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This Technical Theatre unit is designed to empower student leaders to analyze management roles in producing theatre while also using collaborative activities and reflection exercises to strengthen soft skills that every student should have. The unit covers the roles of producer, director, technical director, and stage manager, and ends in a culminating project.

WARNING: This unit is ABSURD. However, instructor Lea Marshall decided to do something really ABSURD with the unit, which was make it a bit more predictable. First, the unit takes two lessons to go over the Historical and Philosophical background of Theatre of the Absurd. It starts with just a visual exercise to really bring students into the emotional bleakness of the landscape and then group work to look at some of the other foundational elements that will drive the Absurdist movement into the Theatres. Next, students break down absurd scripts into some “recognizable” elements of language, plot structure, acting choices, and storyline. With each lesson that introduces an Absurdist Element, there is an opportunity for students to “play” with the element. Then, students explore the element through an Absurdist text. This will help familiarize the students with the 4 Absurdist scripts used in the unit. These bite sized forays into the scripts will help students to choose a script to fully immerse themselves in for the final project. As a final project, students will choose one script to work with, and choose the format of their project (performance, costume or set design, or playwright).

In this unit, students will learn about Antonin Artaud and how his ideas influenced avant-garde theatre in the 20th and 21st centuries. They will also learn how Jerzy Grotowski took Artaud’s theories into new directions. This is done through direct instruction. A culminating presentation will ask students to take common stories and reimagine them using some of these ideas. They will present a “pitch” of an avant-garde version of their story. In the second lesson, students learn about some of the ideas of Augusto Boal and try a session of Forum Theatre.

The unit has been adapted for a virtual environment. This is an in-depth unit with instruction and activities about the Stanislavski acting method. It is followed by scene work in which students learn how to score a scene, do a comprehensive character analysis, and use what they have learned in rehearsals in a performance. Students will also watch their own work and evaluate their process after the performance. The purpose of this unit is to give students an introduction and understanding of Stanislavski’s method and to put it into use as they prepare scenes for performance. After seeing their work, and spending time reflecting on how they used the principles of the method, students should take away a concrete understanding of how to prepare a role for performance.

The Drama Two Curriculum was created as a model that empowers teachers to utilize the full content of the DTA Lesson Plan Library as either a foundation or a supplement to their entire classroom curriculum. With that in mind, the units are a combination of existing DTA material and new material. Lesson plans have been adapted to fit the needs of the curriculum (eg. The Colour Wheel Lesson Plan has been adapted from an existing costuming lesson plan in the Lesson Plan Library). The Drama Two Curriculum is performance based. It has been developed to expand and deepen the students’ skills as artists. They will do so by building on material covered in the Drama One Curriculum, with units in: Character Analysis, Monologue Analysis and Writing, Shakespeare Performance, and Design. The curriculum will culminate in a Devised Class Play. As you use this curriculum, think about how you can create your own units and adapt lesson plans based on the needs of your program.

Students will explore the creation of an environment through the art of scenic design. They will identify what scenic design is and how it helps to tell a story in theatre. Students will also identify and demonstrate some skills of a scenic designer as they analyze an excerpt of a script for scenic clues and demonstrate basic drafting and rendering.

Students identify and practice some basic painting techniques.

Students will identify categories of props and which people create or obtain props. They’ll analyze a script for needed props, use critical-thinking skills to problem solve prop issues, and create a prop.

Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of lighting effectiveness. They’ll also be able to identify, analyze, and evaluate how lighting is used in a theatre production.

Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of sound effectiveness. How do we use sound to create a technically effective performance?

Students are exposed to research, concepts, and skill sets while they explore costume design and the different roles of the costume designer and the costumer. They will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of costume effectiveness.

Students identify vocabulary, techniques, and roles of costume construction. They demonstrate costume measurement and other construction techniques, including a basic stitch.

Students will be able to explore the use of make-up as a theatrical tool and demonstrate their knowledge of make-up effectiveness.

We have included a stage management “extra” lesson in this curriculum as an introduction to the stage manager role. Stage management is certainly an important role when it comes to the technical elements of a theatre production. If you want to include a more realized stage management unit, we have you covered. DTA has an extensive Stage Management Unit in the curriculum section of the DTA website (see link below).

Now it’s time for your students to take everything they’ve learned and creatively apply those skills. The goal is for students to take what they’ve been exposed to, explored, and researched about each of the arts and crafts of technical theatre and apply it to a project.

All students have something to say and a story to tell. They can relate to their personal stories better than anyone else. All students have a lot of material which can be used as part of an original monologue. In this unit, students will write an autobiographical monologue based on their personal expertise, memories, distinct point of view, sense of truth, and life experiences. Through the process, students will be encouraged to explore past stories, objects, and images and other personal material.

Improv is a fantastic method to engage your students; this 3 lesson mini unit is a great way to introduce improvisation. This unit focuses on learning the rules of Improv, trying games to build improvisation skills, and developing conflict and story line.Through the three lesson series, students will use journals, participate in class discussions, learn six different improv games, and perform for their peers. Assessment tools include both informal assessment as well as a formal quiz that’s included in the unit.

Teacher Angel Borths developed this unit when she was looking for lessons to teach the basics of pantomime in the classroom. This unit culminates in a finished product for performance, either for peers, or for theatre festivals. The rubrics and written work for this unit take planning and preparation for performance into account. The exercises can be pulled out and used independently, but work best when used to build toward a finished product. You can also pull the ground plan and stage directions lesson plans to use with playwriting or directing lessons.

Students will understand the basic building blocks of a scene: The Who (characters/ relationship), the Where (setting), and the What (conflict – objectives/tactics). They will learn how to use both verbal and nonverbal (pantomime) clues to communicate these scene details to an audience. They will continue to work on voice clarity, while also learning to open their body to an audience. The unit culminates in a performance assessment in which students work in pairs to improvise a scene.

Students will be introduced to the most basic of scripts: the contentless/open scene script. They will use their knowledge of character/relationships, setting, objective, and tactics to add content to a contentless scene. Students will also learn the basics of set design and blocking, and will begin using voice expression to communicate clearer characters. The unit culminates in a performance assessment in which students will work in pairs to add content to and perform a contentless scene.