Vice-President – College/University Section
I am a teacher and an artist because I have to be. Not in the sense that someone is “making” me function in these roles, but in the sense that I realized long ago that this is the most significant way that my skills allow me to positively impact other human beings. I remember hearing during my own education that teaching is a “calling.” To be sure, those of us who are theatre teachers know that this position is not a job; rather, it is more akin to a way of life.
In this life, theatre teachers are called upon to do any number of things. We are called upon to be caring and productive citizens. We are called upon to offer inspired creativity. We are called upon to provide ceaseless encouragement. We are called upon to measure and document the success of our courses. And we are often called upon to spend our “free time” cleaning out prop closets, grading and editing papers, or completing mountains of paper work in order to obtain extremely limited funding to stage the perfect script.
Most importantly, we are called upon to give our students knowledge that has the potential to change their lives for the better. TETA’s College/University Division offers several opportunities to extend this type of positive pedagogical impact and affect students across Texas. Follow these exciting educational pathways and see where they lead! Submit a workshop proposal for fellow educators at THEATREFEST that highlights effective approaches to reaching a new generation of students. Consider the opportunities outlined below in Texas Theatre Journal’s and the Scholars Debut Papers Project’s call for papers. Remain an advocate for the dynamic relationship between research and practice, set an example for your students, and continue using your skills to positively impact others!
•Texas Theatre Journal Call for Papers: The Texas Theatre Journal welcomes manuscripts on a variety of topics through articles, documents, book reviews, and performance reviews related to the Performing Arts and culture, with emphases on history, popular culture, music, criticism, theory, interviews, op-ed pieces, and reviews. Our Association mandate is to feature the work of graduate students whenever possible. Electronic E-mail submissions in Microsoft Word® preferred. House style is Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition. The Journal is an official publication of the Texas Educational Theatre Association, Inc. College/University Division and is published yearly. It is listed in the MLA Directory of Periodicals and indexed in the MLA International Bibliography. ISBN: 1555-6832. Articles received by November 1, 2011 will be considered for the January 2012 issue.
Manuscript (including book review) submissions and inquiries, please, to: Dr. John Hanners – Editor, Texas Theatre Journal: John_Hanners@tamu-commerce.edu. For performance review inquiries, style guidelines, and/or submissions, please contact: Dr. Carrie Klypchak – Performance Review Editor, Texas Theatre Journal: Carrie_Klypchak@tamu-commerce.edu.
•Scholars Debut Papers Project Call for Papers: This is an invitation for you to submit the best of your student papers for the annual Texas Educational Theatre Association’s Scholars Debut Papers Project competition. Any paper written during 2011 by an enrolled undergraduate or graduate student is eligible. Each student entering the competition must become a member of TETA. We're looking for 8 to 12 page, clearly written, thoughtful papers on any area within the theatre arts. The subject of the essay should be one that required either systematic research, which is thoroughly documented in the paper, or the application, development, and/or creation of new theory or criticism. Winning papers will be anonymously chosen by prominent theatre scholars. The first and second place winners of the competition will read their papers at the 2012 TETA THEATREFEST Convention. The deadline for essay submission is November 23, 2011.
Questions regarding submissions and/or requests for in-depth competition guidelines should be directed to: William Walker – Scholars Debut Papers Project Coordinator: wwalker@parisjc.edu.