Arkansas Communication and Theater Arts
2012 Fall Conference Schedule
Thursday, September 13, 2012
3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Registration – Board Room
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Committee Meetings - ???
6:15 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Executive Council Meeting with Dinner – Café II
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Professional Development Session 1 – “Setting the Five Finger Goals” our Personal Pursuit of Happiness
– Jeri Winfrey, Teacher/Drama Director – Vilonia High School
This session will cover setting classroom goals which are in turn goals for instructors to reach for first.
We will look at the realistic approach to the goals we set for students after first establishing our own
goals as individuals and teachers. We will have some fun with these but also stop to re-establish "what
and why we do what we do" as we reach for our own Pursuit of Happiness.
7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Professional Development Session 2 – Misner Technique – Stephanie Schultze, Theatre Teacher,
Russellville High School
Sanford Meisner developed an approach to acting that opens up an actor’s vision and emotional
response to get to a more honest and truthful expression of character. It is not a putting on of masks to
become the character, it is a peeling away of masks layer by layer by layer to reveal the character.
Participants will work thru a series of exercises developed to pull awareness and focus to "now" the
"moment of truth".
Friday, September 14
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Registration – Board Room
11:15 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Executive Council Meeting with Lunch – Café II
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
High School Meeting – Jennifer Akers, Facilitator
College Meeting – John Gale, Facilitator
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Professional Development Session 3 – The Nuts and Bolts of Forensics and Tournaments – TOC
Committee – Julia Woods, Forensics/Debate Coach – Bentonville High School, Jannetta Carney,
Forensics/Debate Coach – Russellville High School, Tim Peerbolte, Forensics/Debate Coach – Greenwood
High School, Jennifer Salazar – Forensics Coach – North Pulaski High School
Professional Development Session 4 - Communication Competencies and Common Core – Lana
Hallmark, Fine Arts Specialist – Arkansas Department of Education
In this session, teachers will receive a brief introduction to new Oral Communication courses recently
adopted by the Arkansas Department of Education. A discussion of Common Core State Standards and
how they relate to the new OC courses will follow. The discussion will include videos and activities
designed to model CCSS strategies and lesson planning resources specifically in the OC classroom.
6:30 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.
Dinner and Professional Development Session 5 - Christopher Masingill, Federal Co-Chair of the Delta
Regional Authority
The Impact Communication Skills Had On My Life and How It Will Impact Your Student's Future
7:45 p.m. – 9:15 p.m.
Professional Development Session 6 – Period Costumes on a Budget – Tyler Gunther, Senior University
of Central Arkansas Theater Student
This workshop will show how period costumes can be created on a limited budget with limited sewing
skills. It will focus on the construction of period costumes for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pride
and Prejudice, which are often produced by high schools. Modern clothing pieces were used as the
bases of the costumes, rather than creating patterns, which will make the process accessible to people
of a variety of skill levels. Also, no new fabric or clothing was used, everything was acquired from flea
markets, re-sale shops or donations so that every complete costume was constructed for under $50.
Professional Development Session 7 - How Dramatic is the Difference? – Lana Hallmark, Fine Arts
Specialist – Arkansas Department of Education
Theater teachers will discuss their specific responsibilities in the implementation of Common Core State
Standards and take a closer look at the CCSS Literacy for Technical Subjects. Videos and activities
designed to model CCSS strategies and lesson planning resources specifically in the Theater Arts
classroom will be presented. Additionally, the discussion will include an update of work currently being
done to revise the National Arts Standards.
9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Professional Development Session 8 – Building Collaborative Learning Communities – Mary Richardson
Facilitator
Saturday, September 15
8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Registration
8:15 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Professional Development Session 9 – For New Members – Includes Breakfast – What can ACTAA do for
you? What can you do for ACTAA? – Callie Ham, Forensics Coach – Bentonville Freshman Learning
Center
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
ACTAA Business Meeting
11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Professional Development Session 10 – What do Arkansas Colleges/Universities have to offer your
students? – John Gale, Univeristy of Central Arkansas - Facilitator
Professional Development Session 11 – Acting/Technical Theater/Dance Lesson Plan Sharing – Dawn
Tucker, Forensics Coach/Drama Director – Jonesboro High School, Facilitator
12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Awards Luncheon
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Professional Development Session 12 – Laban Technique – Brigitte Rogers, Professor – Hendrix College
Laban's eight efforts: punch, press, dab, glide, slash, wring, flick and float allow performers to connect
movement with the voice as well as provide imagery for dancers with a more technical background and
allow beginners to experience a vocabulary that connects easily with new movement. The Laban efforts
and each of the individual direction, time and weight will be explored through physical improvisation
work, and then the efforts will be connected to short scene/monologue work.
Professional Development Session 13 – Presentation of Student Research – Stephen Smith, Facilitator –
Carrie Nelms, Cami English, Hayley Himstedt, Presenters
*Carrie Nelms, University of Arkansas Student, "Rearview Look at Prejudice: The Henry Wallace
Presidential Campaign in Arkansas, 1948."
*Cami English, University of Arkansas Student, "An Arkansas Worker-Writer: The Roles and Rhetoric of
Horace Bryan."
*Hayley Himstedt, University of Arkansas Student, “'An Honest Man is Considered a Freak': A Rhetorical
Biography of Clay Fulks."
Professional Development Session 14 – Oral Communication/Forensics/Debate Lesson Plan Sharing Dawn Tucker, Forensics Coach/Drama Director – Jonesboro High School, Facilitator
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Executive Council Meeting – Café II