The Educational Theatre Association has been expanding our reach through strategic partnerships designed to meet your needs.   We are proud to partner with the National Federation of State High School Associations to bring you these two timely and important theatre courses for your professional learning needs. 

In this course, you will learn about the role and responsibilities of a Theatre Director, the various types of budgets and how to plan for your program, the importance of copyright compliance, how to create and explain your vision to your cast and crew, the various stages of the rehearsal process, and the responsibilities once the performance has concluded.  EdTA and the National Federation of High School Associations offers Directing Plays, available free on the NFHS Learning Center. 

Understanding Copyright and Compliance is a helpful course which explains what copyright means and when there may be exceptions.  It discusses Fair Use, when a piece of music might be in the Public Domain, copyright infringement penalties and much more. This course, created in a partnership between NFHS, EdTA, NaFME and the USA Association for Sport Coaching, brings the specific tools you need to understand the complicated world of copyright.   

Theatre provides a setting outside of the classroom for participants to showcase their theatrical skills, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication skills.  In order for these objectives to be met, it is important to provide a safe environment for all participants.  That is why the NFHS, in partnership with the Educational Theatre Association, has created the course Theatre Safety, available free on the NFHS Learning Center. 

In addition to bringing you professional learning webinars, EdTA's Learning Center is also home to a growing collection of self paced courses addressing the needs of theatre educators. Here are two which fall under the "not to be missed" category. 

One of the most important, but least addressed topics in K – 12 theatre education is the “business of theatre”—producing, marketing, managing, administration, and associated activities.  This three part course combines video tips from the field with real life scenarios from classroom educators, artistic directors, Broadway producers and more.  Explore the Business of Theatre course to learn more. 

The EdTA Theatre Educator Evaluation Workbook Course was created to provide a helpful tool for teachers or administrators interested in turning evaluations into a tool for teacher professional development and growth.  Rich video interviews illustrate excellence in teaching specific to theatre in the commonly recognized four domains of practice:  Planning & Preparation; Maintenance of a Productive Classroom Environment; Instructional Practice; and Contributions to School or District.