This book draws on cognitive science to identify how students’ brains change during different developmental stages and when faced with modern challenges, such as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, early screen exposure, and chronic stress, and provides theatre educators with teaching tools, lesson plans, and practical approaches to effectively and ethically work with today’s youth. Offering shifts in facilitation techniques that align with students’ cognitive, social, emotional, and artistic needs, this text suggests ways for theatre artists and educators to adapt their teaching methodologies to better support students at their most vulnerable.

Illustrated by Erika V Bunce, this text was written to make neuroscience accessible and to support teachers in updating their practice, providing over 20 lesson plans and activities to put consent-based pedagogy into action.

With over 20 lesson plans and activities rooted in anti-oppressive pedagogies, Universal Design for Learning, and culturally sustaining teaching strategies, this guide equips theatre artists and educators with actionable strategies for supporting students and young artists. These lessons model a shift towards transparent teaching and consent-based facilitation of creative spaces to establish theatrical learning and production processes that empower students through the use of developmentally appropriate pedagogy.