Rehearsal Articles for Drama Teachers

“The show must go on” is a common phrase in the theatre world, and a stage manager is one of the crucial people who ensures that the show does go on. The stage manager works side by side with the...

We asked drama teachers: What tips do you have for keeping your rehearsals focused? Let’s hear from the front lines! John H. subscribes to short and sweet: • My rehearsal schedule is short. 25 days...

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...

Teachers and directors – have you ever watched a run of your show, noticed a particular student, and wondered, “Now where did that performance come from?!” I’m talking about the student who plods...

There are so many approaches to developing a character and making them fascinating and engaging. Some methods are more analytical, some are emotional, and some are physical. In this case, think of...

We asked drama teachers: How do you make your rehearsals run efficiently and effectively? Let’s hear from teachers on the front lines. Punctuality and Preparedness• Communicate the schedule • Be on...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

In theatre, a transition refers to the process of moving from one scene or set to the next. It seems simple enough–grab “all the stuff” at the end of one scene and take it offstage, while the rest...

There comes a point in every rehearsal process when the dreaded “rehearsal blahs” start to set in. This tends to be mid-way through the rehearsal process, when the initial excitement of casting and...

From Kingston to California, drama teachers everywhere deal with similar concerns with their drama students and their theatrical productions. Here are five common rehearsal problems, rapid-fire...

From Shakespearean tragedies to zombie thrillers, stage blood can be an exciting addition to a show–it adds a sinister realism to dramatic moments, and really makes the audience gasp with surprise...

It’s a situation that directors hope never to have to face, but unfortunately it happens: an actor, for whatever reason, has to drop out of the show at some point during the rehearsal process....