Directing, Rehearsal, & Production

We have a guest post this week! Please welcome Mel Bondar of brokeGIRLrich Everything about the arts seems dramatic and romantic – especially to middle school and high school students (and let’s...

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...

Episode 112: Taking Students to Competition How do you handle competition with your students? How do you circumvent the win, win, win mentality, especially if you don’t win? Teacher Gary Rodgers...

“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...

I instruct a course on Copyright for the Drama Teacher Academy and I wanted to share what I’ve learned about Public Domain material – particularly how it applies to Drama Teachers. Before I get...

Episode 88: Tips and Tricks for Directing Youth and Steven StackPlaywright Steven Stack is a long time director. He shares his tips and tricks for directing youth. Bonus! Steven also shares some...

This is a Guest Post from Alina Deveraux, famed author (or so she tells us). See the bottom of the post for a free printable PDF melodrama activity including two monologues and a scene from the...

Enjoy this replay of our January 2014 LIVE Drama Teacher Hangout. The topic was “Directing First Time Actors” with Forrest Musselman, a theatre teacher who shared some very valuable tips for...

If you’ve acted in a play or musical, you’ve been through the audition process. But what is it like to be on the other side of the table? • What are the different types of auditions? • How do you...

Episode 68: A Student Director Shares Emma is in the middle of directing my play Tuna Fish Eulogy. She shares her vision, her struggles and what she’s hoping for with her production. Every teacher...

The first day of play rehearsal can be nerve-wracking, especially for beginning actors. You may have students who have never been in a play before and don’t know what to expect. Just as with any...

Episode 63: Theatrical Copyright Cha Cha Cha: Copyright for Beginners Today Lindsay goes through the twists and turns of copyright that every beginning drama teacher and more importantly every...

Many senior drama classes have a student directing project. The best way to learn the process is to dive in, but where do you start? • How do you find a play? • Is there a budget for royalties? •...

You’re shopping for your next play. The stack of catalogues is to your left. There are seven tabs open on your computer from various companies. Your eyes are bleary. And if you have to read one...

This post is the third of three posts about preparing for the typical high school competition. Part One looked at the most important question when choosing your competition piece. Part Two looked...

This post is the second of three posts about preparing for the typical high school competition. Part One looked at the most important question when choosing your competition piece, and in Part Two...

I adjudicated a pretty big festival last weekend. I saw 22 plays in the general competition, and that was only in one theatre – there were 22 plays happening in another ballroom across the way. Out...