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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 91-108 of 219 in total
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production

Why Productions Need Collaboration

Between the actors, stage management, technical crew, design teams, publicity team, and front-of-house staff, you’re going to need a veritable army of people to make your upcoming school show...
Curriculum & Lesson Planning Reflection & Critical Thinking

What’s Changed? A Rehearsal Reflection

Countless hours are spent in rehearsal: learning, reviewing, and practicing material. Let’s focus on the first aspect: learning. At the beginning of the rehearsal process, everything is new. From...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production

Practice Makes Progress

Everyone is familiar with the term “practice makes perfect,” right? But in the theatre, there’s really no such thing as a perfect performance, and there is especially no such thing as a perfect...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Rehearsal Process

Communicating Rehearsal Notes in Three Different Ways

After every run-through of a show, directors will have a notebook or word document packed to the brim with notes – praise, corrections, problems, solutions, changes and adjustments that need to be...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production

Communicating Your Directing Vision Through the Senses

So you’ve selected the show you are producing this year and you have come up with an incredible vision for the show. This is going to be awesome! Obviously, you want your students to share in your...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Student Directors

Exercise: Problem-Solving for Student Directors

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...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Budgeting

How to Create a Budget When You’ve Never Done It Before

You’ve gotten the go-ahead from your school’s principal to produce a show this year! You have an awesome show in mind that would be absolutely perfect for your students, and you can’t wait to get...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production

Round-Up: Dealing With Production Challenges

It’s never a question of “if” something will go wrong during a theatrical production…it’s completely a case of “when” something will go wrong! But when things do inevitably go wrong, will you and...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Rehearsal Process

Tips to Keep Your Rehearsals Focused

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...
Podcast

A Fabulous Theatre Fundraiser

Episode 207: A Fabulous Theatre Fundraiser Don’t you want to learn more about a fabulous theatre fundraiser idea? Of course you do. Listen to drama teacher Alyssa Pitner talk about creating a...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Production Marketing

How to Create a Program for Your Production

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...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production

So, What Does a Producer Do, Anyway?

The role of the producer is often a mysterious one and hard to define. No two producers are alike, and each producer sees his or her job differently. In the simplest terms, a producer’s job is to...
Podcast

Monologue Competitions: How to compete confidently

Episode 206: Monologue Competitions: How to compete confidently How can you encourage your students to compete with confidence? Learn from the source! Student Kelsey Gilmore was chosen as critics...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production

Getting Other Departments Involved in Your Production

Creating a theatrical production is a group effort. For every student who appears onstage, there are even more students, staff members, and volunteers who help breathe life into the production....
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Production Supplies

How to Effectively Communicate with Rental Sources

Real talk: Teachers, it is likely you won’t have every item on your props, costume, and set wishlists for the show. It is also unlikely that you are staging your show with an unlimited budget, a...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Rehearsal Process

Practice How You’d Like to Perform

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...

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Latest Articles

All articles
Acting Technique Ensemble Awareness

No Ensemble Left Behind

Ensembles! It’s not about creating a divide about the leads and the chorus, it’s about a collection of parts that come together as a whole. Each element works in relation to the other. A production...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Budgeting

How to Run a Haunted House Fundraiser for Your Theatre Program

Creating a haunted house fundraiser is one of the most exciting student-driven events a theatre program can take on. It brings together performance, design, creativity, and community involvement,...
Classroom Management Substitute / Emergency Plans

Setting Your Students Up for Success With a Substitute Teacher

How do your students act when you’re not there? Do you dread getting feedback from a substitute? Here are five tips to set your students up for success with a substitute teacher.  1. Try to keep...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Rehearsal Process

Top 10 Tips for Directing a Large-Cast Middle School Play

Directing a middle school play is equal parts chaos, wonder, and pure magic, especially when your cast list could grow to 50, 60, or even 80 students. The following 10 strategies come from...
Curriculum & Lesson Planning Monologues & Scene Work

Writing a Monologue Lesson Plan

Monologue writing is a great exercise for students. The monologue is a mini play: It has a beginning, middle, and end, as well as character, conflict, and often a listener. This makes the monologue...

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Acting Technique

All Acting Technique
Acting Technique Ensemble Awareness

No Ensemble Left Behind

Ensembles! It’s not about creating a divide about the leads and the chorus, it’s about a collection of parts that come together as a whole. Each element works in relation to the other. A production...
Acting Technique

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...
Acting Technique

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...
Acting Technique

How Improv Helps Students in Real Life

If you’ve ever had a student ask, “Am I ever going to use this improv stuff in real life?” the answer is yes — we use improvisation skills all the time outside of the drama classroom. Improv isn’t...

Classroom Management

All Classroom Management
Classroom Management Substitute / Emergency Plans

Setting Your Students Up for Success With a Substitute Teacher

How do your students act when you’re not there? Do you dread getting feedback from a substitute? Here are five tips to set your students up for success with a substitute teacher.  1. Try to keep...

Curriculum & Lesson Planning

All Curriculum & Lesson Planning
Curriculum & Lesson Planning Monologues & Scene Work

Writing a Monologue Lesson Plan

Monologue writing is a great exercise for students. The monologue is a mini play: It has a beginning, middle, and end, as well as character, conflict, and often a listener. This makes the monologue...
Curriculum & Lesson Planning

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...
Curriculum & Lesson Planning

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...
Curriculum & Lesson Planning

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...
Curriculum & Lesson Planning

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...

Directing, Rehearsal, & Production

All Directing, Rehearsal, & Production
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Budgeting

How to Run a Haunted House Fundraiser for Your Theatre Program

Creating a haunted house fundraiser is one of the most exciting student-driven events a theatre program can take on. It brings together performance, design, creativity, and community involvement,...
Directing, Rehearsal, & Production Rehearsal Process

Top 10 Tips for Directing a Large-Cast Middle School Play

Directing a middle school play is equal parts chaos, wonder, and pure magic, especially when your cast list could grow to 50, 60, or even 80 students. The following 10 strategies come from...
Directing, Rehearsal, & 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...
Directing, Rehearsal, & 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...
Directing, Rehearsal, & 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...

Diversity & Inclusion

All Diversity & Inclusion

Games, Exercises, & Activities

All Games, Exercises, & Activities
Curriculum & Lesson Planning

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, Exercises, & Activities

Active Listening Exercise: ABC-123-COLOR

Listening is an important skill in any classroom, but it’s especially important in the drama classroom. From classroom instruction, to game directions, to focusing on their fellow performers on...
Games, Exercises, & Activities

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, Exercises, & Activities

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...

Playwriting

All Playwriting
Curriculum & Lesson Planning Monologues & Scene Work

Writing a Monologue Lesson Plan

Monologue writing is a great exercise for students. The monologue is a mini play: It has a beginning, middle, and end, as well as character, conflict, and often a listener. This makes the monologue...
Playwriting

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

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

All Podcast
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...

Selecting Scripts

All Selecting Scripts
Acting Technique Ensemble Awareness

No Ensemble Left Behind

Ensembles! It’s not about creating a divide about the leads and the chorus, it’s about a collection of parts that come together as a whole. Each element works in relation to the other. A production...
Selecting Scripts

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....
Selecting Scripts

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...
Selecting Scripts Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play: The Magic Diary of Mozambique

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Are your students tired of fairy tales? The Magic Diary of Mozambique by Chris Stiles is a challenging, character driven, story driven piece for middle...
Selecting Scripts 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...

Teacher Support

All Teacher Support
Teacher Support

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...
Teacher Support

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,...
Teacher Support

Advocacy: Supporting Your Drama Program

Every drama teacher knows that advocating for their students, programs, and productions is essential. Even the most successful programs can be misunderstood or undervalued. The first step is...
Teacher Support Teacher Wellness & Burnout

My Best Stress Relief Advice for the Drama Classroom

The drama classroom can be a stressful place. Between an ever-changing, dynamic curriculum and the daily demands of classroom teaching, it’s easy to find yourself in a perpetual state of anxiety....

Technical Theatre

All Technical Theatre
Technical Theatre Props

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

The Tech Toolbox Toolkit

Starting a new tech program or taking over an existing one comes with a long checklist of materials. Beyond the basics like lumber, screws, and nails, every tech class needs essential tools—saws,...
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...
Technical Theatre

Production Design on a Budget Toolkit

There is a lot of thought and preparation that goes into mounting a production, not least of which is a budget! The budget needs to be one of the first considerations when thinking about a show,...
Technical Theatre

Pros and Cons: Food and Drink Onstage

Eating and drinking are necessary for existence on this planet. So much of our life is centred around food: making it together, serving it for a special occasion, trying new dishes, challenges...