Drama Teacher Learning Centre

This improvisation game challenges students to think quickly: grab a hat and create a character name, some personality traits, and their voice and signature gesture. This exercise is all about...

This is a classic theatre game; you might know it as Shadow Walk, Follow the Leader, or Leader & Follower. It is deceptively simple at first glance: students walking around the room imitating each...

In this round-up post, we’re focusing on relationship skills, which is one of the five areas of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). If the concept of SEL is new to you, check out this article for...

Jennine Profeta, instructor of the Drama Teacher Academy course Yes… And How to Teach Improv always uses the game Job Interview in her classes. In this game, one student has more knowledge than the...

This exercise is a great icebreaker game and a fun way for students to get to know each other. Students are challenged to figure out what famous character they are and who their partner in the...

The following warm-up game uses found objects and allows students to work on their improvisation, storytelling, and character building skills. Take the well-known elementary school activity — show...

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...

If you’ve had to deal with more absences than usual, or you’d like your students to learn more about the roles of understudies and swings, or your students just need a good problem-solving...

The following is a quick, simple warm-up game that works for virtually any age range and skill level. All you’ll need is a stack of Post-it notes or a pile of scrap paper, some writing implements,...

Starting your drama class with a Question of the Day is a great way to get your students into the “drama class” mindset. It’s a way to help create a routine for your students – they know that as...

When it comes to analyzing a character, names are extremely important. In a play, character names are always specifically chosen by the playwright to give clues on personality, status, identity,...

Take this article’s title with a grain of salt — we would never want to intentionally ruin any play or musical! We’re just going to have a little fun with show titles by adding, removing, and...

Here’s a choice board exercise that’s all about emotions. You can use this list for students to complete single tasks (just have students select one assignment out of the many advertised below), or...

It’s easy for students to downplay their accomplishments, brush off compliments, and outright tear themselves down mentally or verbally. Negative self-talk can seriously affect students’ confidence...

Here’s a warm-up game that is a lot of fun and gets students’ energy up. It’s a plus if you and your students are studying puppetry, but it’s not necessary to have done so. This is a great warm-up...

Communication is not just what we say – nonverbal actions play a huge part as well. How we stand, gesture, make eye contact, all of these physical choices communicate. Use this nonverbal exercise...

This exercise is inspired by the theatre game The Machine, where students work together to create parts of a factory machine with repeated movements and sound. In The 20-Step Process, we take this...

Student actors tend to keep their limbs close to the body. When we think about creating physical pictures on stage, one of the easiest ways to present depth is through extension. How can we...