Directing, Rehearsal, & Production

I’m a stickler for theatre etiquette, and that includes being great audience members. No matter what performance you are watching, whether it be a classroom presentation, a school show, or a...

In my nearly ten years as a youth theatre director, I have experienced what seems like every emergency situation under the sun. From misplaced costume items and broken props, to skipping CDs and...

Performing onstage with friends, family, peers, and even strangers watching can be extremely nerve-wracking. Putting yourself out there, being vulnerable, and taking risks onstage takes a lot of...

Creating pre-show rituals and routines is so helpful for students. It clears their minds and gets them into their “theatre brains” – the mindset needed to leave their personal issues at the door...

We all know a picture is worth a thousand words – so make sure it’s saying the right things about your productions. Your actors’ performances aren’t afterthoughts. Capturing their moments in the...

An organized backstage is a calm backstage, and a running list can help keep things running smoothly during a production. What is a running list? It’s a scene-by-scene breakdown of scene changes...

Tech week…the phrase alone can send shivers down the spine of the most calm and unflappable theatre professionals. Tech week has the reputation of being long and taxing. But it doesn’t have to...

Have you ever considered including musical theatre in the drama classroom? Does the thought of singing in front of others scare your students to death? Does it scare you to death? If you’re going...

Cleaning up anybody else’s mess is no fun. Cleaning up a messy backstage after a show is especially disheartening – it takes away any good feelings that were cultivated during a good performance,...

Sometimes we get caught up in all the bells and whistles of a theatrical production. Sumptuous sets, elaborate costumes, piles of props, mountains of furniture – they’re all wonderful, but shows...

We asked drama teachers: What is your advice to an actor who forgets their lines during a performance? Let’s hear from teachers on the front lines. It’s more than memorizationParker M. says...

Costumes are such a fabulous part of theatre – they help tell the story, they help actors get into character, and they immediately tell the audience something about what’s going on. For many...

“The time is near So near it’s stirring the blood in their veins!” What time is it? (Showtime!) It’s competition time. Monologues, scenes, one acts. The season is nearing, perhaps it’s looming, or...

Now is the time of year that many students compete in monologues, duets and group events. It can be a challenge to figure out where to begin – how do you prepare? How do you properly process...

Props can add so much to a production, but they can also be challenging to work with. Here are five common props challenges, rapid-fire style, with suggestions about how to deal with them! 1....

Creating a theatrical piece is a bit like baking a cake – choose your recipe (the show), add ingredients (cast and crew), stir together and bake (practice and rehearse). At the end, you’ve got a...

A colleague of mine once told me that he always waits until the technical or dress rehearsal to choreograph the curtain call. His reasoning was that the curtain call should be the absolute last...

We asked drama teachers: How do you address scheduling conflicts? Between sports and students’ activities, how do you ensure that your rehearsals are attended and your students are prepared? Let’s...