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Students will demonstrate their understanding of simple action by performing or coaching the performer to deliver a love poem while using three simple actions.

The final project for this unit is a simple one-person pantomime. The objective is for them to utilize mime, body language, and facial expression to tell a basic story (an activity that has an obstacle that they overcome or get past).

Students will learn about creating a safe and professional space in the classroom and in the theatre, and how these principles can be applied to the real world. What are the best practices for etiquette in the classroom, which can also be used in rehearsal, and which can also be used in the real world.

This lesson combines the work done in Lesson 2 (scoring scenes by beats) with the physical work done in Lesson 3 (creating dynamically staged scenes by connecting choices in blocking/staging to the underlying structural elements in a scene).

In this series of lessons, students will use class time to work in groups to create as many musical components as they can given the time available.

In a drama class there is often a focus on onstage activities: performance skills, staging a scene, ensemble building. But the audience plays a vital and necessary role in the process. Theatre does not happen without an audience. It’s important for students to be aware of and apply audience etiquette. In this lesson, students will explore the different ways an audience behaves depending on the event, what is bad audience behaviour, establish the rules, practice critical thinking as an audience member and complete an exit slip to demonstrate comprehension.

Copyright and the Theatre go hand in hand, especially if you’re doing plays, but a topic about which many students (and even teachers) lack knowledge. Students will read about the aspects of Copyright and the Theatre, reflect on making changes to scripts, and complete a Copyright and the Theatre Quiz.

Theatre does not happen without an audience. It’s important for students to be aware of and apply audience etiquette. In this lesson, students will explore the different ways an audience behaves depending on the event, what is bad audience behaviour, establish the rules, practice critical thinking as an audience member, and complete an exit slip to demonstrate comprehension.

Students explore the effect scenic design can have on storytelling using designed environments from known TV shows and movies.

The objective of this lesson is to introduce the concept of “hard skills” (specific abilities or knowledge needed to do a specific job) versus “soft skills” (personal attributes and personality traits; transferable skills that can be used in any aspect of a student’s life).

Students begin their exploration of playwriting by learning about structure and applying the elements in a writing exercise.

Students will participate in a demonstration to explore the rules of virtual staging and performance and why they are important. They will perform a Bad Idea/Good Idea skit for the class to demonstrate their understanding of the concept.

Students will explore Medieval Theatre by role playing what it would be like to perform at the time. Students form trade guilds, create a medieval market scene, and then work on a morality scenario. Lesson plan comes with a written assignment to be completed after the practical assignment.

Theatre is about communication. A story is presented to an audience. Storytelling was one of the earliest forms of entertainment that we continue to use today. Even though the method for delivering the story has changed, the form itself has stayed the same for thousands of years. In this lesson, students will create their version of the 21st century story. What stories do we tell today? How do we tell them? Who do we tell them to? You can use this lesson as an intro to studying modern theatre, especially for students who don’t have a theatre background. You can also use this lesson as an intro for Ancient Greek Theatre. Start by examining stories in a modern context, then shift to the Ancient Greek era.

Some students dread writing. Just the thought of pencil and paper make them want to crumple up that paper and throw it. Well, now they can. In this exercise, students are introduced to story elements such as character, objective, obstacle/conflict, tactics, and resolution. Pairs of students add each new story element to an ever growing story that can be shared with the class. Reflection and Rubric included.