Exercise Articles for Drama Teachers

The exercises listed below can be adapted to distance and online learning opportunities. Students work individually (rather than with partners or in groups). Group work and discussions can be...

The exercises listed below can be adapted to distance and online learning opportunities. Students work individually (rather than with partners or in groups). Group work and discussions can be...

The phrase “technical theatre” can be intimidating for some drama teachers. They may feel that they don’t have adequate experience to teach technical theatre, or that they just aren’t “tech-y”...

The exercises listed below can be adapted to distance and online learning opportunities. Students work individually (rather than with partners or in groups). Group work and discussions can be...

We always ask our drama students to reflect on their experiences, and for good reason. Reflecting helps students gain a deeper understanding of the lessons taught, skills learned, and experiences...

Do your students know how to give effective peer feedback? If not, they may not know what that actually looks like. If they don’t know what effective peer feedback is, how can they benefit from...

This simple classroom scene exercise challenges students to not only prepare a scene for a staged reading performance, but to also include a variety of theatrical “extras” using items found in the...

Here’s a warm-up game you can try at your next rehearsal: Switching Roles. Students will use an improv game to take on a different part in the play you’re currently working on. It’s a simple enough...

In this round-up, we’ve gathered a whole host of useful warm-up games that you can use in your drama classroom that focus on different aspects of communication. Communication isn’t just students...

Student-led warm-up games are a great way for students to demonstrate what they’ve learned in drama class and apply it in a practical setting, as well as to develop their leadership skills....

Here is a brainstorming exercise that you can use with your students when they have selected a broad topic and are trying to narrow it down or flesh out their ideas. For example, they may have...

Giving students the opportunity to direct is a great thing – it helps them to develop their leadership skills and creative thinking abilities, challenges them in a new theatrical medium, and helps...

Show programs (also known as playbills) are the easiest way to share important production information with the audience. Programs are a method of acknowledging all the hard work done by the cast...

Isn’t it funny how some students are loud and enthusiastic during break time, but once they’re onstage, their voices seem to disappear? No, you haven’t lost your hearing – it’s one of the many...

One of the exciting aspects of rehearsal is experimenting with the text of the script and figuring out what the characters are saying and how they should say it. Each approach to the text will...

For those students who love dancing, simply mentioning the word “dance” gets them up on their feet and immediately moving. For other students, the idea of pirouettes, step-touches, and fan kicks...

A common question that is asked of student actors when they’re analyzing their character is: “What was your character doing before this scene?” Or “What is your character going to do after this...

What is a signature gesture? It’s a nonverbal, repeated movement your character is known for, that you perform in a particular way that is unique and identifiable. Common, well-known gestures...