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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 1207-1224 of 1641 in total
How to Write a Play Review
Production

How to Write a Play Review

We’ve all seen those reviews. The ones that rip the theatre production up one side and down the other. They criticize the scenery and the script. They suggest that the leads take up basket weaving,...
Top Ten Tips for Teaching Improv
Teaching Drama

Top Ten Tips for Teaching Improv

Guest blogger Jennine Profeta is a Second City performer and theatre educator, as well the instructor of the Drama Teacher Academy course Yes, And… How to Teach Improv. She shares her Top Ten Tips...
Listen! Focus! Communication exercise for drama students
Classroom Exercise

Listen! Focus! Communication exercise for drama students

Good communication is all about being engaged and listening. One of my favourite quotes about communication is: “Two monologues do not make a dialogue. – Jeff Daly” Instructions:1. Ask your class...
Silent Communication Exercise for the Drama Classroom
Classroom Exercise

Silent Communication Exercise for the Drama Classroom

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...
Communication in the Drama Classroom
Teaching Drama

Communication in the Drama Classroom

“Communication: the means of connection between people; the imparting or exchange of information, thoughts, opinions.” Communication is vital to a successful theatrical experience. A play is a two...
Shakespeare Exercise: Reframe the play
Classroom Exercise

Shakespeare Exercise: Reframe the play

This is a great classroom exercise to not only have fun with Shakespeare but to also see how well students can re-frame which ever Shakespeare play they are studying. Take a character from one...
Brainstorming: Effective Group Work
Teaching Drama

Brainstorming: Effective Group Work

“How can you get your students to brainstorm effectively?” Brainstorm: a group discussion to come up with ideas and solve problems. Brainstorming is a great idea generation and problem solving...
Collaboration Games: The Human Knot
Classroom Exercise

Collaboration Games: The Human Knot

Sometimes it’s the simple games and the ones we’ve played over and over again that can offer the most learning. Take The Human Knot. It’s a game that’s been played in playgrounds, camps, and drama...
Ensemble: Is it time to dismantle the pyramid?
Production

Ensemble: Is it time to dismantle the pyramid?

Many productions are based on a pyramid structure : Stars at the top, supporting cast in the middle, chorus at the bottom. Even though there are more actors involved at the bottom of the pyramid,...
Collaboration Games: The Marshmallow Challenge
Classroom Exercise

Collaboration Games: The Marshmallow Challenge

How do you get students to work together in a creation? Try this pre-exercise to have students practice collaborating to make a finished product. It’s an exercise that has been around for years but...
What Play Do I Do Now?
Production

What Play Do I Do Now?

Some drama teachers have their whole production year figured out before the first day of school. If you’re doing a big musical, you need to get that paperwork started way in advance. Or maybe you...
Collaboration Games: The Negotiation
Classroom Exercise

Collaboration Games: The Negotiation

If you want your students to devise a theatre piece in class, it’s important to practice the act of collaboration as much as possible. Ideally, you should use the month beforehand getting students...
Top 10 Classroom Management tips for Drama Teachers
Classroom Management

Top 10 Classroom Management tips for Drama Teachers

These tips are designed to help you lay a solid foundation for discipline. Whether you’re a beginning teacher facing a classroom full of students for the first time, or a theatre veteran (with the...
My Favorite “End of Class and We Need Something Fun” Project
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...
Drama class ideas for after the final project
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
Playwriting Prep Work
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...
10 Tips for a 48-Hour Play Project
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...
Drama class ideas for after the final project
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...

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Acting

All Acting
Introduction to Tableau for Middle Schoolers
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 in Everyday Life
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 the Issue Play
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...
Questioning Your Character (Without Judgment)
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 Exercise

All Classroom Exercise
Playwriting Prep Work
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...
End-of-Year Drama Project Ideas for Non-Performers
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...
End of Year: Play Adaptation Project
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...
Active Listening Exercise: ABC-123-COLOR
Classroom Exercise

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...

Classroom Management

All Classroom Management
How to Keep Drama Class Chaos Under Control
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...
Round-Up: All About Classroom Management
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...
Supplies and Equipment Every Drama Classroom Needs
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...

Directing

All Directing
Staging Theatre in Non-Traditional Spaces
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...
10 Tasks for Drama Students During Post-Show
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...
10 Tasks for Student Technicians During Pre-Show
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...
10 Tasks for Student Actors During Pre-Show
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...
10 Tasks for Student Actors To Do During Rehearsals
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...

Distance Learning

All Distance Learning
Character Study: Self-Awareness
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...
Improv Game: Combining Skills
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....
Improv Game: Imposter
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...
Exercise: Outdoor Virtual Monologues
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

All Diversity
Tips for Supporting Nonbinary Drama Students
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
Theatrefolk Featured Play: Snapshot: Bee-u-ti-ful
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...
Theatrefolk Featured Play: Dead Highway
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
Drama class ideas for after the final project
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...
Communication Game: Blind Robot
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...
How to Run a Trivia Game in Drama Class
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...

New Drama Teachers

All New Drama Teachers
How to Boost Your Drama Class With Our Free Study Guides
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...

Playwriting

All Playwriting
Playwriting Prep Work
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...
Resource: Tons of Oddly Specific Character Prompts
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...
Kindness Improvised Scenes
Classroom Exercise

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 Prompt: Stories About Stuffies
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,...
Playwright Spotlight: Get to Know Bradley Hayward
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
Theatre as a Teaching Tool
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...
Happy Birthday Frankenstein!
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...
Drama Teachers: Take back the classics
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...
Putting together a touring high school show
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...
Facilitating a student led production
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,...
Page to Stage: What can you learn in 48 hours?
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...

Production

All Production
10 Tips for a 48-Hour Play Project
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...
Top 10 Marketing Tips for Your Next Production
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...
How to Facilitate a Student-Led Production
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...
Two Favourite First Rehearsal Activities
Production

Two Favourite First Rehearsal Activities

I love starting the rehearsal process on a new show! There is so much promise and energy in the room when the performers come together for the first time. And of course, I want to focus that energy...

Teaching Drama

All Teaching Drama
The Arts Remind Us of Joy and Possibility
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,...
Character Study in the Drama Classroom
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...
Lesson Plan: Using the Arts to Navigate Life
Teaching Drama

Lesson Plan: Using the Arts to Navigate Life

How do the arts make life more bearable? Click below to access a one-class lesson plan that uses this George Bernard Shaw quote as its starting point: “Without art, the crudeness of reality would...

Technical Theatre

All Technical Theatre
Essential Props Every Drama Teacher Should Stockpile
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...
How to Run a Flawless Tech Week
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...
Round-Up: All About Props
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...
Divide and Conquer Your Props List
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...