81 Playwriting Exercises: eBook
This resource provides 81 exercises that can be used to get students in the habit of writing on a regular basis. Use these exercises:
• As a daily warm-up during a playwriting unit
• To keep students writing if they’re stuck in the middle of a specific writing project
• To allow students to practice the craft of writing monologues and scenes
• For an emergency lesson plan when you can’t be there
• If your classroom environment changes (e.g., distance learning)
Playwriting is possible for every student when you start with small, achievable exercises. Get writing!
A Pause for Pauses
Pauses serve a great purpose in theatre. What's not being said in that pause? Here's an acting exercise to use in rehearsal.
Automatic Writing Prompts
Use these prompts as bell-work or as warm ups before a writing exercise. The focus of automatic writing is to get words on the page: good, bad and ugly.
Distance Learning: Issue Personification
Students will be able to demonstrate how to visualize an issue through character.
First Lines
Use these first lines prompts (list of 35) for monologue and scene work.
Headline Characters Exercise
Use this exercise to practice creating characters and then writing the first few lines of a monologue. Students will use a headline as a jumping off point.
Language Profile Sheet
This exercise helps students think about how their characters sound.
Picture Prompts
Picture prompts are a great way to initiate student writing. They don’t have to have an idea, they simply respond to the picture. Have students study the picture and answer the provided questions. Each picture includes a character or a story element question.
Playwriting: Developing A Point of View
One of the best things a playwright can do is develop a point of view. This is a self reflection exercise and scene writing exercise all rolled into one.
Posters: Devising for the Drama Classroom (set of 4)
A set of four posters for your drama classroom - each with a different message about devising.
Research & Write Toolkit
Researching a topic and applying that research in a theatrical way, like writing a play, is a fantastic drama classroom project. It’s cross-curricular and applies multiple skill sets. Students can work in groups or independently. Research and write projects are a great way to demonstrate comprehension by taking information in one form and applying it to another.
Use this toolkit to give students the opportunity to practice turning information into theatrical action.
Scene Spurs - Writing Prompts for Dramatic Depth
Scene Spurs is a collection of photo-based writing prompts developed by playwright Lindsay Price. The set includes 35 different Spurs along with an instruction guide to integrate them into your drama classroom.
Scene Spurs Volume 2 - Writing Prompts for Dramatic Depth
Scene Spurs is a collection of photo-based writing prompts developed by playwright Lindsay Price. The set includes 35 different Spurs along with an instruction guide to integrate them into your drama classroom.
Volume 2 includes new photos, new prompts, and a new distance learning lesson included.
Self Reflection Sentence Starters
Sometimes all students need is a little push. Give students one of these self reflection sentence starters to get them going. You'll be amazed at what they write next.
The 10 Line Scene
Practice the act of writing a two character, one location scene with these short exercises. Whatever the scenario, limit the length: 10 lines per character.
The 24 Hour Student Playwriting Festival
What is a 24 hour playwriting festival? Student playwrights gather together and write for 12 hours. (eg: 8pm to 8am) Student directors and actors then cast, stage, rehearse and perform during the next 12 hours (8am to 8pm). Everything from concept to production takes place within 24 hours. Follow the step by step outline in the resource.