Time-Filler Activity: Blank: The Musical

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?

Are you curious to know what your students know about a particular topic? Or do you wonder about what they actually retained from your last lesson? The following activity is a good way to find out quickly. The goal is simple: find out everything your students know about a particular topic in five minutes or less. It’s a great time-filler activity, or it can be used as an opening bellwork activity. You can do it as a full class activity, in small groups, or as an individual activity, and only a couple of supplies are required. Materials Needed• Stopwatch • Writing implements — pencil and paper or cell phones/tablets/Chromebooks (if you’re doing this individually or in small groups), or a blackboard/smart board (if you’re working with a full class) Instructions1. Choose a time frame to work in. Use smaller increments for smaller groups — for example, 1–2 minutes for individuals, 3–4 minutes for small groups, and 5 minutes for a full class. Adjust as necessary, depending on how much time you have to fill. 2. If you are working in small groups or as a full class, select one person to be the note-taker (one per group). Choose the student who is the fastest writer/typist. 3. When the teacher says “GO,” students will write down everything they know about a particular theatrical topic. If they’re working individually, they’ll write out everything they know about the topic by hand or digitally. For some students, it might be faster to use talk-to-text technology or do a voice recording, and that’s ok too. If they’re working as a full group, you can have students shout out their answers, rapid-fire style, or have them raise their hands. Just be quick! Point form notes are fine, but each point needs to be a complete thought and make sense. Students can always add extra notes or develop points further as necessary. Some topics might include “Everything you know about…” • Theatre etiquette • Stage makeup • The play the class is currently studying • Stage combat • Commedia dell’arte • The lesson that we just finished today/yesterday • A particular actor/playwright/theatrical historical figure • Warm-ups • What should be included in a show programme • Improvisation 4. When writing “everything you know about…” students can write literally anything they can think of relating to the show. For example, if the topic is the play the class is currently studying, students could start with things like: • Play title: The House • Playwright: Lindsay Price • There are 28 characters. • It’s set in the present day, in October. • There are four separate stories within the show. • Liath appears in all four stories. • Liath is pronounced “LEE-EH” (not “lee-ath”). For “Everything you know about stage combat,” lists might include: • If it isn’t safe, don’t do it. • Stage combat = the illusion of violence. • Stage combat must always be done under the supervision of a fight director. • Never do a real slap. • Always do a warm-up and fight call during pre-show. • Run each fight twice during fight call: once at half speed and once at performance speed. • The sound that a slap/punch/blow makes is called a “knap.” And so on. They can talk about content, themes, characters, rules, definitions, memorable quotes, whatever they know about it. Once they’ve got the basics out of their brains, they can go deeper (within the time limit). The goal is to run out of time before they run out of ideas! 5. Students will write as quickly as possible for the full amount of time you’ve selected. When the timer goes off, students must stop writing immediately. If you’re working as a full class or small group, have students include their initials next to their answers, so you know who contributed what. 6. If time permits, you can have your students share their answers verbally, or have them submit the answers to you. When you’re selecting a topic, you might choose one that you’ve recently studied in class to see what information your students have retained and can quickly recall. It’s an immediate assessment of what your students took away from the lesson. If there are noticeable sections missing in students’ notes, that gives you an idea of what needs to be reviewed. Remember that some students may not work well under pressure, and might be able to recall more information in a different setting. In that case, if time permits, follow up the activity with a class discussion. Conversely, you might choose a topic that you haven’t yet focused on to gauge what knowledge your students currently possess. This way you can see what you could focus your lessons on, where your students’ interests lie, and where their knowledge gaps are. Let us know how your students respond to this activity!

If students are feeling stressed or anxious, it can be helpful to share some techniques and exercises to help them calm down, regulate themselves, and re-centre, so they can go about the rest of their day feeling a bit better. The drama classroom is often a safe haven for students. Maybe they’re worried about their upcoming audition, maybe they’re feeling anxious about participating in an improv exercise, or maybe they’re holding stress from a prior class or an event earlier in the day. If you’ve got a few minutes to fill, notice a tense or stressed-out student, or need a quick activity to switch up the energy of the room, try one of these mindfulness activities. They can be condensed or expanded to fit any amount of time required. And teachers — you might even find these activities useful if you’re feeling stressed out yourself! 1. Have students pause, stand, and stretch their bodies. Start at the top of the head and move down through the body — neck, shoulders, arms and hands, torso, hips, legs, feet. Or, lead them in a brief yoga sequence. 2. Have students sit or lie on the floor, and lead them through a visualization story or meditation. (As an extension of this activity, after students have had a few opportunities to participate in this exercise, have them write their own visualization stories, and then have them lead the exercise.) 3. Do an energy pass circle. Have students stand in a circle and hold hands with the students on either side of them. Have one student gently squeeze the hand of the student next to them. That student will then gently squeeze the hand of the person next to them, and so on around the entire circle. Once the squeeze has been sent around the circle, have students do the exercise again, only this time with their hands crossed in front of them, and then re-joining hands. Students will need to stand closer to each other to do the second energy pass. 4. Have students say out loud or write something kind about themselves. 5. Have students say out loud or write something that they’re proud of, or something that they’ve learned or accomplished in drama class. 6. Have students give a classmate a compliment. (For suggestions 4, 5, and 6, you could also have students write these prompts on a Post-it Note and stick them up somewhere in your classroom as a positivity display.) 7. Think about the characters in the play you’re currently studying or in rehearsals for. What mindfulness activities or exercises do you think they might do? For bonus points, do those activities. 8. Try one of the following breathing exercises: • Box breathing: inhale for four counts, hold the breath for four counts, exhale for four counts, hold the breath for four counts, and repeat as many times as you wish. • Flower breathing: imagine that you are holding a flower with a long stem. In your head, visualize the flower: what kind of flower is it? What colour is it? What scent does it have? Use your hands to mime picking the flower and holding it gently in front of you. Breathe in through the nose the “scent” of the imaginary flower for four counts, then exhale out the mouth for four counts. Repeat as many times as you wish. • Laugh breathing: inhale for four counts, then exhale in four short bursts while saying “ha” and then a final slow “ha” at the end, exhaling all the breath remaining. It will feel/sound like this: inhale… ha, ha, ha, ha, haaaaaaaaa. Repeat as many times as you wish, changing the vowels of the exhale each round (hee hee hee, hi hi hi, ho ho ho, etc.) or varying the volume. 9. Do a “stop and sense” check. Identify the following: • Five things you can SEE • Four things you can TOUCH • Three things you can HEAR • Two things you can SMELL • One thing you can TASTE (What does the inside of your mouth currently taste like? Coffee? A mint? Your lunch?) Bonus points if the identifications are related to theatre or drama class. 10. Do a massage chain. Have students sit in a circle, facing the back of the person in front of them. (Students with long hair will need to tuck their hair over their shoulder or tie it back.) With students’ consent, students will place their hands on the shoulders and/or upper back of the student in front of them, and give them a gentle massage. Gentle two-finger taps or karate chops with the side of the hand can feel good too. After an agreed-upon amount of time has passed, have students turn and massage the shoulders of the student who was previously massaging them. Again, be sure students get consent from the student ahead of them before placing their hands on them. Additional Resources:3 Mindfulness Techniques to Combat Pre-Show Nerves Round-Up: Health & Fitness for Drama Students Closure Practices for the Drama Classroom