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Drama Teacher Learning Centre

Our Learning Centre is dedicated to providing drama teachers with insightful and engaging information for all things theatre!
Whether you're looking for articles, exercises, tips, or resources for teaching theatre in the classroom or on the stage, you'll find it all here.
We're dedicated to sharing our passion for theatre while making sure you have everything you need to make your theatre program shine!
Displaying items 37-54 of 125 in total
Acting

The “What If” Game

Last semester, one of my classes consisted of a group of students who had little theatrical experience. Most of these particular students had never performed onstage before. They were eager and...
Acting

Round-Up: 5 Rehearsal Problems… and Solutions!

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...
Acting

Working With Stage Blood

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...
Acting

You Want Me to Do WHAT Onstage?

Students, imagine this: You’ve been cast into a show that you know is going to be awesome. You’re in the middle of rehearsal, and your director has just asked you to do something really...
Acting

Theatrical Time Management for Students

Students are busy people. Drama students are no exception! They’re constantly juggling rehearsals, learning lines, working backstage, preparing for auditions, performing in shows (often all at the...
Acting

The First Rehearsal Read-Through: Yay or Nay?

When working on a production with students, one of the first rehearsals (if not the very first rehearsal) is often dedicated to a full read-through of the script. This generally consists of the...
Acting

How to Deal: Not Getting the Part You Wanted

Teachers: Not getting the part you want can be devastating! If you have a student who is unhappy with their casting result, here is a frank and honest list that you can share with your students. It...
Acting

There Are No Small Parts

Are small parts a major letdown, or are they “actor crack”? Here are 3 tips that show you and your students how to make the most of a small part. 1. Play that small part as if the character is the...
Acting

Auditions Exercise Part 2: Mock Auditions

The following is Part Two of our Mock Audition Exercise, which allows students to practice preparing for and presenting an audition in a safe environment. Click here to read Part One. Outside of...
Acting

Theatrefolk’s Top 10: Scene Work

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays For….Scene Work. You want interesting scenes for your students. You want a variety of scenes for your students. You don’t want to do the same scenes over and over and...
Featured Article
My Favorite “End of Class and We Need Something Fun” Project
The end of the school year usually comes with a couple of school days that didn’t quite fit into the calendar. Final projects and presentations have been completed, but there are still one or two c...
Featured Article
Drama class ideas for after the final project
It’s that age-old drama classroom conundrum: Final projects have been completed, but there are still a handful of school days to fill before the year officially ends. This can be a challenging time...

Latest Articles

All articles
Production

Top 8 Tips for Producing Shows On a Small Budget

Are you the only drama teacher trying to build a thriving theatre program on minimal resources?  Theatre can happen anytime, and anywhere. You can produce powerful theatre experiences without fancy...
New Drama Teachers

Top 10 Tips for New Drama Teachers: Planning Ahead

Starting your first year as a drama teacher can feel equal parts exhilarating and overwhelming. You’re stepping into a role that blends creativity, structure, collaboration, and a whole lot of...
Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play: Look Me in the Eye

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Looking for a powerful one-act that gives students rich character work and makes a strong competition piece? You need Look Me in the Eye by Lindsay Price....
Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play: Master of Puppets

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Looking for teen characters who actually feel like real people and not stereotypes? Start with Master of Puppets by Jeffrey Harr. The guidance counsellors of...
Production

Top 10 Reasons the “Show Must Go On!”

Everyone has a “show must go on” story. Sets collapse, lines are forgotten, and sometimes the light board even catches fire. I’ve seen an actor run offstage while the rest of the cast improvised...

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Acting Technique

All Acting Technique
Acting

Introduction to Tableau for Middle Schoolers

Tableau is a fantastic introductory theatre topic for middle schoolers. The word “tableau” comes from the phrase tableau vivant, or “living picture.” In tableau, students use their bodies and...
Acting

Acting in Everyday Life

Many students take drama class not because they want to, but because they have to. They might need an arts credit to graduate, or there aren’t any other options for them to have a full class...
Acting

Acting the Issue Play

Want to give your students some fantastic acting material that they can really sink their dramatic chops into? Consider doing an issue play for your next production. Issue plays explore problems...
Acting

Questioning Your Character (Without Judgment)

Students will frequently be cast into roles that are vastly different from their real-life personalities. This is a good thing – it’s a great opportunity for students to grow their skills as...

Classroom Management

All Classroom Management
Classroom Management

How to Keep Drama Class Chaos Under Control

Drama classes are chaotic by design. A good drama class should be an active and energetic environment where students are exploring and creating with their peers. That means groups of students...
Classroom Management

Round-Up: All About Classroom Management

Classroom management looks a little different in the drama room than in other classes. However, laying a solid foundation for discipline is imperative for you and your students so you can all work...
Classroom Management

Supplies and Equipment Every Drama Classroom Needs

Drama classrooms come in a huge variety of sizes and styles. You may have a fabulous auditorium with a giant storage closet, a dedicated drama classroom, a shared space, or you may not have a...

Curriculum & Lesson Planning

All Curriculum & Lesson Planning
New Drama Teachers

The Power of Rubrics in the Drama Classroom

In many drama programs, teachers are often building curriculum from scratch, sometimes as the only drama instructor in their school. Without a clear framework, assessing performance-based work can...
Teaching Drama

The Arts Remind Us of Joy and Possibility

Even in the middle of struggle, the arts create space for laughter, beauty, imagination, and play. They remind us that humans are storytellers and creators, capable of imagining solutions,...
Teaching Drama

Character Study in the Drama Classroom

Ideally, we want students to study characters and bring them to life through scene work. But what if you have students who have been away during rehearsals and you need a related activity for them...

Directing

All Directing
Directing

Staging Theatre in Non-Traditional Spaces

Theatre teachers are often faced with staging productions in less-than-optimal spaces. Whether it’s on a platform in the corner of a classroom or the stage in the cafeteria, theatre teachers have...
Directing

10 Tasks for Drama Students During Post-Show

You did it! Your performance is done. But we don’t want all your students to just disappear after the curtain closes, especially if you’ve got more performances coming up. This article is focused...
Directing

10 Tasks for Student Technicians During Pre-Show

Before the performers arrive at the performance space, the student technicians are already there and hard at work. For the purposes of this article, “student technicians” refers to the entire...
Directing

10 Tasks for Student Actors During Pre-Show

The hour before a performance starts is always an exciting and potentially nerve-wracking time. Everyone is feeling their feels, there are many moving parts and tasks that need to be completed in a...
Directing

10 Tasks for Student Actors To Do During Rehearsals

When you’re creating a rehearsal schedule for your upcoming production, whenever possible you should only call student actors to rehearse for the scenes they’re actually in. There’s no sense in...

Directing & Production

All Directing & Production
Production

Top 8 Tips for Producing Shows On a Small Budget

Are you the only drama teacher trying to build a thriving theatre program on minimal resources?  Theatre can happen anytime, and anywhere. You can produce powerful theatre experiences without fancy...
Production

Top 10 Reasons the “Show Must Go On!”

Everyone has a “show must go on” story. Sets collapse, lines are forgotten, and sometimes the light board even catches fire. I’ve seen an actor run offstage while the rest of the cast improvised...
Production

10 Tips for a 48-Hour Play Project

A 48-hour theatre project can energize students, build community, and teach collaboration under pressure. The idea is that you have a play, you have your actors, and you commit to being together...
Production

Top 10 Marketing Tips for Your Next Production

Marketing a production can feel overwhelming. How do you get people in the seats when your audience seems limited to friends and family? From creative social media campaigns to school outreach and...
Production

How to Facilitate a Student-Led Production

One of the most empowering projects you can take on in your program is to give your students the opportunity to run a production themselves from beginning to end. It shows students that theatre is...

Distance Learning

All Distance Learning
Distance Learning

Character Study: Self-Awareness

The following exercise helps students learn self-awareness (which is one of the categories of social and emotional learning) and apply it by analyzing characters in a play that they are currently...
Distance Learning

Improv Game: Combining Skills

This fun improv game challenges students to work together and think quickly on their feet to create a scene that solves a problem, using skills possessed by characters with different occupations....
Distance Learning

Improv Game: Imposter

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...
Distance Learning

Exercise: Outdoor Virtual Monologues

The following distance learning exercise challenges students to take their performances outdoors. Students will select a monologue, perform and film it outdoors, and submit it for evaluation....

Diversity

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Diversity

Tips for Supporting Nonbinary Drama Students

We want our drama classroom to be a safe space for our LGBTQ+ students. Within that umbrella are nonbinary students. The term nonbinary can mean different things to different people, but generally...

Featured Plays

All Featured Plays
Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play: Look Me in the Eye

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Looking for a powerful one-act that gives students rich character work and makes a strong competition piece? You need Look Me in the Eye by Lindsay Price....
Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play: Master of Puppets

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Looking for teen characters who actually feel like real people and not stereotypes? Start with Master of Puppets by Jeffrey Harr. The guidance counsellors of...
Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play: Snapshot: Bee-u-ti-ful

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Snapshot: Bee-u-ti-ful is a competion-length version of Beauty and the Bee, and an awesome character piece for your next competition! Do you get along with...
Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play: Dead Highway

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Dead Highway by Christopher Evans is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the terrifying aftermath of a viral apocalypse. Six teenagers fight for survival...

Games

All Games
Games

Drama class ideas for after the final project

It’s that age-old drama classroom conundrum: Final projects have been completed, but there are still a handful of school days to fill before the year officially ends. This can be a challenging time...
Games

Communication Game: Blind Robot

Blind Robot is the ultimate verbal communication game. It requires players to CLEARLY communicate verbal commands to a “robot.” The robot then has to physically interpret those instructions in a...
Games

What to Do When You’re Burnt Out on Theatre Games

Theatre games are a vital tool for drama teachers. They help build relationships in the drama classroom, teach important theatre skills, and give students a chance to practice those skills and take...
Games

How to Run a Trivia Game in Drama Class

Looking for a fun, low-pressure way to engage your students, review key concepts, or just bring some energy to a quiet day or the end of a unit? Try a trivia challenge! Using theatre trivia is a...

Games & Exercises

All Games & Exercises
Classroom Exercise

Just Breathe! Breathing Exercises for Student Actors

Breathing is more than just the inhale and the exhale. This is especially true for actors. As a beginning actor, the relationship between you and your breath might be exactly the same as in...
Classroom Exercise

Playwriting Prep Work

The first day of a playwriting unit should not be the first day your students start writing. There are so many barriers and pre-conceived notions when it comes to writing that to dive in on day one...
Classroom Exercise

End-of-Year Drama Project Ideas for Non-Performers

The end of the school year is a challenging time for drama teachers. Teachers are tired, students are distracted, and the curriculum doesn’t always fit the remainder of the calendar. These issues...
Classroom Exercise

End of Year: Play Adaptation Project

The play adaptation project, where students adapt a text into a play, is a great end-of-year project for advanced drama students. It involves every aspect of the theatre process, from playwriting...

Playwriting

All Playwriting
Classroom Exercise

Playwriting Prep Work

The first day of a playwriting unit should not be the first day your students start writing. There are so many barriers and pre-conceived notions when it comes to writing that to dive in on day one...
Playwriting

Resource: Tons of Oddly Specific Character Prompts

Sometimes you need a prompt that’s a bit more than just a word or two. “Oddly specific” prompts are great for improv, devising, and playwriting because they instantly spark students’ imaginations...
Playwriting

Kindness Improvised Scenes

When you can improvise a scene about anything, why not focus on kindness? Incorporating kindness into drama class activities helps students develop the ensemble mindset and creates a more positive,...
Playwriting

Playwriting Prompt: Stories About Stuffies

Stories about cherished toys and stuffed animals (plush toys, stuffies, cuddly toys, soft toys, etc.) are abundant: Winnie the Pooh, The Velveteen Rabbit, Paddington, Corduroy, Calvin and Hobbes,...
Playwriting

Playwright Spotlight: Get to Know Bradley Hayward

Welcome to "Playwright Spotlight" — your exclusive backstage pass to the creative minds crafting the incredible plays featured in our Theatrefolk catalogue. Discover the magic, quirks, and genius...

Podcast

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Podcast

Theatre as a Teaching Tool

Episode 214: Theatre as a teaching tool The drama classroom is not just a place for games and play time. You can use theatre as a teaching tool – perhaps the most important one students will ever...
Podcast

Happy Birthday Frankenstein!

Episode 213: Happy Birthday Frankenstein! It’s Frankenstein’s Birthday this month! Or more accurately, it’s the birthday of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the author of the classic gothic romance...
Podcast

Drama Teachers: Take back the classics

Episode 212: Drama Teachers: Take back the classics Julie Hartley wants you to take back the classics. Lose the idea that Shakespeare is high brow and just for people who only have a grasp of the...
Podcast

Putting together a touring high school show

Episode 211: Putting together a touring high school show How do you put together a touring show with your students? Drama Teacher Mike Yoson and his advanced production class completed their first...
Podcast

Facilitating a student led production

Episode 210: A Facilitating a student led production Have you ever sat back and let your students take control of a play? How do you let students learn from the struggles throughout the process,...
Podcast

Page to Stage: What can you learn in 48 hours?

Episode 209: Page to Stage: What can you learn in 48 hours? What can you learn when you put up a show from page to stage in 48 hours? Teacher and playwright Scott Giessler shares his experience. If...

Teacher Support & Inclusivity

All Teacher Support & Inclusivity
New Drama Teachers

Top 10 Tips for New Drama Teachers: Planning Ahead

Starting your first year as a drama teacher can feel equal parts exhilarating and overwhelming. You’re stepping into a role that blends creativity, structure, collaboration, and a whole lot of...
New Drama Teachers

The Power of Rubrics in the Drama Classroom

In many drama programs, teachers are often building curriculum from scratch, sometimes as the only drama instructor in their school. Without a clear framework, assessing performance-based work can...
New Drama Teachers

How to Boost Your Drama Class With Our Free Study Guides

You’ve found the perfect play! It’s engaging, relevant, and a great fit for your students. BUT, you can’t produce it this year, for any number of reasons. Maybe your performance calendar is already...

Technical Theatre

All Technical Theatre
Technical Theatre

Essential Props Every Drama Teacher Should Stockpile

Drama teachers need to plan for unlimited creativity. Unfortunately, drama teachers don’t have unlimited space… especially when it comes to props! Here is a list of essential props every drama...
Technical Theatre

How to Run a Flawless Tech Week

Every director knows tech week can be a triumph or a tragedy. When tech goes right, a production leaps off the stage and is ready for an audience. When tech goes wrong… well, let’s just say that...
Technical Theatre

Round-Up: All About Props

A prop, or theatrical property, is any object used or carried onstage by an actor that isn’t a part of the set or worn. Props can be made, built, bought, or borrowed, and the golden rule of props...
Technical Theatre

Divide and Conquer Your Props List

If you’re working on a prop-heavy show, you’ll want to assemble a great team and get them to work right away acquiring all the items on the list, because it can be challenging and time-consuming to...