Curriculum & Lesson Planning

The phrase “a picture tells a thousand words” is pretty well-worn, yet the concept has proven true time and time again. Look at any picture that captures a moment in action – the words needed to...

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re hyperaware of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton, which has won Tony Awards, a Grammy, the Pulitzer Prize, and the accolades of everyone from...

During the first week of class, it’s imperative to inform students about classroom rules and expectations in order to get started on a positive note. However, how boring is it to just stand and...

If you study theatre history, it is a given that Shakespeare will make an appearance. But it’s not a given that you will hit upon 17th Century France and the works of Molière. What was theatre like...

Theatre is all about change. Not only do we want to look back and identify origins, but it’s also important to explore theatre history to see how the form evolves. Often that evolution comes from...

If you’re going to study theatre history, Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Era are two of the most fascinating topics to study. But time and time again students (and teachers) resist against...

Theatre History is a necessary unit in any drama curriculum. To understand where we are, we have to explore where we’ve been. For example, to understand the role of the actor, it’s important to...

When working with historical theatre pieces by playwrights like Shakespeare and Marlowe, a common complaint is that their diction is difficult for students to understand. One way to help students...

Since Shakespearean plays have been around for hundreds of years, we need to shake things up by trying new ideas in order to make these shows different and exciting. One of the most wonderful...

In Ancient Greek Theatre, there is an interesting similarity among the plays written during that time: there is always a chorus included. Nowadays most people would associate a chorus with...

“Body language accounts for 60% of our understanding of emotions, our reception of subliminal messages and our grasp of relationships.” - Ron Cameron-Lewis, Acting Skills for Life Student actors...

Cross-curricular projects are awesome in theory, especially in the drama classroom. They are a great way to demonstrate comprehension by taking information in one form and applying it to another....

Is what you say in the classroom hitting home? Communication is a two way street. It’s not just about sending information out into the world, there’s a receiving aspect as well. Give and take. If...

Drama teacher Joshua Hatt started using Google Drive as a response to the frustration of having his students lose curriculum booklets time and time again. His work developed into a powerful online...

A common challenge for student actors is the gap between intention and presentation. There is a difference between what students intend to put on stage and what they actually do.  Students often...

We’ve all seen those reviews. The ones that rip the theatre production up one side and down the other. They criticize the scenery and the script. They suggest that the leads take up basket weaving,...

This is a great classroom exercise to not only have fun with Shakespeare but to also see how well students can re-frame which ever Shakespeare play they are studying. Take a character from one...

If you’re starting out in your drama teacher journey, you will learn very quickly that lesson planning is the bane of your existence. It is never-ending. You may need to show your lessons to an...