Kymberly Mellen (Theatre), Alethea Inns (OIT), Morgan Iommi (NSC), Olga Townsend (51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Art Alumna), and Yvonne Houy (College of Fine Arts) facilitated the most requested workshop for the 2022 Art Schools Network national conference. Trauma — an emotional response to disturbing events — literally changes the way students think and learn.
Learning activities in the performing arts — such as adjusting the body through touch, or the emotional content of scenes — can re-traumatize students unintentionally. Performing arts educators can proactively support students and performances by becoming trauma-informed and actively using intimacy training and consent processes. This two-hour workshop for performing arts educators brought together a Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE) and DEIJB educator, a professional dancer and trauma victim advocate, and learning designers focused on the effects of emotion on learning, trauma-informed education, and conditions for flow learning experiences.
