Arts Education

TAO Consortium & Mission

Teaching Artists Organized (TAO) is a collection of organizations and individuals sharing a passion for the important work that teaching artists do in schools, communities and institutions. A unique artist and education hybrid, the teaching artist has opportunity to share with people of all ages the critical role that the arts can play in their personal lives, social interactions, and educational success. We are interested in sharing information and quality professional services, expanding awareness about the value of teaching artists, and creating networks for employers and teaching artists to find one another.

Loosely identified as the "Founding Members" of TAO are California Shakespeare Theater, Theatre Bay Area, Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and the Community Network for Youth Development (CNYD). Teaching artists from all disciplines are invited to participate in our workshops, services, conversations and surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions about TAO

1. What is TAO?
TAO, an acronym for Teaching Artists Organized, is a consortium of Bay Area organizations working together to enhance the professional development of teaching artists in schools and communities.

2. What is a Teaching Artist?
A Teaching Artist is a professional artist, or arts organization, with skills in both teaching and the arts who work with students in a variety of school and community settings providing education in the arts, thereby expanding the horizons of young people in the community.

3. How can my organization or I get involved with TAO?
For more information, visit http://www.teachingartistsorganized.org/4201.html.

4. What is TBA?
Theatre Bay Area (TBA) is the nation's oldest and largest performing arts service organization. Founded in 1976 by theatre workers, TBA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to unite, strengthen and promote theatre in the Bay Area by providing communications networks and opportunities, creating resources for theatre companies, theatre-makers and theatergoers. TBA exists to raise public awareness, mobilize support and galvanize actions in behalf of our conviction that theatre and other performing arts are an essential public good, critical to a healthy society as a source of personal enrichment and a locus for building community.

Theatre Bay Area serves more than 375 member theatre companies and 3,000 individual members in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California. We provide services to our members; however, we are not a presenting organization or a casting agency.

As a member of the TAO consortium, Theatre Bay Area has provided its website as a home for the TAO Teaching Artists Directory. By becoming a member of Theatre Bay Area, you will have access to a wide variety of resources that support teaching artists in our community.

For information upcoming events and how to partner with TAO, click here.

California Education Standards

The Theatre Education Standards have been developed by the California State Board of Education (SBE). The SBE is the governing and policy-determining body of the California Department of Education (CDE). The SBE is comprised of 11 Governor-appointed members, who serve four-year terms, with the exception of a student member, who serves a one-year term.

Each grade level is broken down into five general categories of standards. Each of these categories has more specific criteria depending on the grade level involved.
1. Artistic Perception:
In this category, students observe their environment and respond using elements of theatre.
Sample criteria:
Pre-kindergarten: use vocabulary like "pretend" and "imagination."
Grades 9-12 (advanced): use vocabulary like "genre," "style" and "acting values".
2. Creative Expression:
To fulfill this category, students must apply processes in acting, directing, designing and scriptwriting to create formal and informal theatre including application in electronic media.
Sample criteria:
Pre-kindergarten: call-and-response games and engaging in fantasy role play.
Grades 9-12 (advanced): script analysis, character reflection and work in a collaborative team as a designer, producer or actor to meet directorial goals.
3. Historical and Cultural Context:
This category is meant for students to analyze the role and development of theatre, film/video and electronic media throughout the past and present.
Sample criteria:
Pre-kindergarten: identifying the difference between live theatre, television and puppetry.
Grades 9-12 (advanced): researching and performing monologues in historical context and analyzing the impact of traditional and nontraditional theatre.
4. Aesthetic Valuing:
Here students critique and derive meaning from theatrical presentations.
Sample criteria:
Pre-kindergarten: how to respond appropriately as an audience member.
Grades 9-12 (advanced): drawing conclusions about the effectiveness of formal and informal productions and developing a thesis based on research as to why people create theatre.
5. Connections:
Relationships and Applications: This is done by applying what they learn in theatrical concepts to other content areas and other career skills.
Sample criteria:
Pre-kindergarten: role-play adult professions using theatrical activities.
Grades 9-12 (advanced): create projects in other school courses or places of employment using the tools and processes from the study of theatrical projects. They also demonstrate the ability to create rehearsal schedules, set deadlines and prioritize.