Imagination Stage Co-Hosts the 2025 TYA/USA Conference

Imagination Stage was thrilled to host 350 theatre professionals at the annual conference for TYA/USA, the national association of theatres for young audiences. Here is Imagination Stage Chief Artistic Programming Officer and Conference Chair Joanne Lamparter’s welcoming remarks. 

As a native of the DC area and a current DC Public Schools  parent, I cannot think of a more important time in TYA/USA’s history for this conference to be in DC.  What we do as artists, as educators, as researchers is important, needed, and relevant.  We matter.  And children matter. How we move forward amidst all the changes around us is what can make the difference in shaping a student, a school, a community, our field, and even our national landscape. The great Justice Sotomayor says:  “Until we get equality in education we won’t have an equal society.” Our work as Theatres for Young Audiences  promotes equality in education, provides youth a voice and a place to dream, and allows them to experience the world outside themselves and take risks. Let’s continue this work so that our communities don’t just survive, but bloom.