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Now that students have improvised a scene with existing songs, it’s time to take the experience to the next level. In this lesson, students will learn the framework for how to improvise an original musical song based on a suggestion. They will reinforce elements of a musical and find out how to incorporate the tenets of improvisational theatre by starting the process: creating a duet. This lesson provides students with a small introduction, but depending on how your students connect to it (and your schedule) they could certainly continue on beyond the time allotted to improvise an entire musical.

Musical theatre performers must be in touch with their emotions and have good emotional intelligence. You have to be in control if you’re going to sing an emotional song night after night. While singing, it is important to understand and be able to express appropriate emotions when needed. To do this, we must use our five senses: touching, seeing, smelling, tasting, and hearing. In this lesson, students will demonstrate sensory awareness through improv exercises.

In this fourth improvisation lesson, students will participate in a mock improv assessment in small groups. They will also give partners written feedback on the entire Improvisation Rubric. Students will learn the exercise that will be used for their final improv assessment.

In this third improvisation lesson, students will practice accepting offers, building on offers, thinking quickly and giving STRONG OFFERS in improvisation exercises. Students will also give written and verbal peer feedback using language from the Improvisation Rubric.

In this sixth improvisation lesson, students will practice in partners quick thinking, improv, and enunciation in performance. Afterward, students will give verbal feedback on the Improvisation Rubric and the ENUNCIATION section of the Vocal Clarity Rubric.

In this second improvisation lesson, students will practice accepting offers, building on offers, and thinking quickly in improvisation exercises. Students will also give written and verbal peer feedback on the second row (QUICK THINKING) of the Improvisation Rubric, using language from the Rubric.

In this first improvisation lesson, students will work with the definitions of the key vocabulary terms by adding their own offers to improvised exercises and accepting and building on peer offers. Students will also give written and verbal peer feedback on the first row (ACCEPTING AND BUILDING ON OFFERS) row of the Improvisation Rubric, using language such as “improvisation” and “offers.”

In this fifth improvisation lesson, students will learn the definition of “projection.” With partners, they will practice quick thinking, improv, and volume in performance. Afterward, students will give verbal feedback on the Improvisation Rubric and the VOLUME section of the Vocal Clarity Rubric.

Improvisation teaches us to concentrate and listen in scenes. An actor uses their voice to show how they interpret a character and what the character wants to communicate to an audience. In this lesson, students will practice exercises with vocal responses that encourage them to both concentrate and listen fully.

Students will create their own improvisational piece to an African fable called “Anansi: The Spider.” This lesson explores the different ways to tell a story through storytelling improvisation, which allows students to discover different movements, voices, and listening skills. In African theatre, there are many ways to tell a story; improv is often used when learning about fables.

The final project will allow students to demonstrate their improv skills in a two-person scene.

Another tool that actors use is movement (and body language). An actor’s use of their body can tell a story within itself. The body is essential in communicating emotions. Along with the mind (thinking of a way to demonstrate how a character feels) and the voice (expressing what a character feels), the body is the final piece of the puzzle. This lesson allows students to practice through movement-focused improv activities the important role of communicating through body language.