Curriculum & Lesson Planning

““I’m just one hundred and one, five months and a day.” “I can’t believe that!” said Alice. “Can’t you?” the Queen said in a pitying tone. “Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.” Alice...

It’s the first day of semester. You have a Grade Nine / Drama One class or a group of students you haven’t worked with before. They stare at you, you stare at them. How can you determine what they...

If you want your students to take their character development to the next level, introduce them to Laban Movement. Laban Movement will provide them with a clear and understandable tool set that...

Not only is it important for students to reflect on and evaluate the work of others, they also need to build self evaluation skills. But self assessment can be tricky. It takes a lot of practice to...

Peer evaluation is a process whereby learners give feedback to other learners. It is key to the learning process for a number of reasons. Curriculum Understanding In order to assess an activity,...

Who is the most interesting person you know? Who is the most interesting person your dad knows? Who is the most interesting person your boss knows? It could be a specific story, a whole history or...

Whether you’re performing your first role or your fortieth, Theatrefolk has a great roundup of guides to help you prepare for your role, to analyze the script from a few different angles, and to...

How do people create illusion out of harsh reality? In the play A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche Dubois works hard at creating an illusion. She tells lies about her past so that others see her in...

Performances are rarely the only area where learning occurs in the drama classroom. What goes on during instruction, what happens in rehearsals and group work, how problems arise and are solved —...

Critical Thinking is a buzzword. It’s one of the keystone 21st century skills. How do we incorporate critical thinking into the drama classroom? Provide steps not buzzwordsCritical thinking is a...

Copyright Law affects all Drama teachers, students and educators. Anyone who has anything to do with a play – be it photocopying the text for class, performing it in front of an audience, or...

Jessica Stafford of Owensboro Middle School was in the middle of rehearsing Hoodie for the KTA middle school festival. She generously shared this “Positive and Negative Post-it Exercise” she used...

In a professional setting, a table read is a common first rehearsal activity. The director, actors, and stage manager sit around a large table and read through the script. Oftentimes other...

A guide to defining your strengths and weaknesses as a drama teacher. Picture yourself at a crossroads. Map in hand. Maybe a couple of tumbleweeds. A farmhouse in the distance, ragged scarecrow –...

It’s easy to get caught in a rhythm during the rehearsal process. Lines must be memorized, blocking must be learned, it’s the same rhythm over and over again. Before you know it, it’s opening night...

Questions are important in the theatre. They’re more important than answers. Rehearsing is all about exploration – at no part in the process should the exploration stop. My favourite directors to...

Warm-up games are never a throwaway activity; they transition students from the outside world to rehearsal world. They can be used to encourage ensemble building in your group and help students...

“The play runs too long. We’ll get disqualified.” “My administration won’t let us say the word ‘cigarette’.” “I have more girls auditioned than guys.” In the professional world, changing the script...