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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 217-234 of 750 in total
Games & Exercises

Get Your First Day of Drama Class Started Out Right

First impressions matter! Getting your first day of drama class started on the right foot is so important for setting the tone for the rest of the semester. No matter whether you have a classroom...
Games & Exercises

Create A Vocal Workout For The Articulators

Ontario teachers Claire Broome, Colin Oliver, and Carmelina Martin put together this awesome exercise that gets students to create their own vocal workout. Thank you so much for letting us share it...
Games & Exercises

5 Tongue Twister Exercises for Ensemble-Building

Tongue twisters are a fantastic tool to use in drama classes and rehearsals. They help students to warm up their voices, improve diction and enunciation, and get their brains moving! But repeating...
Games & Exercises

Same Character, Different Choice

Are your students feeling stuck or frustrated with their playwriting assignments? This exercise will help get them unstuck by challenging them to explore alternative situations for their scenes and...
Games & Exercises

Brainstorming as a Group: Add Three

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...
Games & Exercises

Middle School Miming: Big, Small, Heavy, Light

Students new to mime will often just start moving their hands haphazardly, like an item magically appeared in their hand out of thin air. But one of the ways a mimed object is made “real” is by...
Games & Exercises

Prompting Creativity in the Classroom

Character Prompts“You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one. ~ James Froude” Students often miss connecting character development as part of the writing...
Games & Exercises

Middle School Miming: Still, Slippery, Sticky

In our previous Middle School Miming article, students explored using their hands and arms to maneuver invisible objects of various sizes around a circle. Now, we’re adding moving throughout the...
Games & Exercises

Projecting Your Voice Without Yelling

Breath Control and Projection are critical skills for an actor, but they’re just as critical for drama teachers. The trick is to speak loudly and project without yelling. We often tell our students...
Games & Exercises

Vocal and Physical Performance Exercises

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...
Games & Exercises

How to Teach Iambic Pentameter: Free Drama Lesson

What Drama Teachers Need to Know (+ A Free Classroom Exercise)Iambic pentameter is a style of poetry, which refers to a certain number of syllables in a line and the emphasis placed on the...
Games & Exercises

What’s The Worst That Could Happen?

This improv game is inspired by The “What If” Game but takes it to a bigger, more ridiculous scale. This version of the game combines brainstorming, improvisation, risk-taking, thinking on your...
Games & Exercises

Drama Sensory Series: Bringing All The Senses Together

This month, we’ve used the five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) as the basis for exercises and theatre games. For our final week, we’re taking all five senses and bringing them...
Games & Exercises

4 Great Picture Prompts for Playwrights

Ideas can come from anything and everything. But it’s always a good idea to give students a jumping off point. Picture Prompts are a great tool in a playwright’s arsenal to inspire creative...
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
Curriculum & Lesson Planning

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...
Directing & 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...
Teacher Support & Inclusivity

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...

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Acting Technique

All Acting Technique
Acting Technique

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 Technique

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 Technique

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 Technique

Onstage “Awareness” Improv Game: Sit, Stand, Kneel

Being aware of your surroundings is a vital part of being an actor. Students must know what’s going on around them at all times. This is important from a theatrical standpoint – unless otherwise...
Acting Technique

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
Curriculum & Lesson Planning

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

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,...

Directing & Production

All Directing & Production
Directing & 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 & 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 & 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...
Directing & 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...

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 & Exercises

All Games & Exercises
Games & Exercises

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...
Games & Exercises

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...
Games & Exercises

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

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...

Playwriting

All Playwriting
Games & Exercises

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

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...

Teacher Support & Inclusivity

All Teacher Support & Inclusivity
Teacher Support & Inclusivity

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...
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...
Teacher Support & Inclusivity

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...