Nowadays, everything changes in an instant. As artists and creatives, it’s increasingly difficult to make meaning with the work. How do we hold space? How do we sustain each other? Conference Chair Aishwariyah Shanmuganathan, or Asha, tells us how the Theatre Arts Conference 2025 (TAC 2025) weaves together the possibility of a more inclusive future as we navigate through the chaos of it all.
You've presided over TAC for the 2nd time now, what makes TAC 2025 distinct from the previous edition?
TAC 2023 marked a post pandemic maturity in our field. We focused more on grounding, on going inward to reflect on foundational practices and branching outward to explore growth in a new world. TAC 2025, in contrast, feels more fluid and exploratory.
The theme “All Aboard!” invites us to move, to travel across disciplines, identities, and methodologies. There’s a dynamism to this edition, a sense of momentum and exchange. We’re seeing more cross-cultural collaborations, more risk-taking in pedagogy and performance, and a bolder reimagining of what theatre arts can be and do especially in this region.
What have been some of the most meaningful milestones or turning points for the Theatre Arts Conference since you first took on the chair role?
One key milestone was building TAC into a more participatory space; less a top-down series of talks, and more a forum for exchange across disciplines, geographies, and generations. The increased involvement of emerging practitioners and youth voices has really shifted the tone of the conference. Another turning point was consciously aligning our programming with pressing global concerns: colonial legacies, climate justice, AI in arts education – making the conference even more urgent and relevant.
The theme this year is ‘All Aboard! Navigating Crosscurrents of Theatre Arts Practice and Beyond.’ How did you and the team approach curating such diverse perspectives across programmes?
We began by acknowledging that the metaphor of ‘navigation’ implies complexity like crosswinds, detours, and unexpected encounters. So instead of streamlining a singular narrative, we welcomed multiplicity for this conference. We reached out to collaborators not just within the usual academic or institutional networks, but also independent artists, community practitioners, and transdisciplinary thinkers. We wanted TAC 2025 to feel like a map-in-progress, inviting people to come aboard with their own compass and questions.
You’ve long worked at the intersections of traditional and contemporary performance. How do you see those intersections reflected in the conference programme?
TAC 2025 foregrounds hybridity not just as an aesthetic, but as a critical stance. We’re seeing sessions that blend classical forms with digital dramaturgy, indigenous epistemologies with speculative futures.
What excites me is how participants aren’t just showcasing this work, they’re also questioning the politics of hybridity. Whose tradition? Whose technology? That kind of reflexivity is vital. It mirrors the conversations I’ve been invested in throughout my own practice.
This year’s conference spotlights issues like decolonisation, post truth, and inclusive pedagogy. Why are these conversations vital for arts educators and practitioners right now?
Because the classroom and the stage are no longer neutral spaces, if they ever were. Decolonisation challenges us to unlearn inherited hierarchies. Post-truth reminds us that meaning-making is political. And inclusive pedagogy demands that we rethink not just what we teach, but how and why. These aren't just intellectual debates instead they affect who gets to feel seen, safe, and heard in our learning and performance spaces.
TAC 2025 brings together voices from across the globe. What excites you most about this international mix of perspectives?
What excites me is the opportunity to disrupt assumptions. To me, global exchange isn’t about tokenism or exoticism, it’s about recognising that innovation often happens in the margins, in the vernacular, in the underfunded or overlooked. Bringing together practitioners from such varied contexts allows us to reframe what counts as 'cutting-edge' or 'universal.' It keeps the field porous, alive.
What do you hope participants—whether they’re teachers, artists, or students—take away from TAC 2025?
I hope they leave with more questions than they came with. But also, with a sense of being less alone in their questions. Whether you're grappling with curriculum reform, ethical representation, or finding your voice as an emerging artist, TAC 2025 is a space of solidarity. And ideally, of transformation. Even if it's a small shift in how you think, teach, or collaborate.
Looking ahead, where do you see the Theatre Arts Conference—and the wider field of drama education—evolving in the next five years?
I see TAC evolving into a more continuous platform, expanding beyond a biennial event into a network that supports year-round dialogue, research, and practice. For drama education more broadly, we’ll see even deeper engagement with interdisciplinarity and social justice. The field will need to remain agile and responsive to shifting technologies, political climates, and student needs. But at its core, the Theatre Arts Conference will continue to be about presence, process, and the power of story.
The Theatre Arts Conference 2025 runs from 17–19 July 2025. Find out more at bit.ly/sdeatac2025-info