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In this lesson, students will be introduced to Renaissance theatre. They will complete a research project on the sociopolitical and cultural background for the birthplace of the Renaissance: Italy.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to three lasting influences of Italian Renaissance theatre: the proscenium theatre, pastoral plays, and opera. Students will create a modern pastoral scene and do a scene sing through.

In this lesson, students will do a research project on the sociopolitical and cultural background of Spain and learn about the plays and playwrights of this era. They will also explore a monologue from the play Life Is a Dream.

In this lesson, students will do a research project on the sociopolitical and cultural background of France. They will then learn about neoclassicism as well as the plays and playwrights of the era. Students will create a neoclassicism scene and then “break the rules” by rewriting it in the style of Molière.

Decide how students will demonstrate their knowledge of the unit. A variety of activities are provided. You can choose to have all your students do the same activity, or allow students to choose how they demonstrate their knowledge. Rubrics are provided for each activity.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to Elizabethan England. They will complete a research project on the sociopolitical and cultural background of the era to set the stage for Shakespeare and other playwrights of Elizabethan England.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to Elizabethan theatre from the thrust stage to the acting companies. They will also compare and contrast (in discussion and through scenes) the proscenium space with the thrust theatre space, and play with the Elizabethan language in an improv.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to Elizabethan playwrights and their plays: Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and William Shakespeare.

Decide how students will demonstrate their knowledge of the unit. A variety of activities are provided. You can choose to have all your students do the same activity, or allow students to choose how they demonstrate their knowledge. Rubrics are provided for each activity.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to late 17th century England. They will complete a research project on the sociopolitical and cultural background of the era to set the stage for Restoration comedy.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to Restoration comedy, specifically Comedy of Manners. Students will create scenes that “mock” a society group as comedy of manners does, explore wordplay, examine lines from comedy of manners plays, and reflect how the comedy of manners acts as a mirror to the audience.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the turmoil of the 18th century. Theatre was extremely curtailed by censorship in this era. They will complete a research project on the sociopolitical and cultural background of the era to set the stage for a lesson on censorship in the 18th century.

In this lesson, students will explore the impact of censorship on an era of theatre and create a theatrical moment using a specific censorship prompt.

Decide how students will demonstrate their knowledge of the unit. A variety of activities are provided. You can choose to have all your students do the same activity, or allow students to choose how they demonstrate their knowledge. Rubrics are provided for each activity.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the 19th century and the Romantic period. They will complete a research project on the sociopolitical and cultural background of the era to set the stage for Romanticism.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the characteristics of Romanticism in literature, painting, and music. For each category, students will analyze samples and discuss how these pieces illustrate the characteristics of Romanticism. Finally, students will create a theatrical moment that applies the characteristics of Romanticism.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the elements of Romantic theatre, examine what makes a “well-made” play, apply Goethe’s three questions of art criticism, practice a couple of Delsarte’s emotional gestures, and use those gestures to create their own modern melodrama.

Decide how students will demonstrate their knowledge of the unit. A variety of activities are provided. You can choose to have all your students do the same activity, or allow students to choose how they demonstrate their knowledge. Rubrics are provided for each activity.

Students will learn about two practitioners of avant-garde theatre. They will then reimagine a common fairy tale in the style of either Artaud or Grotowski, or a combination thereof. In doing so, they will acquaint themselves with non-realistic theatre production techniques.

Students will use a few of Boal’s group warm-ups and participate in Forum Theatre to help them work out issues of importance to them. Through this, they can also see new ways of using theatre to address group dynamics and social issues.