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To begin establishing an Ensemble by creating opportunities for students to: 1. Collaborate 2. Trust each other Students will work together in small groups or in pairs to solve various challenges. Challenges involve using their non- verbal skills to communicate, working together through movement and support of weight and trust. Students will complete the following activities in this order: 1. Human Knott 2. Body to Body 3. Weight Sharing 4. Circle Trust

Students will learn and practice pantomime skills by developing, communicating and sustaining the size and shape of mimed objects.

Students demonstrate comprehension of how to present physical activities through pantomime. The focus of the pantomime is using the five senses, using whole body, and incorporating the principles of maintaining a mimed object.

Students write a scene with five pauses. Students will rehearse the scene where the length of the pause varies. How does the scene change when longer and longer pauses are implemented?

Students will stage locations using only a finite number of props and pieces. The goal is to show the location using action and imagination (as we often must do in the theatre) without a reliance on exact realism.

Students will identify unfamiliar words on a page of Shakespeare quotes, translate those quotes into modern English, and act out the quotes to identify character/play clues. Students will then complete a quotes assignment and reflection. Plus! Bonus assignment.

Students will read an information sheet on Constantin Stanislavsky. They will then apply their knowledge in exercises and a topic quiz. Bonus exercise! A Reflection.

Students will read The Globe Theatre Handout. Based on the given information, students will re-create the experience of going to The Globe and complete a compare and contrast assignment.

Students create a play program for a curriculum text based on their knowledge of the text and given criteria. This can be done physically in class using markers and magazine pictures, and online resources such as pixabay.com and canva.com.

Tactics are how characters get what they want from other people on stage. They are verbs used to describe how a character behaves to get others to do what they want. In this lesson students will learn what tactics are and be able to create a list of possible tactics.

A character’s objective is what a character wants. It is based in what they want from another person, using the formula “I want [person] to do [thing I want them to do.]” The objective is what drives all of their action while on stage. In this lesson students will learn what objectives are and how to write one for a character.

Students will identify the difference between pastiche and parody and then demonstrate comprehension by (a) analyzing a song and then (b) creating their own parody or pastiche.

Students will perform a modern scene the same way that Shakespearean actors performed text. They will compare and contrast the experience to preparing a scene for class.

Students will complete exercises that demonstrate how a character’s need to speak results in a better monologue. They will then write a monologue that applies this knowledge.

The fourth wall is an imaginary wall that stands between the actors and the audience. As actors we tend not to speak to, look at or acknowledge the audience when we are performing. We want the audience to be observers but not necessarily involved in the scene. There are times however when we want to speak directly to the audience. When we do, that is called breaking the fourth wall. It is a technique that can be useful in specific instances but should not be abused by actors.

Perfect for an Emergency Lesson Plan. Students will read and respond to a Commedia Dell’Arte Handout. They will then reflect on what it would be like to have been a Commedia actor, the similarities and differences between Commedia and modern acting, and which type of acting they would prefer.

Students will practice the techniques of choral speaking with a variety of pieces and applying specific vocal tools (volume, pitch, rhythm, emphasis) culminating in a assessed presentation.

Students will create a character based on a superhero. They are to establish their walk, how they use their super power, how they talk, and know some background details. Once this “public” side is established, students will add in the “private.” What is this superhero like, at home, when they are alone and not in the public eye? There has to be something surprising and unexpected in their presentation.

This lesson assumes that students have been introduced to the Choral Speaking Technique and have previously practiced it. Use this Lesson as a Part Two to the Choral Speaking Lesson Plan. Students will apply the tools of Choral Speaking on a historical speech. Students will be asked to reflect on how the speech changes within a choral speaking context. Students will also be asked to apply gesture and unison movement to their presentation.

Students will discuss the theme of a reputation in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Students will participate in activities, scene work and written reflection on the theme. It is assumed that students are in the middle of reading the play or at least have been introduced to the story.