metro Nashville Public Schools, with Atticus Hensley, Tennessee Department of Education  (2hrs credit)

A roll out of Tennessee's new Theatre curriculum standards.

Register Here