2026 Symposium Schedule

Entertainment

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 8:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Hosted by the 2026 Symposium Committee, under the leadership of Elisabeth Campbell and Kelsey Bessette.

Schedule Overview

The Stevenson Symposium is listed below. The schedule is organized into two student groups with slightly different timetables:

  • Student Group One: Late Lunch: Students will attend the Workshop Sessions in the morning and the Featured Session in the afternoon, with lunch from 12:30 to 1:30.
  • Student Group Two: Early Lunch: Students will attend the Featured Session in the morning and Workshop Sessions in the afternoon, with lunch from 11:15 to 12:15.

All participants are required to attend one featured session and two additional sessions during the day. Please check your group assignment and the full program to confirm your specific times.

Schedule & Abstracts

Group One

Late Lunch

Students are required to attend one of the featured sessions offered in the afternoon at the Keck Auditorium or Gym.

Workshop 1 — 9:45 – 11:00 a.m.

This workshop will begin with an historical overview of the African Diaspora in the Americas and the major cultural influences on societies in the hemisphere that resulted from the movement of people, ideas, and cultural exchange. Moving from the deeper past to the national period and up to our current moment, we will trace the development of several musical styles including merengue, samba, salsa, bachata, and reggaeton. Major contributing artists for each musical genre will be highlighted and briefly discussed. The second part of the workshop will consist of a brief instrumental overview, learning the various dances, and practicing our moves on the dance floor.

In this one-hour Media Day project, students will create a cinematic “Glambot-style” slow-motion clip that showcases their personal brand and on-air personality. Each student will also record a short radio-style introduction, which will be layered over their slow-motion footage to create a polished media identity piece. By the end of class, we will premiere a professional-looking class highlight reel that students can share and use as part of their media portfolio.

Experience the techniques that go into creating a DJ’s most impactful tool: the mashup! We will look at all the elements that go into selecting the perfect songs for a DJ set. Students will also learn the basic layout of DJ equipment and how these tools create a versatile field for experimentation and self expression. Part technical demo, part creative improvisation, the Art of the Mashup will introduce the world behind the DJ decks.

In this presentation, attendees will learn about Jacques Lord’s journey into magic, beginning with getting started Sleight-of-Hand at Stevenson. The presentation will tackle the question of what makes magic a performing art when done correctly and explore what is a “trick” vs. what is “theatrical entertainment.” Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and debate the question whether magic can be at the same level as theater, opera, dance, or music.

Students will learn how to organize sounds onto a graphic score using art materials, and create a short soundscape using instruments, found sounds, and/or vocalizations. Students will perform their soundscapes for each other in small groups, and present their graphic scores.

Step inside the world of film scoring and discover how music brings stories to life.

Join Marlon E. Espino film composer and music producer as he reveals the creative process behind composing and producing music for film and visual media. From the first spark of an idea to the final mix, participants will explore how composers translate emotion, narrative, and visual storytelling into powerful musical experiences.

Question: How many songwriters want to write more songs than they currently write? Answer: 100%. This is true whether you’ve written zero songs or hundreds. In this workshop, we’ll get into how it can be done, with equal emphasis on the practical (how to get started and make progress) and the philosophical (how to surmount imposing obstacles and plumb greater depths). In addition to discussion, there will be opportunities to experiment with simple techniques – or, rather, ways of thinking – that work for me. Spoiler alert: it takes commitment, but not necessarily more time. With that in mind, I hope to empower students to take control of their songwriting destinies.

Our environment and world tell our stories. Using platforms such as poetry, dance, and music hip hop has given us a channel of true expression. Join dance educator, choreographer Jahnna Biddle for an experience inside the dance industry and how it has channeled the way dance influences us everyday. This workshop offers an insight into iconic choreographers, a moment to explore and learn hip hop movement, and leaves participants empowering their expression through dance.

Come and hear the likes of Dr. Manspeaker, Mr. Lips, and Mr. Bessette play through a few tunes and talk a little bit about choosing to find joy in performing music for others on top of busy full-time jobs.

What would you give to have your questions answered about Hollywood and the chance of pursuing a career in today’s Entertainment Industry by someone who has both inside knowledge and outside-the-box strategy for you?

As an Actor, Writer, Director, and Casting Director in Film, Television, and thousands of commercials for decades in Hollywood, Paul Ventura has seen it all and has stories to tell; along with strategies to save time, meet important mentors, make better choices, and go beyond just getting jobs and start building a career!

Elena will give you an introduction to television writing, discussing what the current tv landscape looks like and how she went from studying drama at NYU to writing for shows on Netflix, NBC, Amazon and more. She’ll then give you a crash course on screenwriting with some fun entry level exercises that can help you begin to explore this form of storytelling with an emphasis on drawing from your own life for inspiration!

Workshop 2 — 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Join filmmaker and entrepreneur, Anna Richardson White, for a screening of her documentary short Appalheads, which explores her family’s legacy of filmmaking in the Appalachian Mountains where she was born and raised. Following the film, Anna will present on how her personal story has come to define her work and encourage the students in the audience to think more deeply about sharing their own individual experiences through various forms of media. The session concludes with an interactive “Personal Narrative Workshop,” where students will identify and frame their own unique stories for the screen (fiction or documentary), podcasts, written memoirs and more. In this session, students will leave understanding themselves and their own story a bit more and hopefully feel inspired to share that story with the world.

This presentation uses the documentary Volunteers Needed to explore how media and behavioral economics influence decision-making and inspire social action. The award-winning documentary Volunteers Needed has been shown on four continents in multiple countries and inspired legislative action in several cities in California as well as a bill in U.S. Congress HR.4732. Students will examine how storytelling can motivate change and will discuss externalities, unintended consequences, and how a small group of individuals can create meaningful change.

Experience the techniques that go into creating a DJ’s most impactful tool: the mashup! We will look at all the elements that go into selecting the perfect songs for a DJ set. Students will also learn the basic layout of DJ equipment and how these tools create a versatile field for experimentation and self expression. Part technical demo, part creative improvisation, the Art of the Mashup will introduce the world behind the DJ decks.

I will talk about the main areas of film and TV production and how a young person can fit into a specific segment. This will cover Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production, and Administration.

Step inside the world of film scoring and discover how music brings stories to life.

Join Marlon E. Espino film composer and music producer as he reveals the creative process behind composing and producing music for film and visual media. From the first spark of an idea to the final mix, participants will explore how composers translate emotion, narrative, and visual storytelling into powerful musical experiences.

Our environment and world tell our stories. Using platforms such as poetry, dance, and music hip hop has given us a channel of true expression. Join dance educator, choreographer Jahnna Biddle for an experience inside the dance industry and how it has channeled the way dance influences us everyday. This workshop offers an insight into iconic choreographers, a moment to explore and learn hip hop movement, and leaves participants empowering their expression through dance.

Come and hear the likes of Dr. Manspeaker, Mr. Lips, and Mr. Bessette play through a few tunes and talk a little bit about choosing to find joy in performing music for others on top of busy full-time jobs.

In this storytelling workshop, you will learn to connect with what truly excites you, shape that passion into story, and practice techniques that elevate your storytelling craft.

LUNCH — 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Featured Session
1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Students are required to attend one of the featured sessions offered in the afternoon.

Blending live performance with storytelling, MC Lars proves that “school subjects” and “real life” are the same thing. A Stevenson and Stanford grad, he connects Shakespeare, Poe, and Moby-Dick with hip-hop technique, creator tech, and independent business, showing how to remix what you learn into art, identity, and a future you actually control.

Get ready for an amazing line dancing event. Join us for a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, perfect for dancers of all levels. There’s something for everyone to enjoy. We can’t wait to see you on the dance floor!

Group Two

Early Lunch

Students are required to attend one of the featured sessions in the morning at the Keck Auditorium or Gym.

Featured Session: 9:15 a.m. – 11:15 p.m.

Choose your Featured Session for the morning.

Blending live performance with storytelling, MC Lars proves that “school subjects” and “real life” are the same thing. A Stevenson and Stanford grad, he connects Shakespeare, Poe, and Moby-Dick with hip-hop technique, creator tech, and independent business, showing how to remix what you learn into art, identity, and a future you actually control.

Get ready for an amazing line dancing event. Join us for a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, perfect for dancers of all levels. There’s something for everyone to enjoy. We can’t wait to see you on the dance floor!

LUNCH — 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Workshop 1 — 12:15 – 1:30 p.m.

This will be a fun, high-energy, and accessible class, we will explore the art of using a feather boa as an extension of your body. We will break down essential techniques to ensure your feathers look fabulous, not chaotic.

What You Will Learn:

  • The Basics: Proper ways to hold, carry, and wear your boa for maximum dramatic effect.
  • Technique & Movement: Smooth, showgirl-style walks, body undulations, and shoulder shimmies that make the feathers fly.
  • Signature Moves: How to drape, twirl, and utilize the boa for a dramatic “TA-DA!” moment.
  • Choreography: Combine these moves into a simple, and show-stopping, short routine to take home.

Details:

  • No Experience Required: Beginner-friendly!
  • What to Bring: A long feather boa (8-ply or higher recommended for maximum fluff), and wear comfortable clothing to move in.
  • Alternatives: If you don’t have a boa, a long scarf or featherless prop can be used to learn the choreography.

In this session, freelance TV, video, and film producer Tom Cohen will talk about a career in the entertainment industry. He’ll discuss how he started out as a comedic performer in New York which led to a career in TV production. He’ll answer questions about the ups and downs of a career in entertainment, how to break into this career, what tools are required to set yourself up for success, and how to pivot as the industry evolves and changes. He’ll also provide a screening of a recent documentary that he produced for the NHL Network called “NHL Trophy Case” and answer questions about it.

Elena will give you an introduction to television writing, discussing what the current tv landscape looks like and how she went from studying drama at NYU to writing for shows on Netflix, NBC, Amazon and more. She’ll then give you a crash course on screenwriting with some fun entry level exercises that can help you begin to explore this form of storytelling with an emphasis on drawing from your own life for inspiration!

What would you give to have your questions answered about Hollywood and the chance of pursuing a career in today’s Entertainment Industry by someone who has both inside knowledge and outside-the-box strategy for you?

As an Actor, Writer, Director, and Casting Director in Film, Television, and thousands of commercials for decades in Hollywood, Paul Ventura has seen it all and has stories to tell; along with strategies to save time, meet important mentors, make better choices, and go beyond just getting jobs and start building a career!

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.’ This truth reminds us that silence is complicity, and speaking out is essential.

Learn why your voice matters, how grassroots advocacy can shape public policy, and why engaging in civic action is one of the most powerful tools we have to create a just society.

Students will work in small, collaborative groups to shoot one complete roll of black and white Super 8 film using a prompt. They will learn to load the film and the basics of the camera, as well as showcase a reel on an original super 8 projector. Completed works will be emailed to students post-workshop.

Whether it’s a comedic toe-stomp, a slap from a spurned lover, or a brawl between rival warriors, almost all media today involves some sort of fictionalized combat. This hands-on workshop will focus on the basic techniques and concepts of unarmed Stage Combat.

Disclaimer – This is a physically involved workshop and you should wear close-toed shoes, clothes that you are able to move well and comfortably in.

What makes for good lighting in a film? What about bad lighting? How does lighting affect our feelings of a physical space? How can lighting dictate the tone of a scene in a film?

50 random people could answer these questions, and chances are that the answers would start to sound similar enough to form a general consensus. Yet most wouldn’t even know how those answers came to them. No one needs reminding that a golden sunset over a crystalline ocean is pleasant, or that the neighbor’s flood light blasting through your bedroom window is unpleasant. Light is just something we live in and know intuitively. After all, one of our five senses is dedicated entirely to perceiving it. And although our familiarity with light is seemingly automatic as human beings, there are a select few whose fascination with lighting has driven them towards a more manual understanding. Painters, photographers, and filmmakers across generations have dedicated their lives to breaking down the technical elements of how light behaves and how it can impact an image. From their findings, they too formed a consensus and from this, a formula emerged. It is one that is so prevalent, so fundamentally appealing, and so dominant in film and television, that once you’ve seen it, you won’t unsee it.

This workshop will introduce participants to a basic understanding of the formula for effective lighting. We will learn about various qualities of light, 3-point lighting, the prominence of “upstage” lighting, and how light is “motivated” in an image. No previous experience with film or lighting is necessary.

In this presentation, attendees will learn about Jacques Lord’s journey into magic, beginning with getting started Sleight-of-Hand at Stevenson. The presentation will tackle the question of what makes magic a performing art when done correctly and explore what is a “trick” vs. what is “theatrical entertainment.” Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and debate the question whether magic can be at the same level as theater, opera, dance, or music.

Students will learn how to organize sounds onto a graphic score using art materials, and create a short soundscape using instruments, found sounds, and/or vocalizations. Students will perform their soundscapes for each other in small groups, and present their graphic scores.

Question: How many songwriters want to write more songs than they currently write? Answer: 100%. This is true whether you’ve written zero songs or hundreds. In this workshop, we’ll get into how it can be done, with equal emphasis on the practical (how to get started and make progress) and the philosophical (how to surmount imposing obstacles and plumb greater depths). In addition to discussion, there will be opportunities to experiment with simple techniques – or, rather, ways of thinking – that work for me. Spoiler alert: it takes commitment, but not necessarily more time. With that in mind, I hope to empower students to take control of their songwriting destinies.

Workshop 2 — 1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Join filmmaker and entrepreneur, Anna Richardson White, for a screening of her documentary short Appalheads, which explores her family’s legacy of filmmaking in the Appalachian Mountains where she was born and raised. Following the film, Anna will present on how her personal story has come to define her work and encourage the students in the audience to think more deeply about sharing their own individual experiences through various forms of media. The session concludes with an interactive “Personal Narrative Workshop,” where students will identify and frame their own unique stories for the screen (fiction or documentary), podcasts, written memoirs and more. In this session, students will leave understanding themselves and their own story a bit more and hopefully feel inspired to share that story with the world.

Step into the world of flow arts in this beginner-friendly workshop designed to get you moving and expressing yourself through prop-based movement. You’ll get to try poi, fans, and hula hoops while exploring how flow can help you move, create, focus, and maybe even perform. You’ll also get to take home a prop (first come, first serve)!

Throughout the workshop, you will learn foundational concepts such as timing, direction, and movement planes. We will also take time to honor the cultural roots of poi as an art form that originated with the Māori people of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Poi has long served as a practice of storytelling, strength-building, and cultural identity. While our focus is on modern performance-based flow arts, we approach this movement with deep respect for its Indigenous origins.

No prior experience is needed. All levels are welcome. Just bring your curiosity and a willingness to move, explore, and express yourself!

This presentation uses the documentary Volunteers Needed to explore how media and behavioral economics influence decision-making and inspire social action. The award-winning documentary Volunteers Needed has been shown on four continents in multiple countries and inspired legislative action in several cities in California as well as a bill in U.S. Congress HR.4732. Students will examine how storytelling can motivate change and will discuss externalities, unintended consequences, and how a small group of individuals can create meaningful change.

Experience the techniques that go into creating a DJ’s most impactful tool: the mashup! We will look at all the elements that go into selecting the perfect songs for a DJ set. Students will also learn the basic layout of DJ equipment and how these tools create a versatile field for experimentation and self expression. Part technical demo, part creative improvisation, the Art of the Mashup will introduce the world behind the DJ decks.

In this storytelling workshop, you will learn to connect with what truly excites you, shape that passion into story, and practice techniques that elevate your storytelling craft.

Whether it’s a comedic toe-stomp, a slap from a spurned lover, or a brawl between rival warriors, almost all media today involves some sort of fictionalized combat. This hands-on workshop will focus on the basic techniques and concepts of unarmed Stage Combat.

Disclaimer – This is a physically involved workshop and you should wear close-toed shoes, clothes that you are able to move well and comfortably in.

What makes for good lighting in a film? What about bad lighting? How does lighting affect our feelings of a physical space? How can lighting dictate the tone of a scene in a film?

50 random people could answer these questions, and chances are that the answers would start to sound similar enough to form a general consensus. Yet most wouldn’t even know how those answers came to them. No one needs reminding that a golden sunset over a crystalline ocean is pleasant, or that the neighbor’s flood light blasting through your bedroom window is unpleasant. Light is just something we live in and know intuitively. After all, one of our five senses is dedicated entirely to perceiving it. And although our familiarity with light is seemingly automatic as human beings, there are a select few whose fascination with lighting has driven them towards a more manual understanding. Painters, photographers, and filmmakers across generations have dedicated their lives to breaking down the technical elements of how light behaves and how it can impact an image. From their findings, they too formed a consensus and from this, a formula emerged. It is one that is so prevalent, so fundamentally appealing, and so dominant in film and television, that once you’ve seen it, you won’t unsee it.

This workshop will introduce participants to a basic understanding of the formula for effective lighting. We will learn about various qualities of light, 3-point lighting, the prominence of “upstage” lighting, and how light is “motivated” in an image. No previous experience with film or lighting is necessary.

In this presentation, attendees will learn about Jacques Lord’s journey into magic, beginning with getting started Sleight-of-Hand at Stevenson. The presentation will tackle the question of what makes magic a performing art when done correctly and explore what is a “trick” vs. what is “theatrical entertainment.” Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and debate the question whether magic can be at the same level as theater, opera, dance, or music.

Dr. Greene will share how the arts have helped her pivot and process through life’s twists and turns, while also creating open doors for new experiences and success. Students will then have the opportunity to reflect on a specific memory they’d like to process and create a memory page with visual art materials.

What would you give to have your questions answered about Hollywood and the chance of pursuing a career in today’s Entertainment Industry by someone who has both inside knowledge and outside-the-box strategy for you?

As an Actor, Writer, Director, and Casting Director in Film, Television, and thousands of commercials for decades in Hollywood, Paul Ventura has seen it all and has stories to tell; along with strategies to save time, meet important mentors, make better choices, and go beyond just getting jobs and start building a career!

Ever wondered what it’s like to travel the world—or to create performances that inspire thousands? Join dance luminary Lillian Barbeito for an inside look at life in dance, from performing to producing and directing. Watch a live choreography demo, then jump in during a mini workshop to create your own short dances. Discover how choreography is more than steps—it’s a way to express yourself, explore the world, and truly dance through life.

What does it take to be an actor today—in a world of AI, digital media, and constant change? Can technology replace human performers—or is live presence something no machine can touch?

In this hands-on workshop, you’ll explore the power of presence through movement, improvisation, and collaborative playmaking. Jump into a status exercise to feel the impact of body language, join a “Four Corners” discussion on what theatre means today, and create a 1-Minute Modern Play using stillness, technology, and audience connection. The session also invites you to consider a big question of our time: can technology replace actors—or is live human presence irreplaceable?

Try a cold reading, give feedback, and reflect on what theatre needs most. And yes—donuts are included, because some of the best ideas happen with a little sugar and a lot of curiosity.