Introducing the Session:

We recommend that individuals opening a Players session follow a format similar to the one below. The bolded text identifies the basic tactic that a speaker would use. The italicized text provides sample language that would be appropriate for someone introducing a session centered around a performance of The Fence.

• Welcome participants. Share your personal experience of the Players work and/or information about their history/reputation. 

​Welcome. I'm glad you could join us this afternoon. I'm pleased to have the CRLT Players join us today to assist us in thinking about the kinds of issues you may encounter in your work on casebook committees in the coming year. At the invitation of x person or group, the Players brought the sketch you'll see today to an event I attended last fall. That group had a very positive conversation about our collective responsibilities to the tenure process and we are excited to join with you and with the Players to start (or continue) a similar dialogue about how we might most equitably approach evaluating our colleagues at this important stage of their career. 

OR Welcome. I'm glad you could join us this afternoon. I'm pleased to have the CRLT Players join us today to assist us in thinking about the kinds of issues you may encounter in your work on casebook committees in the coming year. For the past 18 years, the Players have used theatre to spark dialogue with audiences of faculty, graduate students, and academic leaders at universities and professional conferences across the country about the ways the academy might become more inclusive and supportive of all of its members. Their innovative approaches to kickstarting conversations about diversity in higher education along with a repertoire of over 25 sketches have been used to reach more than 50,000 individuals since 2000 and we're excited to have them join us today.

• Identify a goal that the you believe the Players session will help the assembled group meet or move toward. 

​As you know, our institution is committed to ensuring that every candidate for tenure is fairly evaluated, and we think we have a strong track record on that front. We realize, though, that taking the time to reflect on this process together is a necessary part of realizing that commitment and giving you the tools to undertake this responsibility successfully. We believe that the time we'll spend together this afternoon will help us to do that.

• Introduce the Players facilitator. 

​I'd like now to introduce Dr. Sara Armstrong, the Artistic Director of the Players. She'll tell you more about what we'll be doing in this afternoon's session and how we'll be working toward those goals today.

Concluding the Session

At the close of the session, the Players facilitator will briefly synthesize the discussion, point to a few key takeaways, and thank the actors and the audience. At that time, she will often (though not always) transition back to a previously identified institutional representative. Things it might be useful for this individual to do include:

• Compliment participants for their thoughtful engagement and express excitement about the ways the work begun in this session will be carried forward/built upon in future activities (either in participants' usual role responsibilities or in special planned events).
• Advertise upcoming special events if planned.
• Explain how session evaluations will be administered and submitted (in the room or online) and request that attendees take the time to participate in the evaluation process.