July 2, 2013
Drama and Theatre for Youth Area Head, Dr. Coleman A. Jennings received the Distinguished Book Award from AATE at their annual conference in New York last month. Jennings was selected for his work as editor on “Nine Plays by JoséCruz González Magical Realism and Mature Themes in Theatre for Young Audiences”.
Chosen for its outstanding literary contribution to the field of Drama and Theatre for Youth, “Nine Plays” is a compilation of Gonzalez's plays selected by Jennings in an effort to better represent multicultural diversity in plays for youth. The anthology also explores the creative collaboration between the playwright, dramaturg, designers, director and actors. In a section titled “Collaborative Creation,” Jennings presents a written discussion featuring four artists and their experiences working with Gonzalez on the development of new scripts for young audiences.
In addition the excitement surrounding Jennings' award, the UT Department of Theatre and Dance was well represented at the August conference, featuring over a dozen panels and discussions led by faculty, students and alumni including, Megan Alrutz, Katie Dawson, Lynn Hoare, Joan Lazarus, Talleri McRae, Paul Besaw, Drew Chappell, Allison Downey, Michelle Ebert Freire, Christina Gutierrez, Brian Guehring, Chong-Ho Kim, Gillian McNally, John Newman, Carolyn Roark, Johnny Saldaña, Mary Katherine Stickel, Meg Sullivan, Roxanne Schroeder-Arce and Amira Wizig.
The American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE) is a comprehensive non-profit professional membership organization. Founded in 1936, AATE connects and inspires a growing collective of theatre artists, educators, and scholars committed to transforming young people and communities through the theatre arts.