The Basics

Students will be given the expectations for the individual final project, starting with a playwriting assignment.

In a drama class there is often a focus on onstage activities: performance skills, staging a scene, ensemble building. But the audience plays a vital and necessary role in the process. Theatre does not happen without an audience. It’s important for students to be aware of and apply audience etiquette.

In this lesson, students will explore the different ways an audience behaves depending on the event, what is bad audience behaviour, establish the rules, practice critical thinking as an audience member and complete an exit slip to demonstrate comprehension.

Theatre does not happen without an audience. It’s important for students to be aware of and apply audience etiquette. In this lesson, students will explore the different ways an audience behaves depending on the event, what is bad audience behaviour, establish the rules, practice critical thinking as an audience member, and complete an exit slip to demonstrate comprehension.

Students will explore the elements of the audition process, discuss the necessary guidelines of audition etiquette, and practice applying those guidelines.

Students will review the ways that a company can promote a show, and design a poster with key elements reviewed in the session. A rubric is included for the poster project.

This can be a standalone lesson, or an add-on to the unit. It introduces the concept of the 3 V's: VIEWERS are looking for a VICARIOUS, VULNERABLE, and/or VISCERAL experience.

To introduce the Aristotelian element of Character.

Copyright and the Theatre go hand in hand, especially if you’re doing plays, but a topic about which many students (and even teachers) lack knowledge. Students will read about the aspects of Copyright and the Theatre, reflect on making changes to scripts, and complete a Copyright and the Theatre Quiz.

The purpose of this unit is to give students an introduction to independent learning as well as an overview of Copyright. Students will apply their knowledge throughout, and the unit culminates in a final activity.

Copyright and the Theatre go hand in hand, especially if you’re doing plays. But a topic about which many students (and even teachers) lack knowledge. Students will reflect upon and discuss four questions introducing the topic of copyright. They will then improvise scenarios -- two of which establish copyright correctly, two of which establish copyright incorrectly.
The lesson ends with students deciding which scenarios are correct.

In groups, students will begin by briefly bringing to life the tableaux from Lesson 5. They will then create the skeleton of a scene for each tableau, indicating the protagonist, antagonist, and method of oppression in each scenario. Finally, students will review their peer’s work and rank the scenes that they are most interested in bringing to life.

In this first lesson at the start of a new year, students learn daily classroom routines, participate in a name game, and complete a successful journal entry reflecting on circle discussion. They will begin to interact with the Weekly Ensemble Rubric through the journal element.

In this fifth lesson, students continue to practice classroom norms and continue to practice giving strong feedback. In the performance task, students will practice giving strong feedback by giving a specific suggestion for improvement.

In this sixth lesson, students continue to practice classroom norms and continue to practice giving strong feedback. In the performance task, students will give peers strong feedback through using body language and vocal tone to encourage and show eagerness for peers to improve.

Students hand in all of the project elements according to the included assignment sheet. An end of course reflection and three assessment rubrics (monologue performance, final project, reflection) are included

To have students apply what they have learned.

To continue applying the Aristotelian element of Thought.

In this lesson plan, students will take on the role of a producer. They have had their show approved, but, before they get started, they must create a budget to track the money coming and going. Budgeting is a job that must be completed by the producer for every show. What’s involved? What does a budget look like?

To introduce the Aristotelian element of Music.

Students will be introduced to Boal’s Image Theatre. They will review the concept of tableau (frozen picture) from Lesson 1, and they will be introduced to the tableau rubric and the three tableau skills (frozen bodies, 3+ levels, and character). In small groups, they will create tableaux that capture an image of “Family” (whatever that word means to them).

Students will review the three tableau skills (frozen bodies, 3+ levels, and character). In small groups, they will analyze the tableaux from last class that captured an image of “Family” (whatever that word meant to them), as well as create and analyze new tableaux around a topical issue in society.

In groups, students will brainstorm a list of scenarios in which they feel power or oppression in their daily lives. They will then select a scenario from their list and turn it into a tableau.

In this fourth lesson, students continue to practice classroom norms and are introduced to the concept of feedback. In the performance task, students will give peers strong feedback by using language from the Weekly Ensemble Rubric.

Students will be introduced to forum theatre by researching a video example. Students will then try their hand at forum theatre by acting out a middle school scenario of oppression, becoming spect-actors, and improvising solutions.

Students will participate in a tableau “Power Handshake” exercise that will give them some basic background experience with image theatre/tableau and nonverbal expressions of relationship and power. They will then work on their critical thinking skills by close reading an article that gives a brief introduction to Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed.

To introduce students to Aristotle’s six elements.

This session includes instruction on how to create a marketing plan: poster, press release, online presence, and social media. A reflection and rubric are included.

Students memorize the monologue that they wrote and included in their scripts, rehearse, and give peer feedback. A reflection is included.

In this lesson, students will read and analyze Act One of Our Town within the theme of the ordinary versus universality. The lesson format encourages students to explore text themes and concepts through scene work before they read, participate in a small group discussion post read, and then take on an activity to apply knowledge through a theatrical expression of the text.

In this lesson, students will continue to analyze the first act of Our Town with a focus of examining the non-realistic elements Wilder uses. What comes across as a play steeped in realism and realistic characters actually uses a number of experimental theatrical techniques.

In this lesson, students will continue to analyze the third act of Our Town with a focus of examining the concept of the eternal as it connects to valuing the ordinary.

In this lesson, students will read and analyze Act Three of Our Town within the theme of death. The lesson format encourages students to explore text themes and concepts through scene work before they read, participate in a small group discussion post read, and then take on an activity to apply knowledge through a theatrical expression of the text.

In this lesson, students will read and analyze Act Two of Our Town within the theme of love and marriage. The lesson format encourages students to explore text themes and concepts through scene work before they read, participate in a small group discussion post read, and then take on an activity to apply knowledge through a theatrical expression of the text.

In this lesson, students will continue to analyze the second act of Our Town by examining the concept of time. Why does the play use a wedding and the idea of marriage as a marker for time slipping away? How do characters react to the passage of time?

In this lesson, students will be introduced to Our Town through positive and negative reviews of the original production, examine and discuss a facts sheet on the play, and learn more about the world the playwright was writing in through a research activity.

In this pre-reading lesson, students reflect on their day-to-day life and look for the connection between the ordinary and universality. It’s important to have them connect the ordinary and universality in a modern context, before moving to the same connections in the text.

In this lesson, students will perform their final scene for assessment in front of the class. They will also complete an audience feedback sheet where they give their peers feedback on rubric skills.

Students will learn the basics of stage positioning through this fun, interactive game. Comes with guide to positioning and all "Pirate Ship" terms!

To continue applying the Aristotelian element of plot.

3 Posters designed for the drama classroom, to support the Ensemble Building and Class Norms objectives.

Students will participate in a number of power activities that will encourage them to come up with ways to physically demonstrate a powerful/powerless character. A discussion about power in our society will follow.

Students receive the Pre-Show Etiquette Tips and Performance Etiquette Tips (handouts).They will brainstorm and develop a warm-up exercise designed to encourage pre-show etiquette, and design series of posters (either fully done or described with sketches) to encourage and highlight performance etiquette.

Students will learn about creating a safe and professional space in the classroom and in the theatre, and how these principles can be applied to the real world. What are the best practices for etiquette in the classroom, which can also be used in rehearsal, and which can also be used in the real world.

In this second lesson, students continue to practice classroom norms and interact with a second element of the Weekly Ensemble Rubric: SAY YES. Students will role-play a column of the SAY YES category of the Weekly Ensemble Rubric in small groups via a performance task.

In this third lesson, students continue to practice classroom norms and interact with a third element of the Weekly Ensemble Rubric: BE SAFE. Students will role-play a column of the BE SAFE Rubric in small groups via a performance task.

Students will begin by discussing the importance of realistic acting in these scenes, noting how they will be graded on the Realistic Acting Rubric. They will commit their scenes to memory and review projection skills. When the scenes are solid, students will then begin practicing becoming and reacting to spect-actors, and reviewing the Improvisation, Spect-acting, and Realistic Acting Rubrics after each spect-acting attempt.

Students will take the scene outline created last class and use it to create a more detailed script that includes scene-setting notes, movement notes, and dialogue for the characters. Students will evaluate a peer’s script for errors in grammar or script writing conventions. They will then turn in their scripts for an assessment grade at the end of class.

Students are introduced to the concept of specific detail in pantomime and apply it in nonverbal exercises.

To introduce the Aristotelian element of Diction.

To introduce the Aristotelian element of Spectacle.

To identify and physically locate the nine areas of the stage.

Students play a life-sized game of tic-tac-toe on the stage using stage directions to navigate the different squares. Lesson Plan comes with a stage positioning template for assessment.

Students write a 2-3 paragraph essay about the overall design of their play. A checklist is included for both technical elements and design description.

To introduce the Aristotelian element of plot.

This session has students discuss the benefits of live theatre over film and apply the definition of the playwright, actor and director

To introduce the Aristotelian element of Thought.

To introduce students to Aristotle and his connection to theatre.

Students will learn a variety of theatrical conventions and apply their knowledge in a scene. Students will use a picture as a jumping off point, use a mind map to brainstorm ideas, and create a scene using the Flashback convention.

Lesson Plan includes handouts, written reflection, and two rubrics (Practical and Written).

In this lesson, students will define etiquette, refine the definition for the theatre classroom, and work on a Creativity Contract that has goals and procedures. What do students want out of the class? What are the steps they need to take to achieve those goals? What procedures are needed to make the theatre classroom a safe place where they can achieve those goals?

Students discuss and identify a working definition for theatre.They create a “Theatre Is….” poster for the room and are introduced to the concept of a ‘dramatic moment.’

The objective of this lesson is to introduce the concept of “hard skills” (specific abilities or knowledge needed to do a specific job) versus “soft skills” (personal attributes and personality traits; transferable skills that can be used in any aspect of a student’s life).

Students review the various jobs in a theatre by learning about the roles and jobs in each category: Artistic, Production, and Business.

Students are given time to write their own plays, and gain feedback from their peers. A checklist is included, along with 3 exit slips and participation rubric.