Musical Theatre Lesson Plans

Lesson 6 of 6 in Creating a Musical: Project Unit

Evaluating the Performance

by Annie Dragoo

Students will evaluate their performances in their original musicals.

Lesson 9 of 9 in Introduction to Musical Theatre: Movement Unit

Final Movement Performance

by Annie Dragoo

Students will rehearse and perform a scene plus song incorporating specific movement. After the performance, students will complete a self-assessment checklist.

# Musical Theatre # musical theatre

Lesson 1 of 8 in Musical Theatre History Museum Project Unit

By viewing this documentary, students explore Broadway’s history from the vaudeville shows and operettas of the 20th century to 21st-century extravaganzas such as Hairspray and Wicked. In this lesson, students will view, discuss, and reflect on Episode 1.

# Musical Theatre # musical theatre

Group Musical Poster

by Matthew Banaszynski

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.

# Group Activities # Comprehension # Musical Theatre # poster # musical theatre

Improv a Musical

by Ed Reggi

In this lesson, students will explore how to make their own Broadway musical through improvisation. Broadway musicals like The Book of Mormon, Urinetown, and Forbidden Broadway were developed from improvised work. Students will learn how to improvise an original musical in front of an
audience. There are excellent opportunities for both the singer and non-singer who wants to explore improv like never before. This is also a great opportunity for singers to become far more confident with their performances. There are hands-on activities for students at all levels.

# Musical Theatre # musical theatre

Lesson 16 of 17 in Creating Your Own Musical Unit

Independent Musical Project

by Laramie Dean

This is the last lesson before students present their pieces for assessment.

# Musical Theatre # musical theatre

Lesson 1 of 7 in Improvisation in Musical Theatre Unit

Intro to Improv for Musical Theatre

by Annie Dragoo

Students will demonstrate an understanding of improv guidelines by using them in an exercise. This is an introductory improv lesson that is designed to build upon the actors’ tools in future lessons.

# Improvisation # Acting # Musical Theatre # improv # musical theatre

Lesson 1 of 17 in Creating Your Own Musical Unit

Introducing Devised Theatre

by Laramie Dean

In this lesson, we define devised theatre and use a piece of music for students to create their own performance inspired by the music.

# Musical Theatre # musical theatre

Lesson 3 of 17 in Creating Your Own Musical Unit

Introducing the Musical Theatre Form

by Laramie Dean

In this lesson, we define musical theatre and spend a little bit of time on the history and structure. Students also receive information on their performance and their independent written projects.

# Musical Theatre # musical theatre

Introduction to Musical Theatre Conventions

by Annie Dragoo

Students will explore the different theatre conventions through various activities and then apply this knowledge to musical theatre by viewing musical theatre numbers.

# Musical Theatre # musical theatre

Lesson 2 of 9 in Introduction to Musical Theatre: Movement Unit

Movement and Action Verbs

by Annie Dragoo

Students will demonstrate their understanding of actable verbs by using them in a scene. They will be introduced to the concepts of motivation, objective, and tactics.

# Musical Theatre # musical theatre

Lesson 4 of 9 in Introduction to Musical Theatre: Movement Unit

Movement for Inanimate/Animal Character

by Annie Dragoo

Students will demonstrate their ability to move like an inanimate object by performing a scene.

# Musical Theatre # musical theatre

Lesson 8 of 8 in Musical Theatre History Museum Project Unit

Museum Day

by Annie Dragoo

Students will showcase what they have learned about their musical theatre topic in a museum exhibit. Students will also learn about additional musical theatre topics by viewing other exhibits and answering questions found in the Museum Exhibit Questionnaire Book.