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Students write a 2-3 paragraph essay about the overall design of their play. A checklist is included for both technical elements and design description.

Use this lesson plan to introduce to students the act of making a tableau and apply tableau work in groups. Students will start by examining the story of a photo and discussing how they could make that photo three dimensional. They are taught the three elements that make an effective tableau, the different spaces and shapes to use in a tableau picture, and how a group must work together. After exploring tableau through exercises, groups are given a tableau assignment to apply what they have learned.

In this ELP, students will take their existing knowledge about a text and create a commercial for that text. Not only is this a great way for you to see how students comprehend material, but it’s a great “Emergency” backup if you have to be away in the middle of a text-analysis unit.

In this student driven activity, students will work together to put up a short one act play from audition to production within a one week time limit. The purpose of the activity is to show students, quickly, how important it is to work together, to collaborate, and to negotiate as a group. This is also a good activity to apply responsibility. The students themselves are responsible for all aspects of this activity - you should only take on an advisory role. Give feedback when asked but don’t act as a director or make decisions for your students. The point is not a “perfect” production but to give students an activity where they must work together in order to succeed. The process is more important than the product.

Students will learn about and then demonstrate their understanding of the Children’s Theatre audience through role play and writing a scene.

Students will read the description of a musical then break into groups to create a poster for the show. Each group will present their poster to the class and explain their representation. Note: This lesson works well if students have had a basic introduction to musical theatre.

Students will discuss and analyze War Posters. What are the images? What is being said with those images? Describe the colours and shapes. Students will discuss how a director can use images as a jumping off point for staging. Includes five posters, assessment rubric, and analysis sheet.

Students will understand the use of the tableau as a theatrical device (to make a powerful statement). Students will learn to cooperate as they create both on-the-spot and semi-planned improvisations. In groups, students create a movie poster tableau for an “original movie.” After all the groups have had their turn, each group prepares and performs a scene from their movie.

Now that students have spent time understanding the literal meaning of the character traits discussed as the seven Grandfather teachings, this lesson moves into a more metaphorical representation of animals and how they relate to the teachings. The technique of Viewpoints is introduced to play and interpret this knowledge.

8 posters for the drama classroom, to support the objectives of the Introduction to Scripted Scenes unit.

This ebook contains a set of multi-part task sheets, designed to be used as Emergency Lesson Plans for middle school students. The task sheets in this resource are designed to follow a scaffolding approach to topics through multiple parts. Students may analyze a monologue in Part 1, and then write their own in Part 2. They may read about set design using lines, draw a room using lines to visualize an atmosphere, and then create the world of the play that fits the set. They may respond to a quote and then use that quote as the starting point for a theatrical expression. Task Sheets come with additional handouts and worksheets to make it as straightforward as possible for substitutes to give information to students and for students to complete their tasks.

Writing a play review is an excellent way for students to apply critical thinking skills. A review is a subjective but educated response to a play. The reviewer gives an opinion and supports it with thoughtful analysis. What are the parts of a well written review? What should a student do before, during, and after a performance? The culminating exercise involves students writing a review of a show. Use this lesson as a precursor to students seeing a performance (i.e. a school production, a community play, or a touring show).

Students identify tools used in a set/scene shop and understand their functions. They explore the tools by creating a virtual set/scene shop using traditional classroom supplies.

Students experiment with the scaling technique of gridding as a way to enlarge a smaller image and mimic the technique scenic painters use to create backdrops.

To continue exploring elements of the role of prop master.

Stage combat is a form of storytelling. The fights need to continue the story that the actors are telling through their lines and scene work. And what makes a fight look even better is the performers’ actions and reactions to the fight. If a character resorts to violence, they’re obviously feeling strong emotions. This lesson allows students to think critically about how a fight affects a character physically and mentally and how the fight tells the story.

Part of the audition process is preparation. And that is not just memorizing a single monologue or one song. It’s preparing a wide variety of material for a variety of situations. By preparing an audition portfolio, students will be ready for any type of audition that may arise. The portfolio will also help students explore different genres of musical theatre.

Characters have a lot of value in empowering your students’ improv. In this lesson, students will start to explore character in improv with the warm up game “Character Walkabout” and the improv game “Hitchhiker.”

Students will demonstrate their knowledge of everything they have learned through scene performance. They will watch the scenes afterward to self-evaluate. An optional quiz is provided.

Students will read an article about the history of blackface in American Theatre and use critical thinking skills to annotate the article. Students will then produce a written reflection on why the use of blackface was and continues to be a problematic issue in American Theatre.