Guest Lecture: Creativity in Collaboration
Sands College of Performing Arts • Pace University • March 10, 2026

Claudia Alick led a guest lecture and workshop with 30 tech and design theater majors focused on what it truly takes to build meaningful, sustainable collaboration.

Drawing from her work with Calling Up Justice, the Network of Ensemble Theaters, and her production of Electra, Claudia guided students through the layered ecosystem of collaborative practice—centering both technical rigor and human relationship.

The session explored:

• Communication as a creative tool, not just logistics
• Accountability as care, not punishment
• The balance of soft skills (listening, consent, adaptability) and hard skills (production systems, design execution)
• Building systems that support collaboration rather than strain it
• Accessibility as a generative design principle
• Self-awareness around capacity, boundaries, and sustainability

Students engaged deeply with disability justice frameworks, which many described as both empowering and transformative for how they think about leadership, artistry, and collaboration.

Following a case study presentation, Claudia worked directly with students on their own projects—offering feedback, asking critical questions, and helping them refine their approaches to collaboration, design, and process. The session emphasized not just how to make work, but how to make work together in ways that are ethical, accessible, and alive.