Theater Educators and Directors Reconnect to the Practice of Play

August 7, 2026

At this year’s annual, day-long Theater Director and Educator Conference – “Empowerment Through Play-Filled Learning, Leadership, and Mindsets” – guest presenters Malia’Kekia Nicolini and Christopher Beaulieu of Play Pathways Initiative deeply engaged participants from across the state in a pedagogy of play. Perpich’s Theater Education Specialist, Dr. Stephanie Lein Walseth, notes that “this conference allowed us to return to the grounded seeds of our theatrical practice – play and creativity – to see what it might ignite and transform in both our artistry and our teaching.”

Participants join in a spirit and practice of play, acknowledging the group agreements for the day.

The day began with a two-hour hands-on workshop led by the Play Pathways team, grounding participants in their pedagogy of buoys and anchors of play. Afternoon breakout sessions led by Play Pathways and expert local theater educators, covered a range of topics from auditioning to musical theater, tech theater to theater standards, running a successful theater program to engaging reluctant students, and more. Rich conversations over meals and attending a performance of Come From Away at the Guthrie Theater together rounded out the conference day.

Co-facilitator Christopher Beaulieu leads participants through breath work, as they practice relaxing their jaws and breathing with an open mouth.

Participants dove into the theme of the day with excitement and vulnerability. One conference-goer noted that, “starting the day with the play workshop was phenomenal…I loved the ideas around the importance of play and breath and centering those in our practices.” Others commented on the variety of skills developed throughout the day and the new strategies that they hope to implement as they return to their classrooms and rehearsal rooms. “My co-director and I learned lots of fun ways to promote our program that we’re excited about and we are excited to change how we work our auditions,” said one attendee, while another reflected that they were “inspired to look back at revamping my curriculum using a backwards design lens, and realigning with MN State Standards in a more intentional way. I got some new ideas for building relationships and buy-in [with students]…and I also took away some helpful framework and sentence starters for giving feedback to staff and coworkers.”

Participants work in small groups during the morning hands-on plenary session.

A primary goal of Perpich’s Professional Development work with arts educators is to break down teacher isolation and build communities of belonging to help support educator growth and sustainability. In bringing together 50 theater teachers from across the state, the 2026 Theater Director and Educator Conference aimed to do just that. This was affirmed in participants’ responses. “As theatre educators who often teach ‘on an island’ in our districts, it’s so important to have a space to gather, share, and collaborate. Perpich does an amazing job – year after year! – bringing skilled professionals to present relevant sessions to us so we can enter a new school year energized and fueled with ideas and tools to continue our important work.”

Co-facilitator Malia’Kekia Nicolini leads a session on “Auditioning Reimagined: Creative Casting for Educators”.

Special thanks goes to guest presenters Malia’Kekia Nicolini and Christopher Beaulieu of Play Pathways Initiative for partnering with Perpich to facilitate this conference day, and to all of the presenters, attendees, and staff for collaborating to ensure a productive and fulfilling professional learning experience.

Participants practice an exercise in the session on “Auditioning Reimagined: Creative Casting for Educators.”

Stephanie Lein Walseth, Ph.D. is a theater educator/administrator/artist/scholar with 25+ years experience working with students and artists of all ages. She is an affiliate faculty member at Augsburg University, has served decade-long tenures with Full Circle Theater and Penumbra Theatre, worked in leadership roles with Theater Mu and Mixed Blood, and served in artistry and administration with myriad national companies. As the Theater Education Specialist at Perpich Center for Arts Education, Stephanie supports K-12 theater educators across Minnesota. She received the 2022 Theater Educator of the Year Award from the Minnesota Educational Theater Association.

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