About
Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) is an essential field of professional theatre dedicated to creating meaningful, high-quality performances and experiences for young people. A key tenet of TYA is recognizing that young people are intelligent, engaged audiences. It uses storytelling, design, and performance to spark imagination and encourage critical thinking. For the purposes of our festival, “young audiences” include ages 0-18 years old. TYA honors young audiences as thoughtful, curious, and engaged participants in the theatrical experience.
The TYA program (piloted with Region IIIV) is built around increasing awareness, understanding and appreciation of Theatre for Young Audiences by centering it as a vital part of the professional theatre world.
Our goals include:
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Building a shared understanding of what TYA is and why it matters
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Highlighting the strong presence and influence of TYA in the professional theatre industry
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Positioning TYA as a powerful form of access to theatre and performance for young people and their communities
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Supporting artists who are creating bold, inclusive and thoughtful work for young audiences
Excellence in TYA Award:
The Excellence in TYA Award recognizes an outstanding student or partnership of students whose work demonstrates artistic excellence, clarity of storytelling, and a deep understanding of theatre created for and with young audiences. This award celebrates the impact of TYA within the broader professional theatre landscape and uplifts emerging artists committed to this field. The Excellence in TYA Award will be announced during the festival awards ceremony on the last day.
PROGRAMMING
Aside from Theatre for Young Audience workshops throughout the festival, you can also participate in two main TYA programs throughout the festival in the following ways:
1. Staged Reader
2. TYA Showcase
STAGED READING
If you do not wish to submit for the TYA Final Showcase but would still like to participate in TYA programming at the festival, you can audition for the staged reading.
The staged reading this year will be a Pick Me Last, from TYA playwright Idris Goodwin (https://www.idrisgoodwin.com/). After the performance of the staged reading, we will have a talkback with the playwright and performers that is open to festival attendees.
The following roles will need to be filled:
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Chavonne, 11 going on 12
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Wes, solidly 12
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Chorus (as few as 3, but flexible. Embodies many different characters)
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Stage directions reader
An in person audition for the staged reading will be held early in the festival week. Participants should prepare a one minute monologue of your choice as well as a printed or emailed resume and headshot. If you are unable to attend the in person auditions, you may submit a virtual audition HERE
If you are cast, you must attend:
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1-2 days of rehearsal (schedules will be sent out and updated on the festival scheduling platform)
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The final reading
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The talkback with the playwright of the performed script, immediately following the staged reading.
TYA SHOWCASE
The TYA Showcase features selected works presented live at the festival. These pieces represent a range of approaches to Theatre for Young Audiences and are eligible for the Excellence in TYA Award. Selected artists will share their work in front of peers, faculty and professional respondents.
Acceptable submissions include:
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1-1.5 minute long monologue
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2-3 minute duet/partner scene
Please make one selection and submit it to the virtual portal by Sunday, February 1st. All performance material must come from a script where the intended audience is 0-18 years old. This submission will be the final piece performed at the showcase. Should a duet piece be selected to receive the Excellence in TYA Award, each participant will receive an individual award.
Once selected, applicants will receive email confirmation by Day 2 of the festival.
If you are chosen for the TYA Final Showcase you will perform in person at the festival. Times and locations are subject to change, but it will not interfere with other festival final performances.
As part of the TYA Showcase, you will be required to attend:
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A rehearsal day (more information will be provided as the festival schedule is solidified)
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The Final Showcase (performers will be given a call time to complete a soundcheck and runthrough of their materials prior to the showcase)
Only those performers who are bona fide students during the conference year are eligible. For the purpose of these auditions, a bona fide student is:
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An undergraduate student* registered for at least six semester hours or equivalent quarter hours;
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A graduate student* registered for at least three semester hours or equivalent quarter hours;
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Or a continuing part-time student* enrolled in a regular degree or certificate program.
*Undergraduate, graduate, and continuing part-time students must be matriculating and pursuing a degree at the time of the ACTF official response. The chair of the theatre department (or their delegate) must verify the candidate and partner's bona fide student status.
Any scene partner to a nominee must also have been a bona fide student at the time of the initial ACTF response or during the term in which the regional conference occurs. Nominees and their partners need not be students at the same institution.
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Applicants must submit a video of their performed material prior to the festival. This video must adhere to the time limits (listed below) and include a slate with the performer(s) name(s) as well as the script and playwright their performance is from. It must be one continuous take with a neutral background. The form below will ask for a YouTube link of the performance material. You may submit:
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A Monologue from a TYA playscript (1-1.5 minutes in length)
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A duet scene from a TYA playscript ( 2-3 minutes in length)
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Complete the Intent to Participate Form by Monday, January 26th, 2026 by 10:00pm (PST) (link to be added)
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Submit the required video through LINK HERE by Sunday, February 1st 10:00pm (PST). Please note that this is a firm deadline and we will not accept walkons once the festival starts.
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All submissions will be reviewed and selected by a panel chosen by the TYA program coordinators.
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Selection criteria may include:
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Clarity of storytelling for young audiences
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Suitability of material for TYA (Ages 0-18)
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Performance quality and intention
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Performance material selected from a TYA show
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Time requirement met
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Connection between performer and material
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Pick Me Last
Pick Me Last is a play about Chavonne, a science-loving kid obsessed with the butterfly effect (small everyday actions can shape big outcomes). At recess, she fixates on the fact that Wes is always picked last for games and worries this could have lasting consequences. Historical thinkers and an exaggerated imagined future help Chavonne understand the limits of controlling outcomes for others. When a New Kid challenges the rigid team selection tradition, the children, including Wes, redefine what it means to be “picked last.”
Resources
Need Assistance?
RESOURCES:
LIST OF TYA PLAYWRIGHTS:
(small in number, though there are many many TYA playwrights. Consider this a starting point!)
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Anne Negri
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Aurand Harris
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Charlotte Chorpenning
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Eric Coble
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Finegan Kruckemeyer
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Gloria Bond Clunie
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Idris Goodwin
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Jose Cases
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José Cruz González
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Laura Schellhardt
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Madhuri Shekar
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Naomi Iizuka
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Nicole B. Adkins
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Rhiana Yazzie
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Suzan Zeder
Theatre for Young Audiences
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