The mission of the International Museum Theatre Alliance is to inspire and support the use of theatre and theatrical technique
to cultivate emotional connections, provoke action, and add public value to the museum experience.

IMTAL 2017 Annual Conference:

Navigating the Seas of Change: IMTAL 2017
The 2017 Annual Conference was a huge success!

Thank you to all of our amazing attendees, as well as Jen Brown of The Engaging Educator,
and our hosts: Mystic Seaport, Mark Twain House and Gillette Castle State Park!

Click here for full official conference program.

2017 Jon Lipsky Award for Excellence in Playwriting
The recipients of this year's award are Lindsay Genshaft, Jessica Robblee, Mitch Slevc, and Mike Kasper for their script Art Emergency: Code Red! at the Denver Art Museum. Congratulations!

images courtesy Denver Art Museum

In 2014, IMTAL established an annual award dedicated to the memory of playwright Jon Lipsky. Jon was Professor of Acting and Playwriting at Boston University’s School of Theater, and he created many wonderful short plays on science themes for Boston's Museum of Science. The winner of the Lipsky award will have written the play that most exemplifies standards of excellence in Museum Theatre. The award is presented at The IMTAL luncheon during the American Alliance of Museums Conference and Expo each year.

2017 IMTY Award
This year's IMTY Award, given annually to recognize Senior Management who show outstanding support for museum theatre programming, goes to Philip Yuris, Park Supervisor at Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam, CT for “undying support of the East Haddam Stage Company, resident theatre company at Gillette Castle State Park."

Congratulations to Your New Board Members!

Vice President: Todd D. Norris, Children's Museum - Indianapolis, IN
Secretary: Elysia Segal, New York Transit Museum - Brooklyn, NY
Publications Officer: Ilana Gustafson, Natural History Museum - Los Angeles, CA
Membership Officer: Mark Wehlage, Conner Prairie - Fishers, IN

Our thanks to outgoing Publications Officer Judy Fort Brenneman and
Secretary Amber Parham for their dedicated service.

Build Your Library!

Several of our presenters at our 2014 Chicago conference mentioned books that can help you and your institution get a better handle on museum theatre practices. Others in attendance were actually the authors of a couple of those books.

The following is a list of the available texts, along with a some of our recommendations. We encourage you to make a purchase through the links below, as IMTAL will receive a small percentage as an Amazon Associate.

Exploring Museum Theatre by Tessa Bridal

Effective Exhibit Interpretation and Design by Tessa Bridal

Museum Theatre: Communicating with Visitors Through Drama by Catherine Hughes

100 Neo-Futurists Plays: From Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes) by the Neo-Futurists

Process: An Improviser's Journey by Mary Scruggs

The Viewpoints Book by Ann Bogart and Tina Landau

Improvisation for the Theatre (3rd Edition) by Viola Spolin

Theatre Games for Rehearsal: A Director's Handbook by Viola Spolin

Speak With Distinction: The Classic Skinner Method to Speech on the Stage by Edith Skinner

Kamishibai Man by Allen Say

The Kamishibai Classroom: Engaging Multiple Literacies Through the Art of "Paper Theatre" by Tara M. McGowan

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson