📣SCRIPT SALE! Treat yourself to an easier Fall. Save 30% on 5+ perusal scripts with code SPRING30 before May 3 and head into summer stress-free.

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 1243-1260 of 1639 in total

Classroom Exercise

Classroom Exercise: Round Robin

One of the keys to Classroom Management is getting students to work well together. Group work is tricky if students don’t know one another. Why should I share something with this guy who doesn’t...

Podcast

Theatrefolk Podcast: Being A Student Director

Episode 134: Being a Student DirectorAmelia Trimble directed her first play this year. She was thrown into it by her teacher and the experience has been a rewarding one. What’s it like to direct...

Classroom Management

Collaboration vs. Teamwork: What’s the difference?

Collaboration has been highlighted as a 21st century skill and an important skill for students to learn. Certainly, students need to know how to work and create with others. The drama class is an...

Classroom Exercise

Collaboration Games: One To Twenty

Todd Espeland, instructor of the Drama Teacher Academy course Serious Play: Theatre Games and Warm Ups for Rehearsal and Ensemble Building, includes the game One To Twenty as among his favourite....

Playwriting

Picture Inspiration

Use a picture as a jumping off point for writing. Sometimes all students need is a little push to get the writing ball rolling. Use pictures for that push. You can have students create source...

Classroom Exercise

Relationships in Romeo and Juliet

“Go, counsellor: Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain.” Juliet, Act III, scene v There are more relationships in Romeo and Juliet than just the one between Romeo and Juliet. We have...

Podcast

Theatrefolk Podcast: Creating the Right Environment in the Drama Classroom and On Stage

Episode 133: The Right EnvironmentWhen you’re directing a show, it’s important to specify environment. Where does the play take place? How do the characters react to that environment? It’s also...

Classroom Exercise

Title Exercise: Name Game

Do your students have trouble coming up with titles for their work? A title is an important part of the writing process. The title acts as a doorway into the piece – be it a movie, a novel or a...

Acting

Commedia Dell’arte in the Drama Classroom

Commedia dell’arte is an improvised comedic theatre form that flourished in Italy in the 1500s. The exact origins of commedia are fuzzy and hard to pin down; there is not much documented previous...

Playwriting

Playwriting Exercise: Inner Monologue

One of the best activities for gathering writing ideas is observation. How are you experiencing the world around you? A great way to practice this is to have your students describe your classroom...

Podcast

Theatrefolk Podcast: Google Drive in the Drama Classroom

Episode 132: Google Drive in the Drama ClassroomJoshua Hatt was a frustrated drama teacher. He put together an extensive curriculum booklet for his students only to have them lose it time and time...

Teaching Drama

Preparing Drama Students to Close Read

or, “Dipping the Toe Before Diving in the Deep End” Do you use close reading in the drama classroom?Close Reading is an analysis tool. Students read a text multiple times for in-depth...

Classroom Exercise

Exercise: Create a World

Students often get hung up on the notion that in the theatre, sets, costumes, and props all have to meet the standard of the movies. The world of the play has to be three-dimensional and real. A...

Production

Awhile back, The Guardian compiled five of “the best video talks on theatre” and I wanted to share them with you as well. The article asks the question: “How can the performing arts compete against...

Acting

Acting Exercise: Who’s Knocking?

Here’s one of my favourite acting exercises.You start with a list of descriptive characters. Here are some examples: • A firefighter looking for occupants. • A jealous significant other. • A spy on...

Podcast

Theatrefolk Podcast: Talking with an Adjudicator

Episode 131: Talking with an Adjudicator What is an adjudicator looking for? How do you handle an adjudication? How does an adjudicator approach their task? Lindsay talks to Matthew MacDermid who...

Acting

Do your students suffer from Wanderitis?

It happens all the time in young or beginning actors. You’re sitting in the audience and out of the corner of your eye you catch it – an actor starts to shift back and forth on their feet. Their...

Acting

Acting Exercise: The Ensemble Monologue

How do you take a monologue (meant for one person to deliver) and act it out as a group? How do you create an Ensemble Monologue? Analyze the MonologueHere’s a monologue from my play Funhouse....

My Favorite “End of Class and We Need Something Fun” Project

Latest Articles

All articles

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...

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...

Games

Drama class ideas for after the final project

Teaching Drama

Divergent Learning in the Drama Classroom: Why Theatre Is the Perfect Place for It

Divergent learning is all about extending from a common point in many different directions — seeing multiple solutions, embracing different ways of thinking, and acknowledging that every individual...

Classroom Exercise

My Favorite “End of Class and We Need Something Fun” Project

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...

Enjoy a Front Row Seat to Our Newsletter!

Subscribe for our exciting updates, insights, teaching resources, and new script releases. Plus, sign up now and get 4 plays and 2 lesson plans for FREE!

Acting

All Acting

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

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

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...

Acting

“Let’s Try That Again”: Taking Direction in an Audition

It’s rare that a student will select the absolute perfect monologue to show exactly everything they’re capable of doing onstage. One monologue can only go so far in showing a student’s acting...

Classroom Exercise

All Classroom Exercise

Classroom Exercise

Playwriting Prep Work

Classroom Exercise

My Favorite “End of Class and We Need Something Fun” Project

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...

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 Exercise

Round-Up: Essential Exercises and Great Games for Beginning Drama Students

These games and exercises are my go-to activities for teaching beginning drama students. They’re fun, engaging, effective, and give students a well-rounded overview of topics such as drama...

Classroom Management

All Classroom Management

Classroom Management

Quick Strategies to Reset Two Common Classroom Behaviours

No matter what subject you teach, unacceptable behaviours can be found in every classroom. Because of how theatre classes are structured, some of these challenges may be more prevalent in the drama...

Classroom Management

Forms and Paperwork You Need to Get Your Drama Classes Started Out Right

The beginning of a new term is a busy time: getting to know your students, establishing classroom routines, building trust, and creating an ensemble mindset. While it may not be as fun and...

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

10 More Time-Filler Activities Or, What to Do With Those Pesky 10 Minutes

If you need something fast and simple to fill those final 10 minutes of drama class, we’ve got you covered! Try these 10 time-filler activities to keep your students occupied until the bell rings....

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...

Directing

All Directing

Directing

Directing First-Time Actors: Building Confidence, Community, and Creative Growth

Directing first-time actors is both exciting and challenging. New performers often arrive with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a desire to belong. But they may also carry anxiety, uncertainty, or...

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...

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

Making Connections: Students’ Strengths and Character Strengths

The following exercise helps students identify their personal strengths and make connections with characters in a play that they are currently studying in drama class. It could also be used for...

Distance Learning

Theatrefolk Featured Play – Virtual Platform by Claire Broome

*Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. * Virtual Learning by Claire Broome is a perfect play to navigate the chaos of online learning. Life is absurd right now – time to embrace it! Online...

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

All Diversity

Diversity

Round-Up: Resources for Supporting LGBTQIA+ Students in the Drama Classroom

In the drama classroom, it’s important to foster a space where every student feels seen, safe, and valued. Here is a selection of practical resources for you to help support your LGBTQIA+ students...

Diversity

Inclusive Improv: Tips for Reflecting the Whole Spectrum

Improv is meant to be a fun and creative way to express oneself in the drama classroom. It’s a great way to “try on” a wide variety of characters and situations in a fast-paced, low-stakes...

Diversity

The Drama Teacher as Ally: Advocating for LGBTQIA+ Students

The drama classroom is a unique space with tremendous potential for allyship and advocacy. It’s often a haven for students who feel “othered” in more traditional school environments, especially...

Diversity

Tips for Building a More Inclusive Drama Classroom for Your LGBTQIA+ Students

Inclusion is about what happens every day in your classroom. It goes beyond visibility (which is still incredibly important!). Your choices, your leadership, the materials you share with the class,...

Diversity

June Reading List: Plays to Celebrate Gender Diversity & Inclusivity

As we start putting together this summer's reading list, how about diving into some amazing plays that celebrate gender diversity and inclusivity? There's a whole world of stories out there just...

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: 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: Will and Whimsy: Sixteen Dramatically Illustrated Sonnets of Shakespeare

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Shakespeare's Sonnets come alive in Will and Whimsy: Sixteen Dramatically Illustrated Sonnets of Shakespeare by Alan Haehnel where modern scenes play hand in...

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...

Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play: The Truth or Dare Sisterhood

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. The Truth or Dare Sisterhood by Jeffrey Harr is a sharp, funny, and unexpectedly emotional coming-of-age play that tackles identity, friendship, and the...

Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play - Magic Fairy in the Microwave

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Magic Fairy in the Microwave by Dara Murphy is a wild, fast-paced ride through imagination, identity, and a world that may or may not be real. There are...

Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play - Agatha Rex

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Agatha Rex by Lindsay Price is a modern high school adaptation of Antigone, transforming the Greek chorus into a dynamic ensemble opportunity. Available in a...

Games

All Games

Games

Drama class ideas for after the final project

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...

Classroom Exercise

Round-Up: Essential Exercises and Great Games for Beginning Drama Students

These games and exercises are my go-to activities for teaching beginning drama students. They’re fun, engaging, effective, and give students a well-rounded overview of topics such as drama...

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...

Classroom Exercise

Drama Sensory Series: Movement and Physicality-Based Exercises

This month, we’re going to be using the five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) as the basis for exercises and theatre games. This week, we’re looking at the sense of touch, through...

New Drama Teachers

All New Drama Teachers

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...

New Drama Teachers

Calling All Theatre Teachers: What’s a strong first unit for an advanced drama class?

Welcome to our video series, Calling All Theatre Teachers! In this series we’re going to answer questions that drama teachers have about stepping into a theatre program. QUESTION: What should be my...

New Drama Teachers

Calling All Theatre Teachers: What’s the best first unit for a beginner drama class?

New Drama Teachers

Calling All Theatre Teachers: How do I set the stage for a successful drama class from day one?

New Drama Teachers

How to Survive Your First Year as a Drama Teacher in 10 Steps

The first year of teaching is the hardest: The job is new, the learning curve is steep, and the days are packed. New teachers can easily get overwhelmed, so here are 10 steps you can take to make...

New Drama Teachers

Calling All Theatre Teachers: What procedures do I need to set up at the beginning of the year?

Welcome to our video series, Calling All Theatre Teachers! In this series we’re going to answer questions that drama teachers have about stepping into a theatre program. QUESTION: What kind of...

Playwriting

All Playwriting

Classroom Exercise

Playwriting Prep Work

Playwriting

When Students Want to Write a Play… Until It’s Time to Write

Let’s talk about resistant students. They don’t want to be in your class, they don’t want to participate, they don’t want to do anything, except… write a play. Great! But is it? A resistant student...

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...

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

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...

Production

All Production

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

Everything Is a Learning Experience: 10 Takeaways for When Your Production Goes Off the Rails

You’ve been there: The cast is fighting. No one knows their lines. The set isn’t finished, and opening night is in two days. Maybe the flu has swept through your cast, or maybe the whole 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...

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...

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...

Production

The 30-minute Rehearsal Plan: Making the most of limited time

Every rehearsal is important, but not every rehearsal is created equally. Sometimes actors or spaces are only available for a limited time, or maybe you’re rehearsing in a class period. When...

Teaching Drama

All Teaching Drama

Teaching Drama

Divergent Learning in the Drama Classroom: Why Theatre Is the Perfect Place for It

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...

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...

Teaching Drama

Empowering Students Through Responsibility, Trust, and Ensemble

One of the most powerful things a theatre program can offer students is not just performance skills, but real empowerment. Empowerment in theatre education isn’t about giving students free rein...

Teaching Drama

Top 5 Takeaways on Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Theatre

Do your students know how to form their own artistic opinions without being swayed by others? Can they confidently stand by their perspective, even if they disagree with a show that has received...

Technical Theatre

All Technical Theatre

Essential Props Every Drama Teacher Should Stockpile

Technical Theatre