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Acting Lesson Plans

A library of lesson plans to help you effectively plan your workshops and classes.

Lesson 2 of 4 in The Autobiographical Monologue Unit

Comic and Serious Perspectives

by Gai Jones

In this lesson, students will experiment with thinking from a comic and a serious perspective, which might offer possibilities for their original monologue.

# Acting
Lesson 8 of 14 in Commedia dell'Arte Unit

Commedia Characters

by Todd Espeland

This lesson focuses on the characters of Commedia including who they are, what they’re like and places that we can see them in modern society.

  • Character History
# Acting # commedia
Lesson 4 of 4 in Virtual Acting for the Camera Unit

Commercials

by Ruthie Tutterow

Students will act in and direct a commercial. They will break down a script into shots to “cover” the script. They will also format a script into video and audio. Actors will need to hit marks, make a point concisely, and hit the time format of the commercial. They should use the acting techniques for film as much as possible. Students will also need to think creatively to work in socially distant circumstances.

# Acting # acting
Lesson 4 of 4 in Acting for the Camera Unit

Commercials

by Ruthie Tutterow

Students will act in and direct a commercial. They will break a script down into shots to “cover” the script. They will also format a script into video and audio. Actors will need to hit marks, make a point concisely, and hit the time format of the commercial. They should also use the acting techniques for film as much as possible.

# Acting # acting
Lesson 6 of 7 in Tools of Scene Work Unit

Contentless Scene - Preview Day

by Anna Porter

Students review what they have studied in this unit as well as how to give and use constructive feedback. Students will pair up with another scene group, then perform for each other. Students will use the Preview Worksheet to help guide and assess their previews and critiques.

# Acting # acting # scene work
Lesson 1 of 9 in Pantomime Unit

Defining Pantomime

by Angel Borths

To define pantomime, build a working class definition then introduce the pantomime concept through class games.

# Acting # pantomime # acting
Lesson 2 of 9 in Pantomime Unit

Details of Pantomime

by Angel Borths

To recognize the importance of details in pantomime and practice pantomime details.

# Acting # pantomime # acting
Lesson 1 of 4 in Acting for the Camera Unit

Differences Between Stage Acting and Film Acting & Vocabulary

by Ruthie Tutterow

Students will be able to identify some of the major differences between acting for the stage and the camera. They will also be introduced to terms used on film sets and for acting for the camera and be ready to use those terms in upcoming projects.

  • Vocabulary for Acting for the Camera
# Acting # acting
Lesson 1 of 4 in Virtual Acting for the Camera Unit

Differences Between Stage Acting and Film Acting & Vocabulary

by Ruthie Tutterow

Students will be able to identify some of the major differences between acting for the stage and the camera. They will also be able to understand and use vocabulary that is specific to working on film sets and acting for the camera.

# Acting # acting
Lesson 5 of 7 in Monologue Writing Made Easy Unit

Drafting a Monologue

by Matthew Banaszynski

Using their rough drafts from the starter prompts, students will work in pairs to edit their drafts to make cleaner stories. Students will also map out their drafts on a Story Mountain diagram to make sure that they follow the proper format.

  • Slide Deck Lesson 5
# Playwriting # Acting # monologue # playwriting # acting
Lesson 4 of 6 in The Actor in Transition: From Presentational to Three-Dimensional Unit

Eight-Line Power Plays

by John Minigan

This lesson combines the work done in Lesson 2 (scoring scenes by beats) with the physical work done in
Lesson 3 (creating dynamically staged scenes by connecting choices in blocking/staging to the
underlying structural elements in a scene).

# Acting # acting
Lesson 6 of 7 in Foundations of Acting Unit

Enriching Your Choices

by Annie Dragoo

In this lesson, students will use the act of entering and exiting a scene in character to demonstrate character choice.

# Acting # acting
Lesson 4 of 7 in Tools of Scene Work Unit

Environmental and Personal Conflict

by Anna Porter

Students will play a drama game and participate in an exercise to explore how conflict affects their active tactics. Students apply conflict to a scene for performance.

# Acting # acting # scene work
Lesson 5 of 6 in Pantomime Unit

Exaggeration

by Anna Porter

Students will play with exaggerated resistance through a pantomime Tug of War and Object Toss. Students will further explore exaggerated emotion through a mirror exercise with a partner where they will progressively exaggerate an emotion physically. They will demonstrate their understanding of both exaggerated resistance and emotion by performing a short skit based on over the top soccer injuries.

# Acting # pantomime # acting

Examining the Pause

by Lindsay Price

Students write a scene with five pauses. Students will rehearse the scene where the length of the pause varies. How does the scene change when longer and longer pauses are implemented?

# Acting # acting
Lesson 2 of 4 in Acting for the Camera Unit

Exercises in Acting for the Camera

by Ruthie Tutterow

Students will watch some of a workshop in acting for the camera and do some exercises that help them practice some of the differences between stage acting and film acting.

  • Short Scenes
# Acting # acting
Lesson 2 of 4 in Virtual Acting for the Camera Unit

Exercises in Acting for the Camera

by Ruthie Tutterow

Students will watch some of a workshop in acting for the camera and do some exercises that help them practice some of the differences between stage acting and film acting.

# Acting # acting
Lesson 2 of 6 in Virtual Introduction to Stanislavski Unit

Exploring Principles of The Method

by Drama Teacher Academy

Students will explore and apply some of the principles of Stansislavski’s Method in a virtual environment.

# Acting
Lesson 2 of 6 in Introduction to Stanislavski Unit

Exploring Principles of The Method

by Drama Teacher Academy

Students will engage in activities to help them further their understanding of the principles of Stanislavski’s Method.

# Acting

Exploring Spoken Word Poetry

by Kerry Hishon

The objective of the lesson is for students to create and perform a spoken word poetry piece. Spoken word is poetry that is meant to be performed for an audience, rather than just read on a page. It allows students the opportunity to share their thoughts, and provides a platform for them to do so. It also builds on important performance skills taught in the drama classroom, including memorization and rehearsal, vocal projection, enunciation, tone, gestures and facial expressions, and confidence.

# Acting # acting