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!
Pauses serve a great purpose in theatre. What's not being said in that pause? Here's an acting exercise to use in rehearsal.
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.
Students will be able to demonstrate how to visualize an issue through character.
Use these first lines prompts (list of 35) for monologue and scene work.
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.
This exercise helps students think about how their characters sound.
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.
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.
A set of four posters for your drama classroom - each with a different message about devising.
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.
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.
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.
