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Games & Exercises

Quick activities. Real results.

Find low-prep drama exercises that build skills, boost participation, and fit into any class.

Classroom Exercise

Character Analysis Exercise

Character analysis can be done in many forms: • You can analyze a character in a play you’re studying. • You can analyze a character you’re playing in a production. • You can analyze a character in...
Classroom Exercise

Reality vs Illusion Exercise

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...
Classroom Exercise

I Would Never…. A Pre-Study Romeo and Juliet Exercise

“Shakespeare is too hard… Shakespeare is too old… I can’t relate to Shakespeare….” It’s one thing to tell students that they should study Shakespeare, it’s another thing to get them engaged in the...
Classroom Exercise

Eavesdropping Exercise: Where do ideas come from?

Ideas are not magical ponies. They don’t appear instantly. Writers know they have to look for ideas. The more they look for them, the more ideas they have. The key with ideas is not to focus on the...
Classroom Exercise

What’s in Your Bag?

Characters come alive in the smallest details: a favourite food, a favourite type of music, a fear of spiders, an allergy to plums, a scar from a fall at two years of age, a love of reality...
Classroom Exercise

Expression Exercise: Instagram Journaling

Today’s students are visual learners. They look at screens all day long, it makes sense that they are going to be grabbed by a picture instead of something they hear or read. So why not bring the...
Classroom Exercise

Exercise: Positive/Negative Post-Its

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...
Classroom Exercise

Resolutions in the Drama Classroom

The start of a new year holds many promises. I will make a resolution! I will change my life! I will….do something for two weeks and then go back to my old way of doing things. Because there’s so...
Classroom Exercise

Playwriting Exercise: Picture Prompts

Location, location, location , a scene can totally be driven by where it’s set. Picture prompts serve as a great starting point. To that end, write a scene between two characters that use the...
Classroom Exercise

Location Sound Exercise

Sound is a powerful sense. Many objects and actions are clearly identified by the sounds they make. Sound also triggers powerful memories. When I hear a screen door slam, I am instantly brought...
Classroom Exercise

Exercise: Shakespearean Insults

If you have a Shakespeare unit or play study planned for your class, start with this exercise; it’s a great doorway to engaging with the Bard. The key to Shakespeare is to get students up and...
Classroom Exercise

Picture Prompt: What are they talking about?

Ideas can come from anything and everything. But it’s always a good idea to give students a jumping off point. Pictures are a great jumping off point for creative writing. Here, we’re looking at a...
Classroom Exercise

Picture Prompt: The Aftermath

Ideas can come from anything and everything. But it’s always a good idea to give students a jumping off point. Pictures are a great jumping off point for creative writing. Today we’re looking at...
Classroom Exercise

Classroom Exercise: Fear In A Hat

One of the keys to Classroom Management is getting students to work well together. Group work is tricky if students don’t know one another. Why should I share something with this guy who doesn’t...
Classroom Exercise

Classroom Exercise: What’s in a Name?

One of the keys to Classroom Management is getting students to work well together. Group work is tricky if students don’t know one another. Why should I share something with this guy who doesn’t...
Classroom Exercise

Classroom Exercise: Whaddya Know?

One of the keys to Classroom Management is getting students to work well together. Group work is tricky if students don’t know each other. Why should I share something with this guy who doesn’t say...
Classroom Exercise

Classroom Exercise: Verbatim Theatre

If you’re looking for a great cross-curricular activity for your drama classroom, delve into verbatim theatre. Verbatim: in exactly the same words, word for word Verbatim theatre uses a process in...