Join us on an excursion to the Museum of Performance and Design for an auction of rare Creative Drama and Youth Theatre books as a benefit for the Child Drama Collection and enjoy a California treat -- wine tasting (ID and pre-purchase required for the wine-tasting portion of the event).

Details about the event are available at the Registration Desk.

Click for directions. Note: The most direct walking route down Turk Street takes you through one of the more singular neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Tenderloin. The Tenderloin was so named because in the 19th century, city workers (firemen, police, etc.) who were stationed in the neighborhood were paid a bonus due to the hazardous working conditions. Taking public transit or walking down Market Street to Grove or Van Ness is a better option.

Friday, August 6, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Nightmare on Puberty St. is a tongue-in cheek journey through middle school, where the pressures of childhood and adulthood meet. A cast of four performer/educators use comedy, music, dance, and drama to bring to life the issues facing middle school students. Between bouts of exuberance, the characters wrestle with the question, "Am I normal?" They help adolescents realize they are not alone in facing the changes and challenges of puberty. This thought-provoking program presents important information about difficult topics in an entertaining way. Nightmare on Puberty St. can be a catalyst for discussions for students, teachers, and parents about:

• Peer pressure and self-esteem
• First feelings of sexual attraction and how to show affection without being sexually active
• Depression and thoughts of suicide
• Violence at home and at school
• Communication with parents and peers

The AATE Awards honor exceptional individuals as well as organizations for the high quality work they perform in the field of theatre with and for young audiences. Recipients represent the best of our field and inspire others with the outstanding work, commitment, and dedication that make us proud to count them among our colleagues and allies. The AATE Awards are presented annually at the National Conference.

This year the Awards Brunch will be celebrated immediately after the Annual Meeting in the Cyril Magnin Room III.  Tickets for the brunch are $40 and may be purchased through the national office:  (301) 951-7977 or with your conference registration: AATE Conference Registration.

For more information about the Awards themselves, see the Awards Page of the AATE website:  AATE Awards.

The San Francisco committee is committed to starting new green initiatives that we hope will be continued throughout future AATE conferences.  How can you get involved?  Just try one or two things - some you may already be doing!

• Select the green option DISCOUNT for registration.  By going green you will not receive a printed program but will be able to use our online program which will include all current updates and changes as they happen.  This savings means you are paying the same registration fee as the AATE conference 2 years ago in Atlanta!  Computer Kiosks will be available during the conference in the centrally-located Marketplace.
• Stay at the Parc 55! They are one of the greenest hotels in SF with many green initiatives of their own.  Check out their website at parc55hotel.com for details.
• Bring your own swag tote bag and others for the BAG EXCHANGE! Who knows, the green bag fairy may give you an extra treat or two.
• Order Green Products from the AATE Store.  Totes, travel mugs and water bottles will be available.
• Take Public Transportation to/from/during the conference. MUNI and BART offer good, dependable alternatives to driving or renting cars or taxis.

Help us green-up AATE and YOUR conference experience!

Conference attendees will be able to join Michael Rohd and other artists from Sojourn on devising small site specific performances at 4 locations around the hotel during the conference.  This performance will also incorporate the use of multi-media submitted throughout the spring by AATE and CETA members.  The performances will take place on Sunday -- our last day together as a closing event.  Our work devising site-specific performance material will explore the relationship between place, story, and event.

Although this event is free, participants need to pre-register and be available on Sunday for the performance as space will be limited (Performance on Sunday, August 8th at 11am). Participants who sign up will be divided into one of four Devising Teams.  Each team will rehearse once a day according to the schedule listed below.

This exciting event is made possible through a grant from CTFA.

ALVIN COHEN—a difficult man to categorize. He was a chemist, pharmacist, entrepreneur, theatre-devotee, life-long patron of youth theatre, volunteer extraordinaire, a man of action. He was best known to the theatre world as the founder and president of Paramount Theatrical Supplies, Alcone Co., a New York based, national theatrical supply firm, for over thirty years. At a time when children's theatre was in great need, Al Cohen, who was then a trustee of the Children's Theatre Foundation of America (CTFA), was determined to increase the Foundation’s assets and generously turned over several personal investments which, in time, ultimately created the Alvin Cohen Memorial Fund. For years he guided this investment toward maturity. He wished the Fund to assist the presentation of exceptional programs for national conferences of groups committed to theatre for young people. A pragmatic idealist, through this Fund, Mr. Cohen continues to serve the future.

Participant Schedule:

Don Doyle, Rives Collins, and Jerry Falek will be sharing their storytelling magic on the Marketplace Stage during an all conference lunch event.  Box Lunches are available for pre-order.  Come hear the incredible talent of this TRIO of TELLERS!

Join us on Friday August 6 for a San Francisco institution, Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon. We'll be taking over the back cabaret section of Club Fugazi for an evening of song, dance, and mad millinery.

Tickets are $60 per person. Seating is limited, and ticket prepurchase by June 14, 2010 is required. Attendees must be over 21 and have photo ID.

Curtain is at 6:30, so you need to be ready to leave the Parc 55 no later than 5:30. Cabaret service is avaliable at the show, and after, you'll be in one of the richest food neighborhoods in the City, North Beach.

Arts educator and advocate Susan Stauter is currently the Artistic Director for the San Francisco Unified School District.  She served on the Steering Committee and was instrumental in the creation of SFUSD's internationally recognized Arts Education Master Plan.  An award winning credentialed teacher of Theatre and English, she was the founding Chair of the Department of Theatre for the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts, and went on to serve as Conservatory Director for the Tony Award winning American Conservatory Theater, (A.C.T.), in San Francisco, where she oversaw all educational programs.  Ms. Stauter also works throughout the U.S. and internationally as a keynote speaker, workshop leader, teacher, writer and trainer in the area of arts education.  She has consulted for the North Carolina School for the ARts, Great River Shakespear Festival in Minnesota, the Grammy Foundation, and the Leonard Bernstein Center for Education at Gettysburg College.  In March of 2007 she was presented with both the San Francisco Ballet's prestigious Choose to Move Award and the LEAP... Imagination in Learning Award, both presented as recognition for excellence as an arts educator.