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The objective of this lesson is to put students in a theatre production role. Introduce the concept of a master props list to students: what it is, why it is useful, and how to create one.

By viewing this documentary, students explore Broadway’s history from the vaudeville shows and operettas of the 20th century to 21st-century extravaganzas such as Hairspray and Wicked. In this lesson, students will view, discuss, and reflect on Episode 1.

In this lesson, students will view, discuss, and reflect on Episode 2.

In this lesson, students will view, discuss, and reflect on Episode 3.

In this lesson, students will view, discuss, and reflect on Episode 4.

In this lesson, students will view, discuss, and reflect on Episode 5.

In this lesson, students will view, discuss, and reflect on Episode 6.

In Part Two of this unit, students will research the influence of a musical theatre topic in the past and present. Students will apply their knowledge by creating, designing, and presenting a musical theatre museum exhibit.

Students will showcase what they have learned about their musical theatre topic in a museum exhibit. Students will also learn about additional musical theatre topics by viewing other exhibits and answering questions found in the Museum Exhibit Questionnaire Book.

In this introduction lesson, students will begin with terminology, discussion about their own knowledge and views, and try out the role of the critic in a low-stakes exercise. Is it possible to give an informed opinion about a crumpled up piece of paper?

Students will continue to evaluate the role of the critic and the purpose of criticism. In this case study lesson, students will examine a 1891 production of Henrik Ibsen’s play Ghosts. The single-night performance resulted in 500 reviews, many of which were negative and caustic.

Students will continue to evaluate the role of the critic and the purpose of criticism. In this case study lesson, students will examine a single critic from a specific era. In 1918, at 24 years old, Dorothy Parker became the drama critic for Vanity Fair. This was a time period when there were upwards of 80 Broadway theatres and over a hundred shows opened each year. It was also a post-war era where audiences were looking for release, and the wit and tone of Dorothy Parker’s reviews were exactly what people were looking for. It also got her fired.

We have now made it to the 21st century. The 21st century is a time of great change for criticism and the role of the theatre critic. There is the tumultuous world of social media criticism with both pros and cons. People consistently choose online options over print. The audience has become the critic. What does that mean for the professional critic? Do we need professional informed opinions of art in the 21st century? Are audience reviews as valuable as critic reviews? Students are given a variety of culminating assignment options in order to apply what they have learned throughout the unit.

Close reading is a text-dependent analysis tool that allows students to read a text for in-depth comprehension. Students focus on the text to understand what’s being said, how it’s being said, and why. In this lesson, students will close read a teen issue play: Censorbleep by Lindsay Price. Reading something that was written specifically for them may help students connect to the analysis process.

In this ELP, students will read an article and complete quick-fire questions. If you’re in the middle of studying Shakespeare, there’s a compare-and-contrast question that you can use as the class work, or students can complete and grade a quiz.

In this ELP, students will review words that have been invented by authors such as Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll and the methods for creating those words. Using these methods, students will invent five new words, explain their process, and then demonstrate those words in a scene.

In this ELP, students will take on the role of a working playwright in the process of having a play produced. The relationship between playwright and production is sometimes precarious – directors have been known to ban playwrights from rehearsals, actors have been known to change lines.

In this ELP, students will read two ghost story texts: a prose version and a theatrical adaptation of the same story. Students will then compare and contrast the two texts: How does each handle the ghost story genre? How does each create mood and atmosphere for the genre? What are the similarities in the texts? What are the differences? In your opinion, which suits the genre better?

In this ELP, students will read a scene, identify the beats, apply action words to each beat, and reflect on how they would use this information to present the scene.

In this lesson, we will close read sections of an early modern text: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. This play fits the criteria well for a close read text: Lots of details both in story and character, lots of structural “hows” to analyze, and Oscar Wilde makes a lot of statements with this play about Victorian England, about how people behave, about marriage, and about being truthful (earnest). Students will approach the text through a variety of exercises, from close reading the title, to single sentences, to a small section, to a culminating assignment.