Exercise Articles for Drama Teachers

The actor’s job is to tell the story of the play to the audience. Proper enunciation is essential for the audience to have any idea of what the actor is saying or singing during a production....

Tongue twisters are a fantastic tool to use in drama classes and rehearsals. They help students to warm up their voices, improve diction and enunciation, and get their brains moving! But repeating...

Breath control is so important for performers, whether they’re in rehearsal, onstage, or somewhere in between. Breath control affects the range, volume, and speed of both speaking and singing....

Collaboration games are a great go-to exercise throughout the entire school year. At the start of the school year, they work for ‘get to know you’, and warm up activities. Later on in the school...

Need acting exercises for your drama classroom? Here are 5 of Theatrefolk’s most popular exercises to help inspire student actors, from monologues to ensembles. 1.“Channel That Fear”Fear is such a...

Strong writing takes practice - and the right kind of practice makes all the difference. Explore five of our most popular playwriting exercises for middle and high school students, designed to...

We’re counting down the 12 Days of Christmas with 12 of our most popular Classroom Exercises! No matter which holidays you celebrate, these exercises are a useful tool to keep in your back pocket –...

Do your students have trouble coming up with ideas? Get them started with observation! Observation is being attentive of people, places, and things. That means you’re not vaguely skimming a room,...

““… I recommend they keep a diary, at least a page a day, and faithfully, and also to get into the habit of letter writing to other writers. The advantages that come with doing this seem...

A mixed message is when someone communicates two conflicting ideas at the same time, making it unclear what they really mean. This can happen through: • Words vs. actions (saying one thing, “I’ll...

Communication is not just what we say – nonverbal actions play a huge part as well. How we stand, gesture, make eye contact, all of these physical choices communicate. Use this nonverbal exercise...

This is a great classroom exercise to not only have fun with Shakespeare but to also see how well students can re-frame which ever Shakespeare play they are studying. Take a character from one...

The first week of drama class can be the toughest week of the semester. A drama class is quite different than a “regular” class. Students need to be comfortable with each other before the “real...

The ensemble of your play is more than just set dressing; it populates the world of the play. A strong ensemble is the same as a strong cast: It is made up of actors who play well-defined...

How does your class collaborate in a crisis? To collaborate is to work together as a group to produce something. In this case, each group has to work together to create a list. But it’s not just...

Use this exercise for the first week of class, especially if you have a group of students who don’t know each other very well. The point of the game is to get students to not just talk to each...

The mirror game is a great stand-by in the theatre class. Students are grouped in pairs and face each other. One acts as the leader, moving their arms, legs, head, face, in a slow steady pattern so...

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...