Theatre Resources for Students and Educators
This highly imaginative musical features a fine book by Winnie Holzman and music and lyrics by one of Broadway’s most accomplished composers, Stephen Schwartz. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked will fill you with wonder as it takes
This video is not an official part of the Projections on Stage sequence, but it is an excellent additional resource. It is intended to help people who are working their way into the use of scenic projections and might have only
In 2013, I posted a Theatre Hierarchy Handout. It has been very popular because in addition to showing lines of reporting (like a tree), it also shows lines of communication. It is also arranged to demonstrate performance vs. running
We use a lot of ice-breaker activities in theatre classrooms. These often included revealing information about one’s self or emoting in some way. You can surprise your students with either of the following two activities that do not require any
Whether they’re tap dancing, doing a move across the floor, or able to do a million pirouettes in a row, dancing feet are a beautiful thing. As long as they’re doing the right choreography and the student understands their weight
How much do you remember of your high school vocabulary lessons? You would write down your word lists, find the parts of speech, the definitions, and put each word into a sentence. This educational tool would help young students to
Demonstrating theatrical lighting in an educational environment takes a lot of setup. I have some standard lectures where I take my entire class down to one of our theatres and spend the class powering different instruments on and off while
I’ve been writing with All Tickets: Broadway Educators for a while. In that while I’ve talked a lot about my work with acting classes for kids. I change my schedules each session to match the likes, skills, and interests of
In Part One, I wrote about the reasons why improvisation is a beneficial lesson supplement in the classroom as it helps students overcome barriers. For instance, a child who feels timid and typically does not volunteer to participate or speak
I am currently working long-term as an English Language Learner teacher for first grade. I find myself constantly repeating my mantra, “It’s okay to be wrong!” These first-graders are so eager to learn, and with that drive comes the eagerness
In Part 1, I wrote about a lesson that I taught a class of second graders. The lesson was on the passage of time. Children usually learn how to tell time in first grade, which is an obstacle in itself.
I recently was faced with the challenge of teaching a classroom of second graders how to measure time. They were at a level in their learning where they were expected to know how to tell time by reading a clock,
For voice teachers like me, October is the time when students start approaching me to ask for help with their Christmas audition repertoire. My kids are singing ballads and uptempo arrangements of Christmas songs in hopes of being cast as
In my blog series, Spreading the Acting Bug, I’ve talked about my experiences working as a theatre teacher for young ones, marketing theatre classes in a non-profit atmosphere, and helping teachers find the right monologue books for actively auditioning kids.
This week with Acting Bug classes, I got some new students, introduced some new themes, and wrote a scene for the kids to learn about blocking! With a focus on stage directions, silliness, and stopping them from facing their butts
As a voice teacher, I work with pretty young kids. Sometimes I have to play the role of “Pretty Princess” and sing Disney songs with 5 year olds. Other times, I’m working with middle and high school students on repertoire
I spent the last five months teaching little kids about music. I had six 45-minute time slots with 24 children in each class and it was one of the most difficult challenges I’ve ever had to deal with. It was
Pocket Lines: Pulled it Right Out of Their… Pocket The first lines acting game requires a great deal of preparation from the teacher beforehand. As the teacher, you must compile a variety of numerous different brief lines that might be
Character Walks Since Commedia Dell’ Arte is a physical theatrical art form, it is essential and fun to have students experiment with various ways of moving their bodies. Have the students walk around the classroom as a character of their
Paper Masks This particular lesson plan can be used in various classroom settings. Some teachers may opt to use it in an elementary Social Studies class when teaching a unit on Ancient Greece as actors in Greek Theatre wore masks.
When using this exercise be sure to reference this blog post. Tempo How slowly or quickly something occurs, which can be physical, vocal, or internal. I ask a brave student to volunteer for this one, and in a whisper ask
In utilizing this exercise be sure to read this post. Shape This is literally how you shape your body, as well as the shapes you create onstage using the environment around you and other bodies. At this point, I will
Why Side Coaching? Side coaching is the process of giving directions to actors while they are playing a scene. Acting students love side coaching, becomes it forces them to think on their toes. They have to instantly take on whatever
I found inspiration for the following Reader’s Theatre activity at www.readwritethink.org. Visit this site to discover ways in which you can expand the following activity, for links, and even more Reader’s Theatre ideas to use in the classroom! Reading Rock
What It Is Reader’s Theatre is a fun approach for developing reading confidence in children. It engages kids to engage in oral reading by reading characters in scripts that has been developed from a short story or novel. It is
Here are about a dozen theatre activities for various ages. They are easy to do, fun and focus on creativity, collaboration, improvozation and self expression. Great for theatre classes, camps and workshops. Download the PDF of these activities here Copy
Many solid acting exercises are simply an extension of or associated with everyday life. That’s certainly the case with the Three Entrances activity in this blog which was inspired by Uta Hagen’s Three Entrances acting exercise. Here’s a considered
Nothing glamorous about this; it’s just a one-page Word Doc calendar. You can print it, photocopy it, and fill it out to suit the current month. Download Blank Calendar Exercise Contributed by Matt Kizer Matt Kizer is the webmaster for
It’s not uncommon for writers to observe people in everyday life and get ideas for characters and even entire plays. This playwriting exercise offers 30 pictures of 30 different people. The assignment is to create a play creating and using
This is a simple playwriting exercise designed to get students writing dialogue and creating conflict on stage. As it is with all exercises, there are rules for this one. Sometimes students will protest the fact that there are rules for
Attached is a PDF that outlines basic formatting for a play manuscript. This is the industry standard and it based on the Dramatists Guild formatting guidelines. Sample Format Page
This acting exercise gets students focused on doing rather than thinking. This is useful and fun for every age, from pre-school through college. Get out of your head and into your body! As an acting teacher, one of the biggest
This exercise focuses on developing concentration, communication and creativity. It works well with primary and middle school children and may also be used with high school students. Objectives 1. Students will identify three main skills they use in their daily
Random Item