Curriculum & Lesson Planning

In our last post, we talked about creating a monologue notebook to help students collect and reflect on various monologues that could be useful for any upcoming auditions. In this post, we’ll be...

Finding the perfect monologue for an upcoming audition is often challenging. Students want to have the best piece possible, but may not know how to go about finding a good monologue, or what even...

When you’ve reached the end of the semester or completed your school show, it’s likely your students will be dealing with some post-show blues or wondering – what is the next step? Hopefully they...

“Special needs” is a broad term that describes individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Every student with special needs is different, and...

As drama educators, we obviously believe that the arts should be a crucial part of a student’s academic experience. Do a quick web search of “why study the arts?” and hundreds of articles in...

In a scene from the Broadway production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the lead character Christopher explains how he solved a difficult math problem for his A-level exam....

We asked drama teachers: What tips do you have for keeping your rehearsals focused? Let’s hear from the front lines! John H. subscribes to short and sweet: • My rehearsal schedule is short. 25 days...

When students are looking to get involved in theatre, do they have the needed skills? We aren’t just talking about “hard skills.” Hard skills are the specific abilities or knowledge needed to do a...

Creating a theatrical production is a group effort. For every student who appears onstage, there are even more students, staff members, and volunteers who help breathe life into the production....

Character Prompts“You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one. ~ James Froude” Students often miss connecting character development as part of the writing...

Vocal health and hygiene are crucial for drama students. Whether students are working on monologues, group scenes, or musical numbers, having a healthy voice is a must. It’s important for drama...

One of the exciting aspects of rehearsal is experimenting with the text of the script and figuring out what the characters are saying and how they should say it. Each approach to the text will...

For those students who love dancing, simply mentioning the word “dance” gets them up on their feet and immediately moving. For other students, the idea of pirouettes, step-touches, and fan kicks...

Stage combat is always one of the most eagerly anticipated lessons in drama class. Stage combat is fun to do and it’s a great workout. And when it’s done well it looks spectacular onstage. It can...

Fitness? Hey, this is supposed to be drama class, not gym class! I’m not a jock! I’m terrible at sports! Are you telling me I need to lose weight? Fitness is so important for drama students. Drama...

Nineteen million people tuned in to watch the 2018 Golden Globes. And I bet you a number of them were students (maybe some in your classroom), and many were drama educators. Listening to the...

What is a signature gesture? It’s a nonverbal, repeated movement your character is known for, that you perform in a particular way that is unique and identifiable. Common, well-known gestures...

After a production closes, reflecting on your process and thinking about the future are the natural next steps. They’re definitely an important part of the process, for you as a teacher and for...