Distance Learning

The following improvisation game challenges students to stay in character, think on their feet, keep the scene going, and react to each other. They’re also likely going to laugh, because one of the characters in the scene isn’t what they seem — they’re an imposter! This game can be played in person or online via distance learning. 1. Have students split up into groups of three to four. 2. Give each group an occupation or job prompt: a group of kindergarten teachers, a group of dentists, a group of construction workers. You can use this list of occupation prompts for inspiration. 3. One student will play an actor who is studying the others to play a character with that job for an upcoming project. (For example, think of the character Joey Tribbiani from Friends playing Dr. Drake Ramoray on the fictional version of Days of Our Lives on the show.) The other students will play real versions of people with that job, who are experts in their field. 4. The group will start a scene where the experts are doing typical tasks associated with the job they’re doing. Using the examples above, the group of kindergarten teachers might lead their students in a craft or a song, the group of dentists might start examining a patient’s teeth, and the group of construction workers might start using their respective equipment. It doesn’t matter if the students playing the experts actually know what their job is — they need to act like they’re confident and knowledgeable, and keep talking and reacting to each other. 5. The imposter will desperately try to fit in, copying the others in an exaggerated manner, using terminology (real or made up) that they clearly don’t understand. The imposter kindergarten teacher may make up lyrics to a song (“Twinkle twinkle little star… would you like to drive my car?”) while the imposter construction worker might struggle to figure out how to operate a tool. 6. The group must have a specific beginning and end for the scene. Is the actor found out to be an imposter? Do they confess? Or does the imposter fool the rest of the group and escape? It’s up to your students. You may want to have each group perform the scene twice — once where the experts are fooled, and once where the imposter is found out. 7. At the end of class, have each student complete an exit slip (found below).

*Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. * Pandemic Pancake addresses the ongoing changes in the new world we find ourselves in – and is great for virtual or socially distanced performances, or a hybrid of the two. Pandemic Pancake asks the question: What now? Characters decide, for good and for ill, how they will respond to this evolving new world. Do they find hope? Do they shut down? Do they open doors? Do they strategize long-term? Or do they take it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute? We are no different than the characters in this play. We all must decide “what now?” Let’s hear from the author!1. Why did you write this play? After writing Scenes From A Quarantinein April 2020 I’ve known that I wanted to do a follow up play as circumstances surrounding the pandemic have changed. Also, as we continue along, I wanted to explore the “what now” of the future rather than remain in the past of the situation. Lastly I wanted to present characters who have figured out how to have hope in this situation. That was the most important element I wanted to present – that there has to be hope as we move forward. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. Things are different but they’re not impossible. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? There’s a scene at the end of the play in which two teens, who are on a zoom call and one of them says “Clasp your hands together and close your eyes. Hold tight. I’m holding your hand. That’s me. We’re together.” And they do. And that visual of each of them showing that they support each other sums up the whole play. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Whether you’re performing virtually or you’re in person, it’s all about the characters. Focus on the characters as they experience their story. Focus on character physicalization. It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting in front of a screen, an upper body physicality is still important. You can still make a character specific. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? The characters are mostly teen aged and the story is relevant and current. 6. Do you have any tips for those who are performing this play online? Everything is in the script. The play was written to be performed on line, hybrid, or social distanced with suggestions for how to adapt scenes to fit your situation. Get your copy of Pandemic Pancake right here, right now!Not right for your group right now? Search our play catalogue to find one that your performers will love!

Unless you have perfect timing, when you’re producing a show with your students, you will be performing it at a different time of year than what the show is set in. For example, you might be performing Almost, Maine in April (when the show is set in the winter) or Disney’s High School Musical 2 in February (when the show is about summer vacation). Even if it’s snowing inside, you’ll need to make the audience feel as though they’ve entered a tropical destination (or vice versa). So, how do you make different types of weather come alive, either onstage or onscreen? Lots of different ways! Let’s explore them with your students. The Rain GameThis is a fun game that the whole class can do, in person (at a distance if needed) or online (mics on — video optional). The class will work together to make a soundscape of rain sounds. No talking allowed! The teacher will lead and the students will follow by watching and listening. Start with the full class gently rubbing their hands together, to mimic the wind. Slowly transition to tapping one finger on the palm of your hand. Add all four fingers, then move to gentle finger snapping, representing the pitter-patter of raindrops. The rain will get heavier as the class moves towards clapping, then a full out thunderstorm with stomping feet on the floor or slapping the floor with your hands. Then, move back through the actions in reverse as the storm goes away and the rain gets lighter and lighter. Ask your students: How could a soundscape like this be used to create atmosphere in a scene? What other sounds or actions could be included? Technical ElementsThere are lots of ways students can use technical elements to show the weather in their performances, including: • Costumes: snow suits, bathing suits, rain coats, mittens, gloves, hats • Props: umbrellas, beach toys, a bottle of sunscreen, seasonal sports equipment • Set/virtual set: an appropriate virtual background when performing online, or set décor elements such as fake snow, a beach towel, leaves, flowers, a backdrop of a tree (such as a palm tree in the summer or an evergreen in the winter) or a blue sparkly curtain to represent rain • Lighting: warm tones (yellows, reds, oranges) or strong spotlight for warm weather, cool tones (blues, purples) for cold weather • Sound effects: wind whistling, rain sounds, birds chirping (from a sound effects library or real-life sound effects using tricks such as a rain stick and a metal sheet for rain and thunder, or the soundscape from earlier) • Underscoring/background music: Beach Boys music to depict summer, or the song “Snow” from the musical White Christmas to represent a wintery scene Distance Learning Quick Challenge: Give your students four minutes to find four different “things” around their home they could use to represent each of the four seasons. For example, they might grab a pair of rubber boots to represent a rainy spring, the song “Summer Nights” from Grease to represent hot summer weather, a rake to represent raking leaves in autumn, and a GIF of a snowstorm for a virtual background image to represent winter. (Feel free to adapt as appropriate to your local climate and weather trends!) Performance TechniquesOf course, students don’t even need any technical elements to depict the weather; they can demonstrate or react to weather through performance techniques. Try the following prompts with your students: Physical Acting** :** Have students mime the actions that match the weather. • Cold weather: shivering, hugging themselves, burrowing into their clothes, catching snowflakes on their tongues • Rain: holding their hands over their head, scrunching up their faces, wiping away “drops” of rain from their faces • Hot weather: fanning themselves, applying sunscreen, sunbathing, jumping in a pool to cool off, wiping away sweat • Wind: struggling to move against the wind, trying to keep items from flying away (such as a hat or papers) Voice Only: Give students a short line to say while trying the following vocal techniques, such as, “Isn’t this weather something else?” • Cold weather: teeth chattering, stuffy nose • Hot weather: panting, taking a sip of a cool drink • Windy or thunderstorm: trying to be heard over the “noise” of the weather (students can increase their intensity depending on the “intensity” of the weather — for example, a light breeze versus a hurricane) Once students have practiced the two separate techniques (physical and vocal), have them combine physical actions with vocal techniques to create a mini solo scene. Have them start with the line, “Isn’t this weather something else?” and then improvise two more sentences to follow up. Extension Challenge: Have students combine physical actions, vocal techniques, and at least one technical element to make a mini performance. Start with, “Isn’t this weather something else?” and write or improvise four additional lines, interacting with their technical element in some way. You may wish for students to perform live, or to record their performances and submit them to you. Have students present their mini performances for the rest of the class.

First things first: what is a musical revue? A musical revue is a style of musical theatre that combines singing, dancing, music, and sketches. The material included in the revue focuses on a particular theme. Some musical revues feature a single musical artist (such as Smokey Joe’s Café, which features the music of Leiber and Stoller, or Side by Side by Sondheim), while others include pieces by many different artists. Some musical revues have a loose storyline, but the overall theme is the main focus. Musical revues are wonderful for schools to create and perform, because the musical choices can be tailored to fit the skills and talents of the students involved. The following exercise challenges students to plan their own mini musical revue, and can be done via distance learning or live in class. Students will decide on a theme, choose the songs and the song order, and “dream cast” the show with performers. Performing is not required, but if desired, a performance option is included at the end of the instructions. Instructions:1. Introduce the topic of musical revues to your class (feel free to use the definition above). You may wish to show example videos or audio clips of some musical revues, such as Smokey Joe’s Café, Side by Side by Sondheim, Putting It Together, Red Hot and Cole, The No Frills Revue, Jerry’s Girls, A Grand Night For Singing, or Ain’t Misbehavin’. You may also want to discuss the differences between a musical revue and a jukebox musical, which also uses pre-existing songs but focuses on a full storyline (such as Rock of Ages, Mamma Mia, Head Over Heels, or American Idiot). 2. Have students select a topic or theme for the focus of their own musical revue. Some topics might include: • • Young love • Heartbreak • Songs of a certain era (1950s, 1970s, etc.) • A tribute to a certain artist or group • Friendship • Villain songs • Funny songs • Loneliness • Growing up • Taking action Students will need to consider how vague or specific their topic needs to be to work, and how to narrow down a wide topic. For example, if they want to do a musical revue about heartbreak, is that enough to go on? Or do they need to narrow their focus to revenge songs, ballads about broken hearts, or country songs about heartbreak? 3. Each student will choose five songs that go with their topic and select the running order for the songs. Students must describe their reasons for including the song (two to three sentences minimum per song). Students may wish to talk about the lyrical content, the musical style, or how the song makes them feel. For the song order, students need to know why they put the songs in the order they did. Did they put two ballads back to back to create impact, or alternate ballads and up-tempo songs for variety? 4. Students will choose a “dream cast” to perform the songs — a different artist or group per song. The dream cast could be friends, family members, teachers, classmates, celebrities, or musicians — anyone except the original artist. For example, if the student wanted to include the song “Thank U, Next” in their musical revue, they could have anyone sing that song except for Ariana Grande. If they choose a duet song — say, “Seventeen” from the musical Heathers, they would need to cast two performers to sing the two parts. Students may select whomever they feel would be best to sing the song, regardless of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, or race. Students must include their reason for selecting the performer(s) they did for each song. 5. Students will submit their write-ups to the teacher, as well as a brief response to the reflection at the end of this article. Optional Performance** :** If you are teaching a musical theatre class, or your students really want to perform, you can take this lesson a step further and have students stage and perform their mini musical revues. Students will form small groups and either use a musical revue that one of them created from the exercise, or create a new mini musical revue on a new topic. Each student must perform at least one of the songs (students may have to perform more than once depending on what songs were chosen, like if duets or group songs were included). Students should record themselves performing at home and submit their videos to the teacher, along with the running order. If your students are technically inclined, have them edit the videos together in the proper order. Have students include a written exit slip response that answers the following question: How did you determine which group member would perform each song?

The following distance learning exercise is active and flexible. It focuses on mask work, and challenges students to use their skills of observation, critical thinking, and creative thinking. It can be completed in one class period by just focusing on one area of observation, but also extended if students complete it quickly or teachers wish to delve further. The questions can be answered as full group discussions, in small group discussions, or entirely written. Feel free to mix and match the different sections to best suit your students’ learning objectives. 1. Preparation• Give students one minute to find an item in their home that obscures their faces to wear as a mask. • This could be an actual mask (like a full- or half-face Halloween mask), a medical mask (everyone has one nowadays), a scarf, a balaclava, a pair of sunglasses with dark lenses, a large hat, a protective sports mask (like a hockey helmet cage or a baseball catcher’s mask), a hair appliance (such as a wig or fake beard), a tensor bandage, or another item of the student’s choosing. • Have students put their face coverings on. • Throughout this exercise, there are points at which various student volunteers are needed. The teacher may decide to select students to use as examples when required, or allow students to volunteer. 2. Self-Observation• Have students turn off their microphones but keep their video cameras on. (If your school does not require students to turn on their video screens, have students take a moment to briefly describe their face covering, either in the chat box or verbally by turning their microphones back on.) • Students will start by observing themselves wearing the face covering, using an actual mirror or using their device as a mirror. • Students will then answer the following questions (written response): • What parts of the face does your mask obscure? • What kind of character might wear the kind of mask you are wearing? List three. • How might this mask make an actor’s performance challenging? (For example, does the mask obscure your eyes or mouth? Can you make visible facial expressions easily? Do you have to speak louder to be heard clearly through the mask? Is the mask hot, heavy, or itchy?) • How might this mask make the audience’s experience challenging? (For example, maybe they can’t see your facial expressions properly.) • Are there any outside factors that a performer wearing that mask needs to think about when performing virtually? (For example, if you are wearing large sunglasses, the overhead lights or your device might be reflected in the lenses.) 3. Peer Observation, First Impressions• Select a student to use as an example. • Have the rest of the students observe the example student and answer the following questions (written response or verbally as a class discussion): • What parts of the face does this student’s mask obscure? • What is your first impression about the mask that the student chose? • What kind of character might wear the kind of mask they are wearing? Come up with three ideas. • Repeat this exercise as many times as you wish with different students wearing different face coverings. Compare and contrast the masks. 4. Peer Observation, Movement and Expression (Non-Verbal)• Select a student to use as an example. • Most students will likely be sitting at their device in a medium close-up position (head and shoulders). Have the example student move closer (extreme close-up) and further away (long or wide shot) from their camera. • How does the group’s impression of the mask change depending on where the student is standing? • What are the advantages or disadvantages of the different positions in the room? • Have the student demonstrate various facial expressions (such as happy, sad, angry, surprised, or scared) while wearing their mask. • Does the mask interfere with the student’s ability to clearly portray the emotion nonverbally? Why or why not? • How does the student need to adjust their emotional portrayal to compensate for the mask? • Repeat this exercise as many times as you wish with different students wearing different face coverings. Compare and contrast the masks and non-verbal performances. 5. Peer Observation, Auditory• Select a student to use as an example. Have that student turn on their device’s microphone. • Give the student a short passage to recite aloud. If you’re not currently studying a play, Theatrefolk has a great selection of free monologues and scenes that you can use. • Have rest of the group observe the example student and answer the following questions (written response or verbally as a class discussion): • Did this particular mask interfere with your ability to hear the student? • How did the mask affect the student’s volume? • How did the mask affect the student’s diction? • How does the student need to adjust their verbal performance to accommodate wearing the mask? • Repeat this exercise as many times as you wish with different students wearing different face coverings. Compare and contrast the masks and verbal performances. 6. Extension Questions(These questions can be answered as part of a discussion or as a written assignment as you wish.) • What advantages do students have when using masks on screen or on stage? • How might a student’s performance in a mask be different on screen than in person? • What outside factors might affect how a mask is perceived onstage, such as lighting or special effects like fog? • Would the effects of stage makeup be similar or different from those of a mask? How? * Note: If your school does not allow your students to turn on their cameras, teachers could have a selection of masks and act as a volunteer for students to observe. You could also pre-film yourself wearing different masks to save and use for future lessons.

The following exercise is flexible. It can be completed via distance learning or live in class. If students are completing this exercise online, they do not need to turn on their cameras or microphones. It is a short exercise that can be completed in one class period, but also extended if students complete it quickly or teachers wish to delve further. Finally, the only materials needed are a piece of clothing or an accessory and a writing device. Get ready to create a new character, using clothing as a prompt!1. Each student will take 30 seconds and select a piece of clothing or accessory found in their home (or on their person, if you’re doing this exercise live in class). The item can be as large as a snowsuit or as small as a pair of earrings. 2. Have each student take a photo of their selected clothing item or make a quick sketch of the item, and write a brief description of the item (what the item is, size, material, brand/style, quality). The description should only include characteristics of the item without interpretation or judgment (that will come next!). 3. Students will create an original character outline using that item for inspiration. They can’t write about the actual owner of the item (for example, if they’re using their dad’s fishing hat, they can’t write about their own dad). Here are some character questions to get them started: • What is their character’s name? • How old is the character? • How long has the character possessed their chosen clothing item? • Where did they get the item? How did they get it? • Did they buy it at a store? Receive it as a gift? Find it in a lost and found bin? Steal it from their cousin? Win it as a prize? • What other items would the character wear when they’re wearing the item? Describe them. • For example, if the item is a black t-shirt, would the character wear it with jeans, a skirt, overalls? What shoes would they wear? What accessories, if any, would they wear? • Does the item have any flaws or unique characteristics? • For example, a loose thread, a scratch or scuff, a stain, a hole? How did it happen? • Is the item meaningful or valuable to the character? • Does the item hold any memories for the character? Is the memory happy, sad, funny, traumatic, or something else? Students may add any additional details they think are important or interesting. At the end of class, students will submit the photo/sketch, the written description of the item, the original character outline, and their response to the exit slip question found at the end of this article. 4. Extension Activities: • Write a monologue of a character using, wearing, or describing the selected item. • Write a scene where the character has lost, misplaced, or broken the item. What are the stakes? (Meaning, why is the item and situation important to the character?) What are the consequences if the item is not found/restored? If you wish, have students write two separate endings: one where the item is found/returned/fixed, and one where the item is lost forever/irreparably damaged. • If you wish to include a performance aspect, have students wear or use their own chosen item and improvise a brief scene as their character, interacting with the item at some point (“Brrrrr, it’s chilly in here. Better put on my nice, warm sweater.”) 5. Options to keep students on their toes: • Have students photograph and submit their chosen clothing item or accessory to the teacher. The teacher will then choose one student’s item for everyone to write about. • After they have done so, have students compare and contrast their interpretations. • For example, if the item is a pair of sneakers, one student might write about a basketball player describing their greatest game wearing their lucky sneakers, while another writes about a Nike store employee having to sell the sneakers, and a third might write about someone getting gum stuck on the bottom of their new sneakers on their way to a first date. • Or, the teacher may mix up the clothing choices. The items could be distributed randomly to different students in the class, so everyone has a different item — just not the one they originally chose. • Or, have students pair up and write about their partner’s item. * * *

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Distance Learning by Christian Kiley is a fantastic ensemble play written specifically to be performed on an online platform. Distance Learning takes us inside the student experience of trying to survive and thrive in a virtual classroom. What’s the future of virtual classrooms? Are they the new normal? Will we ever experience the old normal again? There are no rules to help overcome feeling alone. It’s time to get class started. Won’t you join us? Why did we publish this play? We are continuing to focus on plays that can be produced in a virtual environment. Theatre must go on! This play is a vivid “now” play. It’s about our current pandemic situation, which isn’t going away just yet. It will connect to students and give them the opportunity to explore characters within a virtual world. Let’s hear from the author!1. Why did you write this play? This is what we are living through right now. I really want to help express the voices and emotions of my students. I appreciate the opportunity to write about the significant moments of life that I observe and experience with the young artists I mentor and teach. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. Even during a pandemic, people can continue to strive for improvement, grow, and become better, stronger people (yes, even teachers). People need a sense of community and the support that a community provides (even in virtual or distance learning). 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? It is a recurring moment. When all or most of the characters stare right into the camera with an “I see you” look. This should be as close to a fourth wall break as is possible in a virtual performance. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Use your current feelings (good, bad, and all those in between) to help you connect to your characters and the world of the play. I am very excited to see, hear, and experience how directors, actors, and designers push the boundaries of virtual performance. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? It is my perspective of what the students I teach and interact with on a daily basis are going through. 6. Do you have any tips for those who are performing this play online? Find ways to push the boundaries. Each character has a facet of their personality that can be portrayed in a dynamic way. Don’t be afraid of your creative ideas and your ability to put them out there. Your mind, heart, and talent can make a meaningful difference. Get your copy of Distance Learning right here, right now!Not right for your group right now? Search our play catalogue to find one that your performers will love!

Teachers, you work so hard to make amazing virtual lesson plans for your students. And for that, we applaud you all — you are awesome! But we know, the burnout is real. If that time comes, when that time comes, and your brain just feels too full, use one of these three activities with your students. Keep it light and simple, and have fun. Activity #1: Takin’ It Easy PropsThe improv game “Props” is a perennial favourite in the drama classroom. It’s easy and fun. Grab a random item from the classroom, and each student will interact with the object to make it into something it’s not. The item will then be passed from student to student, each one using the object as a new, different object. For example, a broom might become a baseball bat, then a tightrope, then a limbo pole, and then a canoe paddle. It’s a little more challenging when students are doing distance learning in separate places, but not impossible! The trick is to choose items from home that are more common and accessible to as many students as possible. Here’s a list of suggestions for items that could work for most households: • A pen or pencil, a shirt, a shoe, a backpack, shopping bag, or purse, a cord for a device (such as a cell phone charger cord), a roll of toilet paper, a blanket or towel, a pillow, a kitchen utensil, or a book You can have students all use the same item (similar to how you’d play in the classroom, passing the item from person to person), or have students select their own item and use it in a few different ways before the next student takes their turn. Activity #2: Make ‘Em LaughThis is a fun activity for students to loosen up and be silly. We can all use a bit of that sometimes! This activity can be done with just microphones on, just cameras on, or both on. You will need a timer or stopwatch. Choose one student to be “It.” Their job is to make the rest of the class laugh within one minute, while the goal of the rest of the class is to keep a straight face. Students must keep their humour clean — no swearing, lewdness, or other offensive material — but other than that, it all comes down to creativity and quick thinking. As this is an improvised challenge, students may not take time to prepare, but may employ techniques and strategies including physical humour, mime, or (safe!) slapstick, wordplay, puns, impressions, singing and dancing, or even props or costumes if they’re handy. Students who have both their mic and camera on will have the easiest time, but having just mics or just video on is definitely possible — it gives students a bit more of a challenge. You might choose to have students select one or the other, and afterwards discuss what students found easier. The student who is “It” gains a point for each student they are able to make laugh within the one-minute time limit. Tally up the points at the end and identify the winner! Activity #3: Word at a Time StoryAnother fun game that gets students working together and thinking quickly, the Word at a Time Story, is told — you guessed it — one word at a time. The teacher chooses a title, such as “Trouble at the Playground” or “A Great Day at the Beach.” In a live classroom, students would sit in a circle and pass the story. When working virtually, the teacher will have to assign a running order for students in advance — perhaps alphabetically. Students must work together to make sure sentences make sense — they’re not just throwing a random word in to make their friends laugh. The nice thing about this exercise is that it works even if students don’t have mics or video screens on — they can use the chat box. As an alternative challenge, you can assign a word pattern. The first student will use one word, the second student will use two words, and the third student will use three words. Then the pattern repeats, with the fourth student using one word, and so on. This forces students to pay attention even more closely — how many words do they have to use? You can mix up the numbers of words your students may use (perhaps a 1-3-5 pattern, or something random like 4-2-7), or make it a competition by striking students out if they use the wrong number of words. Don’t forget that Theatrefolk has a whole page devoted to distance learning activities and exercises. Activities like Virtual Mirrors, Puppet Dance Party, and the Framing Exercise are great go-tos when you just can’t think. You can also go back to basics with A Simple Breath Control Exercise for Actors & Singers — time spent reviewing the basics is never wasted. Have students reflect on their experiences playing these games by answering an exit slip question: “How can you apply this exercise to the real world?”

It’s not unusual to feel slightly disconnected from students while teaching virtually (and we don’t mean when the internet stops working!). Drama classes are all about human connection and trust, and that can be hard to develop when you’re not physically together with your students. It’s not impossible though — it just takes some time. Try these warm-up exercises in your distance learning drama classes to help build trust, both between you and your students, and between your students. Boring FactsAt the beginning of a new term of drama classes, it’s common for teachers to try to get to know their students by asking them to introduce themselves and share an interesting fact about themselves. However, students often stress about having to figure out an interesting fact, and put pressure on themselves to choose something impressive. Next time, try asking students to share a boring fact about themselves. Anything from “I like cheese” to “I’m also taking math this term” to “I have one sister” works just fine! A boring fact is easy to think of quickly, will give students a chuckle, and can lead to students being more willing to answer follow-up questions (“What kind of cheese is your favourite?” “What’s your opinion of melted cheese on vegetables?” “Ever try one of those fancy bleu cheeses?”). Read My LipsStudents are more likely to loosen up and take risks when they see that their teacher is willing to take risks and look silly as well. When doing exercises, be willing to demonstrate the task so students can see what to expect. As well, try the following simple warm-up: Mute your camera and say a sentence out loud in front of the camera. Speak slowly and exaggerate your enunciation. Students must guess what you are saying by reading your lips. They can respond orally or in the chat box. Encourage students to try the exercise as well! This is a great way for students to practice enunciation and diction, so they can be heard clearly while performing. Full Class Warm-upsDoing full class warm-up exercises takes the pressure off of students. Everyone is working together, which means they’re all on equal footing, and nobody has to worry about looking silly, because you’re all looking silly together! Here are some fast and easy full class warm-ups: • As a group, have students shake their right hand vigorously while counting out loud, backwards from 10. Then shake the left hand and count back, the right foot and count back, and the left foot and count back. Start again with the right hand and count back from 9, and keep repeating the exercise until you get down to 1-1-1-1 (right hand, left hand, right foot, left foot). If you’re short on time, count back from 5 to 1. (This is from our post Community-Building Warm-ups for the Drama Classroom.) • Have a Puppet Dance Party with found objects. Have students suggest songs to dance to. • Rapid Fire Thumbs: As quickly as you can, ask students a number of yes/no questions on a topic, such as favourite foods, music genres, actors, or hobbies. For example: “I’m going to quickly list some fruits and you’ll respond as fast as you can with thumbs up if you like it and thumbs down if you don’t… three, two, one: Apples! Oranges! Bananas! Strawberries! Grapefruit!” and so on. You can add an extra layer of two thumbs up for something they really like, and two thumbs down for something they really dislike. To make it more active, you could have students stand up for things they like and sit down for things they don’t like, or change up the gestures (nodding/shaking head, applause/booing, smiling/frowning). You can also try throwing in something that doesn’t fit into the topic and see how students respond. For example: “Apples! Oranges! Bananas! Popcorn!” Did they notice? Did they try to call you out? How did they feel when you tried to trick them?

Let’s not mince words — distance learning is challenging. Teachers and students alike are missing out on that “real life” connection that in-person drama class provides, it’s hard to bond when cameras are off and mics are muted (let alone when someone’s internet connection drops out), and it can be difficult to focus at home. However, it’s definitely still possible to form genuine connections with your students during distance learning, and it doesn’t require grand gestures. Try these suggestions for small ways to connect with your students during distance learning, and remember — small gestures add up to big results. Do a quick check-in at the beginning and end of each class. At the start of class, ask students how they’re feeling, using a system like thumbs-up/thumbs-down or rating from 1 to 5. If your students have their cameras on but are muted, they can physically signal using gestures. If students have their cameras off, they can reply in the comments area or chat box. Check in again at the end of class and see if students’ feelings have changed. Hopefully they’ve improved throughout drama class! If time allows, give students a few minutes to talk amongst themselves at some point during the class, while you just sit and listen. Your distance learning students are most likely craving connection, so giving them a few minutes to bond with their classmates will be appreciated. Ask students warm-up questions to help you get to know them better. Keep it light. What’s their favourite movie? Do they have any pets, and if so, what kind of pet? Have they ever seen a live theatrical production? If they could have any superpower, what would they choose? If they could have any job in the performing arts industry, what would they do and why? Listen carefully to their responses. If you can, take notes on what your students say, and think of ways you can incorporate their likes and dislikes into your lessons. For example, you could have students create one-minute summary scenes of their favourite movies, or write a monologue from the perspective of their pet. Click on the giveaway at the bottom of this post for a free list of warm-up questions. Give students a genuine compliment. Here are 20 ways to praise your students. You can send students a private message, or write your praises on Post-it Notes and put them on the wall behind you, so everyone can see them on your screen. You can also have your whole class do “Warm Fuzzies” (you can find the instructions here. Have students write a Warm Fuzzy for each student in the class, and submit their lists to you. Amass all the Warm Fuzzy comments into a separate document for each student and send the documents to them. Be sure to include some Warm Fuzzies of your own to each student. (If you don’t have time to amass a classful of Warm Fuzzies, you could assign each student a Warm Fuzzy Buddy to compliment Secret Santa-style.) Send a funny e-card to your students. You don’t need to have a reason — “Happy Thursday” can work just fine, and would be a nice surprise for students to find in their inboxes. Include a few positive words, maybe an inspiring quote, or a theatre joke. For example: “A friend was in a theatre production about English language puns. It was a play on words.” Smile during your classes! A genuine smile can go a long way. Lead students in a relaxation, breathwork, or meditation exercise. Help them let go of their stress and anxieties and be in the present moment, even if only for one minute. Discuss how these mindfulness activities benefit students both in the drama classroom and in the “real world.” Take a break. Again, if time permits, and depending on how long your classes are, allow students a couple minutes in the middle of class to run to the washroom, grab a snack, and recalibrate before they have to sit upright and focus. Hopefully they will be refreshed and ready to work. At the very least, your students will know that you know they need a couple minutes to reset and refocus. Work on active listening exercises with your students. When students feel like they’re being listened to, they feel respected and appreciated. Here are a bunch of great active listening exercises that can easily be adapted to the virtual classroom, or done in smaller virtual breakout rooms. Start with The End of the Word, Learn About, or Conversation Pause.

Here’s a playwriting prompt exercise that takes advantage of something that’s frequently around us: advertisements! Ads are everywhere, and their main purpose is to sell us stuff. But we’re going to use them as inspiration for some fun writing activities. This exercise can be done in person or via distance learning. Students must find an image from an ad with a person in it. This can be anything – a picture from a magazine, a popup ad from a website, a clip from a television commercial, or an image from the side of a bus or a billboard. Students might choose a well-known advertising figure, such as the handsome man from the Old Spice ads, or the Philadelphia Cream Cheese angel. They might choose a model from a print ad or catalogue. The image can be a person of any gender, race, or age. Try to avoid animated characters or celebrity endorsements for this exercise. Students will capture an image of the advertisement. For example, they can take a screenshot of the website or take a photo of the ad on their smartphone. Once they have an image, they will create a character sketch about the person in the ad. Students must write a minimum of ten different personality traits and personal details about their character (that are unrelated to the character’s visual appearance). Who is the person? What is their name? How old are they? Do they have family or friends? What do they do with their time? Why do they like the product or service they’re selling? Once the character sketch is done, students will select, complete, and submit one of the five follow-up assignments below (along with the image and character sketch): • Write a monologue for your character. Ignore the product or service that they sell and put them in a completely different situation – at school or work, spending time with other people, going on an excursion. What are they doing? What are they thinking about? • Choose a completely different product for the character to sell. Write a 30-second commercial script for that product, using the personality traits created in the character sketch. • Create a voice for the character. Take your character sketch, put the points into first-person perspective (“My name is Sue Jones, I’m 29 years old, and I love Royale Toilet Paper”) and read it aloud, either live or using a voice recording app. Try different voices that might work for the character. Does the character speak quickly, with a high-pitched voice? Or do they speak softly and languidly? Maybe they have an accent? • What adjectives that describe the character’s appearance make them a good choice to sell that particular product or service? How does that relate to the product or service? Why is having an appropriate or interesting advertising character/model important for a product or service? • Think about a different character that might sell the same product or service. Write a description of that person, as well as a physical description of the person. If possible, make a sketch of that character or select a famous performer to portray the character. Why did you choose them?

Are your students feeling overwhelmed with possibilities for writing a new monologue? Do they need help focusing on one idea? Or are you simply looking for a way to get your students writing? For this exercise, all you’ll need is a book! This individual writing exercise can be done in class in person or completed remotely via distance learning. It can either be used as a warm-up exercise or as part of a more formal playwriting lesson. Materials Needed:• Writing tools – pen and paper, or word processing program on computer/chromebook/tablet/smartphone. • Any found book – can be a novel, textbook, nonfiction book, library book, or even a long article from a magazine or blog. You can use the same book for the full class, or have students select their own book from home. • Timer or stopwatch (optional). Directions:1. Have students get their writing tools ready. 2. Select a book that’s close to you, or have students each grab the closest book to them. If there are no books handy, use a magazine with long articles, or have students look through their browser history on their device and find a long article they’ve recently read. Students will write the title and author of the book or article at the top of the page. 3. Turn to page 17, second paragraph, fifth sentence. Students will write that sentence on their page, exactly as it is written in the book. (If they are using a magazine or blog article, they will just use the second paragraph and fifth sentence portion of the prompt.) If one of the qualifiers is missing (for example, if page 17 only has one paragraph), have students use their best judgment to select a sentence as close to as many of the qualifiers as possible. Here are some examples from my bookshelf. None of these books had the exact qualifiers, so I chose the closest sentences. “Do you work hard to achieve things – but find no lasting satisfaction from your accomplishments?” (from Always Change a Losing Game by David Posen) “Suddenly his high spirits were doused when his car was forced to a halt by a team of New Jersey State troopers.” (from Jon Bon Jovi: The Biography by Laura Jackson) “As a Frenchwoman born and raised, she liked to point out that you could never know with the Belgians.” (from The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George) “I only hope you are right, John.” (from Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs) 4. Students will write a new monologue starting with that sentence. Encourage students to take the monologue wherever they feel inspired to go. They don’t need to stick to the plot, setting or character names from the original book. For example, the sentence from Always Change a Losing Game could be a therapist talking to a client, or the beginning of an infomercial, or someone reading from a pamphlet, followed by their reaction to it. 5. If you are using this exercise as a warm-up, give students a time limit (for example, five minutes). Students must continue writing for the entirety of the time, and stop writing when the timer goes off. Ask your students: Was it easy or difficult to keep writing for the full five minutes? Was your book sentence prompt a good starting point for a monologue? Why or why not? 6. If you are using this exercise as a portion of a more formal playwriting lesson, you may wish to follow up with one or more of the following suggestions: • Read your monologue aloud for the rest of the class. • Trade monologues with a partner. Read them and give feedback. Revise and edit your monologue. Submit it for evaluation. • Write a different character’s response or reaction to the original monologue. • Count the number of words in the monologue. Then, edit and rewrite the monologue to be half the length of the original. • Give your monologue to a partner to perform. Help your partner with analyzing the monologue, figure out blocking, and work on diction and enunciation. Your partner will perform the monologue for the rest of the class. Note: If you wish, you may allow students to use the prompt sentence in any part of the monologue – beginning, middle, or end. Allow for flexibility in sentence prompt choice as well. If a student has a hard time figuring out what to write with the sentence they found, or the sentence is inappropriate (one of the books I looked at for examples was 1984 by George Orwell – nope, not using that sentence!), let them select a different prompt. The point is to give students an inspiration point, not to stress them out.

Jim Hoare is the author ofYour High School Improv Show Playbook and has added a Virtual Performance Pandendum (Pandemic Addendum) to the resource for adapting improv to a virtual environment. For those of you looking to put on a virtual Improv show, here are his top five tips and games suggestions! *1. Practice, Practice, Practice *Experiment with different formats to see which serves you best. If, after trying a virtual improv show on a platform (Zoom, StreamYard), or recording and editing a short improv show for scheduled streaming, you feel that the quality is not something you are proud to share with your community, don’t stream that performance. Consider it a valuable learning experience and try again. The goal is education, not TV ratings. Share what you are proud to share. 2. LightingYou must light the show for the video stream, not the theater, otherwise it may be too dark for those watching at home. You can do this either by adding more light to your performance space or by using a video camera with the ability to adjust to low-light. For those improvisors performing at home, it means having light on their face and not bright light behind them, which will make their face difficult to see. 3. Face MasksGood sound is key. With a socially distanced cast wearing face masks, diction, articulation, and projection are more important than ever. Use face masks as a teaching tool/aid to help students improve in these areas. Warm up with tongue-twisters and articulation exercises. When the face masks finally come off, their diction, articulation, and projection will be better because of it. For those improvisors at home, diction, articulation, and projection are just as important. Before streaming your show, ask someone who was not involved in the filming or editing to watch and listen to the finished product. If they cannot clearly understand what is being said, start over. 4. Social DistancingIf gathering actors in person, tape safe distancing boxes on the stage. However, students who live together, or who have been exclusively socializing together since March, with parents’ permission, may be able to perform together and stand closer on stage. Consider “Cohort Casting” for some group games. 5. Set Clear ExpectationsSet clear goals and expectations for online meetings with parents and students. Before your virtual improv show, set clear goals and expectations with your audience. “What you are about to see is something completely new. It’s not our usual improv show at school – and it’s not the next episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway? It is our best effort to Keep Calm and Carry On With Some Silliness during these challenging days. We hope you enjoy – and we look forward to being back together in person as soon as possible.” (or similar) Top 5 Improv Games to Play Virtually Games where individual players speak one at a time lend themselves to online viewing and screen sharing. Those games are more about speaking and less about physicalizing. Rather than move downstage to participate in the game, players raise their hands and unmute themselves or wait to quickly be acknowledged by you. 1. 185 (a game about puns)The object of the game is to come up with a bad pun that elicits a groan from the audience. Ask the audience to write in chat an occupation or hobby. As soon as the occupation or hobby is announced, any member of the team can step forward (or raise their hands and unmute themselves). The goal is to see how many puns they can come up with in the time given (usually about two minutes). The same person can go more than once. 2. Alphabet Game / A-B-C-provCome up with a relationship, a destination, and a means of transportation for two players (mom and son going to college, dad teaching daughter to drive, etc.). Decide which letter of the alphabet the scene will start with. Beginning with that letter and continuing in the order of the alphabet, the players must build a scene within 26 sentences or phrases, with each sentence or phrase starting with the next letter of the alphabet until every letter has been used. Before you begin, decide how many players will participate (two or more). You may want to establish an order, so that each player knows exactly when they will contribute the next sentence in the conversation (with the next letter of the alphabet). Sentences can be as short as one word or sound (Ahh! Grrh! Zowie!) but avoid run-on sentences which slow the pace of the game. *3. Lines You’re Not Likely to Hear *The whole team will come on stage and be given a person, character, etc. by the host. One at a time, players will step forward (or unmute) to deliver a one-liner demonstrating a line you’re unlikely to hear, from the suggestion. The goal is to see how many one-liners they can come up with in the time given (usually about two minutes). The same person can go more than once. *4. Thought Dubbing *Four Players – two seen (the characters) and two only heard (their thoughts). Give Player 1 and Player 2 a relationship and a location. Player 3 will voice the thoughts of Player 1 and Player 4 will voice the thoughts of Player 2. Players 1 and 2 must remember to pause to hear what they are thinking from Players 3 and 4 and then adjust the scene depending on what they are “thinking.” You may want to have Players 3 and 4 hit “Stop Video” on their device so that we only hear them. If so, then Players 3 and 4 must have clear, distinct voices that Players 1 and 2 will recognize as their thoughts. *5. World’s Worst *The whole team will be given a noun, occupation, etc. by the host. One at a time, players will step forward (or unmute) to deliver a one-liner demonstrating the WORST example of the suggestion. Like Lines You’re Not Likely to Hear, any member of the team can step forward. If the player is at home, encourage the use of props/items or people who may be nearby. This game is about being clear and demonstrative. The same person can go more than once. Click here to learn more about Your High School Improv Show Playbook

How do you adapt existing lessons to a virtual environment? The goal is to adapt without reinventing the wheel, which is an added unnecessary stress. Some lesson plan elements will remain the same and others will need adaptation. Here are five things to consider: *1. Keep the general structure of a traditional classroom lesson. *If you started every class with a journal prompt and ended every class with an exit slip, keep that structure. If you started every class with a check-in (How are you feeling?) and ended every class with a check-out (What did you learn today?), this is a routine that students are used to. Keep the routine because it tells students that you consider virtual lessons as important as traditional lessons. You may have to adapt the way you present elements. For example, students will not be able to take a hard copy of an exit slip and hand it in as they exit class, but you can have students keep a journal document and submit it every few weeks. *2. Focus on interactive instruction. *Students will focus and listen differently in a virtual environment. They are more distracted. Sometimes it’s for a good reason and sometimes they’re texting. The biggest change in your lesson will be your method of instruction. It won’t be enough to present instructions, ask the class if they have any questions, and expect execution. It will be much harder to read the room and measure student engagement. Consider interactive instruction. Ask individual students by name to state their next task. Ask individual students to recall a point of information. Don’t assume students understand an assignment because they don’t ask questions. *3. Remove the pacing expectations of a traditional classroom lesson. *Everything takes longer in a virtual environment. You also may have less time with your students. A unit that takes one week in a traditional classroom may take twice as long online. As you work through virtual tasks, don’t get frustrated because it’s not working the same way it did in your classroom. Remove pacing expectations. 4. Adapt class discussions.If you love having class discussions with students, be aware that you may have to change how you prompt those discussions in a virtual environment. From behind a screen, it’s easier for students to simply not respond. You may need to direct discussion questions to individual students. Call them by name and ask for their response. *5. Create a vocabulary of online tasks. *You probably establish a working task vocabulary in your traditional classroom. For example, if you say “audience seating,” students know to sit on the floor in lines simulating an audience. Giving your virtual classroom a vocabulary of tasks not only helps with routine, it equates virtual work with traditional classroom work. The terms and their definitions are up to you. Teach and practice the execution of whichever terms you choose. Examples: • Recall: Students recall a point from a section of information you’ve just given. • Check-In: Students recall their next task. • Respond: Students give their opinion on a topic. • Brain break: Stand and stretch for one minute.

Here’s a warm-up game that is a lot of fun and gets students’ energy up. It’s a plus if you and your students are studying puppetry, but it’s not necessary to have done so. This is a great warm-up game to do in a virtual classroom because students can use the frames of their webcams as an additional tool to have fun with their puppets. If you wish, you can talk with your students ahead of time about puppets and how they move. They might think that puppets have to be “real” puppets like marionettes or the fancy puppets from Avenue Q, The Muppets, or Sesame Street. But any object can be a puppet if you can pick it up and make it move somehow. 1. Select an up-tempo piece of music that you can dance to. Ask your students for song suggestions in advance so you can select some of their favourites. 2. Give students 10 seconds to find an object nearby. It can be anything that’s easy to manipulate – a pencil, a stuffed animal, a piece of clothing, a water bottle, a book. If you can pick it up and move it somehow, it can be a puppet. Even drawing a face on the pad of your finger counts as a puppet. However, it’s best for students not to select something that’s too heavy or potentially breakable. 3. Give students one minute to examine their puppet object and experiment with how they might animate it. Here are some things to think about: • How does the puppet “walk”? Does it float, jerk about, jump, shimmy, glide? • Is the puppet heavy or light? This doesn’t mean the object’s actual weight – the puppet can be a different weight. • How can the puppet be manipulated? Does the object open, slide, or have a function? What happens if you turn it upside down or sideways? • How can students move the puppet in and out of the frame of their webcam in an interesting way? • How can students interact with the puppet? • If the puppet had a name, what would it be? How does that affect how the puppet might move? 4. After the one-minute examination, turn on the music and let students make their puppets dance to the music. At first, students might just dance and wave the objects around, and that’s ok! Dancing and being silly in front of others isn’t the easiest thing – a lot of students are worried about looking cool in front of their peers. Getting students to move in any way is the first step towards letting loose. 5. Once students are more comfortable moving to the music, they can start to focus on manipulating the puppet and making it move and dance. Encourage them to dance “with” the puppet, and react to what they make the puppet do. Remind students not to focus on “doing it right” – it’s more important to let loose and have fun. 6. Before moving on to your lesson for the day, check in with students and ask them how they’re feeling after dancing it out with their puppets. 7. Have your students try this warm-up game every day for a week , choosing different music and a different object to animate each day. Then at the end of the week, have them complete and submit a reflection about their week of puppet dance party warm-ups.

This warm-up game helps students work on a variety of skills: improvising, listening, observing, and working as a team. At the same time, it’s pretty silly and good for a laugh! This game requires no props (although students can use found objects if they wish), and can be done virtually on an online platform such as Zoom or Skype, or in person. 1. Select four students to participate. Two students will be silent actors and two students will be their voices. Assign one silent actor and one voice actor to be Character A, and the other silent actor and voice actor to be Character B. 2. The two voice actors will cover their cameras or turn them off, but keep their microphones on. (Make sure they can still see everyone else.) The two silent actors will turn their microphones off, but keep their cameras on. 3. The two voice actors will start a conversation, Character A speaking to Character B. It might help to give them a starting line, a character trait, or a topic to get them started. See below for a link to twenty conversation starters! 4. The two silent actors will lip sync (as best they can) along with their matching voice actor, while adding facial expressions and gestures. They can use found objects as props if they wish. 5. The silent actors will need to listen carefully to what the voice actors are saying to interpret their words. It will help the silent actors if the voice actors speak slowly and clearly. The silent actors can help make the scene more active by exaggerating their facial expressions and gestures. 6. Give students the opportunity to try both the silent and voice roles. 7. After the scene, discuss with your students: • What was more challenging: playing the silent role or the voice role? • What role did you prefer to play? • How can this exercise help you become a better actor? • What can you do to make the scene funny? • What can you do to be a good team player in this exercise? Alternate 1: Act/React • Have the two silent actors create a mimed scene, while the two voice actors create lines based on the actions of the silent pair. Adaptation 2: Murmel Murmel Murmel • Have the two voice actors speak in gibberish, animal sounds, or vocal effects, while the silent actors mouth a “conversation” and react to the sounds. Adaptation 3: Flip the Roles • For this adaptation, have all the participants keep their mics and cameras on. Assign the pairs as instructed above. Midway through the scene, say “FLIP” and have the silent pair become the voice pair and vice versa. Students must keep the conversation going as if nothing has changed.

The mirror game is one of the most common exercises in the drama classroom. Students are grouped into pairs, facing each other. One student is the leader and moves their face and body in slow movements, and their partner is their mirror image and copies the movements as precisely as they can. It’s a great game to work on focus, details, and teamwork. Ideally, students want to be so precise that the teacher can’t guess who is the leader and who is the mirror. Virtual Mirrors is an adaptation of this drama game for virtual platforms like Zoom. This exercise is done as a full class. 1. Assign one student to be the leader. 2. The leader will start moving their face and body slowly. The rest of the group must copy the leader’s movements exactly. (Allow some flexibility for camera lag.) No talking or coaching is allowed between students. 3. Most students will likely have their device’s camera set up as a medium close-up (framing their head and shoulders in the camera) but they don’t need to limit themselves to staying in one spot. They can lean in and out of frame, come up close or move far away from the camera. Play with the medium. Students playing the followers should adjust their positioning in front of the camera to mirror the leader exactly. Think of a television display in a store, in which many TVs show the same image at the same time. 4. Some devices will mirror the screen automatically – you’ll know if yours does this if when you take a photo, any writing visible on the screen is backwards. Students might have to think about this when doing the mirror exercise and adjust their movements accordingly – raising their right hand instead of their left to accommodate, for example. Isn’t technology fun? 5. Have students focus on smaller details, particularly with their faces, like raising an eyebrow, tilting their head, or wrinkling their nose or forehead. Also, make students aware of unintentional movements, such as fixing their hair, yawning, scratching their faces, or sighing. Adaptation 1: Lip Reading • The leader will silently mouth a short sentence, exaggerating the words and syllables. The rest of the class will copy the movements and try to guess what the sentence is. *Adaptation 2: Copycats * • Group students into pairs and have them mirror their partners, all moving at the same time. See if students are able to focus only on their partner and not copy the other pairs. Adaptation 3: Pass the Leadership • One student will start as the leader. At various points, the teacher will call out another student’s name. That student will assume leadership without stopping the original movement – the transition should be smooth. This challenges students to focus on the leader, listen in anticipation of their name being called, and have an idea for continuing the movement in the back of their minds. Adaptation 4: Add Music • Play a piece of music in the background. Encourage the leader to interpret the music or lyrics with their movements.

*Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. * The vignette-style play, Scenes from a Quarantine by Lindsay Price, can be easily performed using an online platform and has a variety of scenes to address all student skill levels. Did you know COVID-19 likes to be known as Co? And what if Romeo and Juliet missed their marriage by one day because of a stay-at-home order? Would they still make it? You know all the people in Scenes From a Quarantine. The person who thinks quarantine is going to be easy. The person whose life changed overnight. The person who thinks hairdressers are an essential service. The person who just wants to use class meetings to talk. Why did we publish this play? As everyone knows, in-person productions stopped in the middle of March. It’s impossible to predict when they’ll start again. At the time, we didn’t think we’d move into this genre, but as more and more teachers talked about their online performances and were looking for shows that could be produced online, we knew we had to provide some options. The first thing we wanted to do was provide plays that were specifically written for an online platform. That way, teachers don’t have to figure out how to adapt something – they can present the play as is. We also wanted something that addressed our present situation in a theatrical manner: What if COVID was a character in a scene? Let’s hear from the author!1. Why did you write this play? I wanted to write an online specific play, and they always say write what you know! It’s all pandemic, all the time. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. Pandemic Theatre. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? My favourite visual is seeing the four horsemen of the apocalypse having a Zoom meaning. Because meetings are hell, especially Zoom meetings! 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Don’t neglect physical character work. Just because your actors may be sitting in a chair staring at a camera, doesn’t mean they can’t act with their upper body. Focus on the facial expressions of their character. How does this character do their hair? 5. Why is this play great for student performers? The characters are both familiar (they’re going through what students are going through) and theatrical (What if COVID-19 was personified as a character?). 6. Why is this play great for online platforms? This play is written to be performed on an online platform. No need to figure out how to adapt scenes to fit, it’s all done for you. Get your copy of Scenes from a Quarantine_ _right here, right now!Not right for your group right now? Search our play catalogue to find one that your performers will love!

Drama isn’t always the easiest subject to adapt to distance learning. So much of what makes drama fun and worthwhile involves human interaction. Seeing students engage with one another, create connections, and interact as a group while exploring different ways to use their bodies, minds, and imaginations is what drama class is all about. But don’t despair – we’re here to help with some tips to make your life easier when adapting your lesson plans to the virtual classroom. 1. Start with what you have.You don’t need to reinvent the wheel and create a whole set of new lessons for the virtual classroom. Look at your current lesson plans and think about whether your students could do the assignments in their homes, with limited resources. Consider how you could present your material in different ways. Can you present the lesson verbally via a video conferencing app? Could you record yourself giving the lesson and make it into a private YouTube video for your students? Do you have lectures or notes that you could convert to articles, worksheets, or PowerPoint presentations, so students can study the material on their own time and at their own pace? Do you have homework assignments or ISPs that you could turn into lessons? The good thing is that once you have adapted the lessons you already have, you can use them again with future classes. 2. Begin with projects that students can do individually.Go easy on yourself and start by considering lessons, exercises, and assignments that lend themselves to individual work and study. Playwriting, monologues (reading, writing, performing), theatre history, research projects, analysis (scene, line, song, character), design work, business of theatre exercises, theatre trivia, compare and contrast exercises, journaling and reflections can all be completed individually and submitted via email or your school’s virtual classroom program. These projects can be written assignments, video assignments (either performed live or recorded), or a combination of both. 3. Group work is definitely doable!While individual studies are useful, we don’t want to limit ourselves and our students to only independent study. Reading scripts aloud as a full group can be a lot of fun. Full class breathwork, mindfulness activities, and visualization exercises are all beneficial for students both during drama class and in their outside lives. If your platform supports breakout rooms, you can divide students into smaller groups. You can do class brainstorming and discussion over video conferencing, but you’ll need to come up with a signal to ensure students don’t interrupt each other. You can do full group improvisation exercises such as Word at a Time Story by assigning the order of participation in advance (e.g., in alphabetical order – this also is a great way for students to practice coming in for their cues!). You can do improv exercises that require pairs, such as Job Interview and Scenes from a Bag, by having two students do the exercise while other students observe – just like in the physical classroom. Note: some students are more self-conscious on camera than they are in person. One option is to have those watching turn off their cameras during presentations. Choral work or group singing exercises can be challenging due to microphone and video lag, but depending on your technical abilities, you may be able to have students use a click track or backing track to keep them at the same tempo, and have them record their parts for you to edit together. Live choral work over video conferencing technology is difficult due to differences in internet, video, and audio speeds. When planning smaller group work, try to avoid assignments that require a specific number of students. It can be difficult to know whether students will show up for virtual classes, so whenever possible, ensure that the number of students required for the exercise is flexible. 4. Use new challenges to your advantage.A great problem-solving exercise can come from figuring out solutions to new theatrical challenges in the current global situation, or problems that may arise post-pandemic. For example, how could a director stage the spit-take scene in The Drowsy Chaperone without actually having a student spit water in another student’s face? How could someone directing a fairy tale play stage a scene that requires “true love’s kiss to break the spell” while having to follow physical distancing requirements? What would you do during a Zoom production if someone’s internet connection breaks mid-scene, or someone’s microphone stops working? Have students brainstorm a list of new theatrical production challenges, and then come up with ideas on how to solve them. 5. When in doubt, simplify.As much as possible, avoid assignments that require a lot of extra materials – art supplies, props, costume items, stationary, etc. Not all students have access to lots of different supplies in their homes, or the ability to go out and buy supplies. You’ll need to provide access to readings, scripts, and audio/video examples if you use them. Remember that some students may have to share devices with siblings or parents or have old or outdated technology that lags, so as much as possible, leave some wiggle room for technical issues. For example, be aware of whether aural clarity issues are due to a student actually having trouble with their volume and diction, or they’re just dealing with a crappy microphone that sounds tinny in their living room. Try to look at lesson adaptation as an opportunity to refresh your materials, challenge yourself to come up with creative staging solutions (only this time your stage is your virtual classroom), and focus on the topics you really enjoy teaching. Focusing on the topics that bring you the most joy will make the adaptation process easier, because you will be more engaged and determined to make it work. You can do this! And don’t forget, there are lots of resources available at the Theatrefolk distance learning page. We’re here to help!

At the beginning of a new term of drama classes, you need to inform students about classroom rules and expectations to start on a positive note. However, when teaching drama via distance learning, it’s hard enough to keep students engaged through a computer screen, let alone while having them sit around and read yet another list of classroom rules. The “Act It Out” game was introduced on the Theatrefolk blog as an active means of introducing classroom rules or theatrical guidelines. Rather than passively listening, students can absorb the classroom rules by presenting them in an active, theatrical manner. This game can be adapted for use in the virtual classroom as well. 1. Brainstorm & discuss.Many virtual classroom rules are similar to the rules you’d have in a physical classroom, like: • Arrive to class on time. • Treat classmates and teachers the way you wish to be treated. • If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get caught up. • Participate in all group activities to the best of your ability. However, you must make some rule adaptations when working virtually, like: • Mute your microphone when you aren’t speaking. • Aim your video monitor at your face. • Video monitors must remain on unless you need to leave (and if you need to turn off your monitor, let the teacher know why). • Have students use a class signal to indicate that they would like to respond or ask a question. • Do your best to reduce background noise and outside distractions during class time. Have your students brainstorm a list of rules that they think are important for the virtual classroom, and identify which rules would also be appropriate for a physical classroom. Discuss how they think rules should be adjusted for the virtual classroom, why they are important, and what the consequence might be for ignoring or breaking a rule. Encourage students to phrase rules in positive terms: “Arrive on time” rather than “Don’t be late to class.” If students suggest negative rules, discuss how they can be rephrased as positive. 2. Get into groups.Divide students into small groups (3-4 students per group) and secretly give each group a classroom rule to act out. You’ll need to assign students to breakout rooms and drop in to each room to give them the rule. Alternatively, you may wish to have students attempt this game right away as an improv exercise, in which case, you don’t need to keep the rule a secret. 3. Rehearse.Groups can either act out the rule as stated OR act out the opposite of the rule and show the class what not to do. Alternatively, groups can do a two-scene performance: first, the group will act out breaking the rule and what happens (consequences); second, the group will act out following the rule and what happens (success!). Give the groups a time limit to plan and rehearse their scene, then have each group perform for the rest of the class. Students can make their scenes serious or comedic, as long as they appropriately demonstrate their assigned rule. 4. Perform & analyze.Once the group has performed, have the rest of the class guess which rule they acted out. Usually, it is just as helpful to talk about the guesses as the actual rule. This game can lead to interesting discussions about the rules of the classroom, as well as students’ thoughts and expectations. It’s a good way to gauge what students know and expect of themselves and their peers, and where your expectations and theirs agree or differ. Including students in the process of creating classroom rules helps them take ownership of their behaviour. It also allows you to observe how students work together in groups, and how adept they are with working with video conferencing technology in a classroom setting.