(Guest Author – This article is written by playwright Coni Koepfinger. Please see her bio below) Ever since I was a little girl, I felt that there was more to the story. That a curtain would lift and, well, something
This video demonstrates briefly how safety expectations differ between a stage and public spaces. The full transcript is available here: https://scenicandlighting.com/article/managing-risk-in-the-theater-space/
The word “limelight” began as a bit of technical jargon two hundred years ago. The original meaning is long gone, but the word developed gravity . The metaphor has replaced the original meaning. “I’ve spent years when I’ve not been
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
An Alphabet of Celebrities was written and illustrated in 1899 by Oliver Herford, an American humorist. It is almost forgotten today, but it contains a wealth of names and characters worth exploring. There are about 83 names or characters mentioned
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
This ten-minute video demonstrates the basics of lighting design. Washes, specials, distance, field angle, and other considerations are demonstrated in a virtual theatre space in a simple and conversational manner.
This is an open-education resource, like everything else on this site. It is a step-by-step lighting design project packaged as a PowerPoint file. The PowerPoint file can be downloaded here: https://scenicandlighting.com/downloads/Light_Plot_Assignment.pptx Your students are instructed to edit the PowerPoint slides.
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
This article follows Part III in this series, Projections on Stage Part III: Choices about Screens Projections on stage can be more than just a big square image behind the actors. They can be broken up, spread around, and appear
From Rhett Ellis: DRAMAGLOM is the acting game. You draw three cards– Cue, Expression, and Intensity. You read the Cue card with the feeling of the Expression card at the Level (1-5) of the intensity card. Your team mate guesses
Much of what we see is the result of complex processes happening in our brains. I had a discussion online yesterday with someone who thought that projectors might be used to darken a screen down by projecting black at it.
This is part three of a series. The previous part is Projections on Stage Part II: Making Good Use of Ordinary Projectors Anything that reflects light – even just a little bit – can be a screen. The bigger question
We use lots of different cables in the theatre. We have speaker cables, microphone cables, and electrical cables. We use DMX cables, ethernet, DVI, extension cords, VGA, HDMI, and displayport cables. Every single one of these has one thing in
This is part two of a series. The first part is Projections on Stage Part I: How do I make them brighter? Design the set around the screens It is easy to think of projections as being just the background behind
The Butter Gun I’m not saying I do, but I am not saying that I do not. In my home, on my breakfast table, I may, or I may not have a gun that shoots butter. If I did have
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
In a previous Broadway Educators article, I discussed tactics for working with young students with anxiety. As technology is more prevalent in everyday use and common conversations switch from live to digital, we start to see more students with anxious
When I was in college I studied music performance. Besides the theory classes, the voice lessons, and mandatory recitals, we also were required to take a performance lab. It was in this class that we would get to perform our
In 2002, I created a set of browser-based light labs. These demonstrated the principals of lighting design, as well as creating an accessible place where people can experiment with light. There are some pros and cons to a browser-based lab.
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
During the summer when my teaching schedule dwindles down, I take on a bunch of arts summer camps. I help out as a counsellor for theatre camps for little ones and work with teen girls on songwriting and choral ensemble
Whether you teach voice lessons, acting classes, or musical ensembles… you’ve seen it. The blank stare as your student is performing. They go on complete auto-pilot and are clearly not thinking about the words they’re singing or saying. There are
Currently, I am working with a theatre in New England as an acting teacher for young kids. This class is an introductory course to theatre directions, jargon, auditioning, and acting games. It’s definitely a fun course though the majority of
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.
Working in multiple facets of performing arts education, I come across a lot of kinds of people. I come across families filled with performers looking to get their kids involved in what they grew up with, families whose kids are
Finding a common ground when you’re working with kids not familiar with the world of theatre can be challenging. You can belt out “Defying Gravity” at them all you want but they probably won’t understand. Though I don’t know why
When I started teaching acting classes, I knew I’d need to be able to start each class with some basic knowledge. The hard part about that is that I have some students who come back to take the same acting
In past Broadway Educators blogs, I’ve written about teaching students with behavior problems. While it’s never fun to have to “lay down the law” to your theatre students, especially when it’s an extra-curricular circumstance, it is fun to offer up
When you’re a twenty-something doing a bunch of survival jobs and performing nights and weekends, chances are good that you’ll be roped into a teaching job at a local theatre. The results of these low-paying, high energy jobs can be
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
Every Saturday morning, I’m lucky enough to get to teach a group of 7-10 year olds doing acting games and improving self-confidence. This weekend, we took a break from classes and the students were invited to watch a youth production
Last week, I shared the news of my new class for kids on Saturday mornings called The Acting Bug! The hardest part about the class is that the students don’t have any acting experience so I have to find a
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