Items tagged "Acting"

This mini-course will give you a toolkit to bring your shows to the next level by having an engaged, active, ensemble.

The ensemble is a critical part of a large cast show. But you can't leave them to fend for themselves. They need structure. They need exercises and activities.

In Strong Ensemble = Strong Play, you'll be given ensemble-building exercises. You'll also discover specific activities that will help your ensemble become three-dimensional characters who have something to do and something to play in every moment they are on stage.

We'll look at case studies that take the exercises learned in the course and apply them to specific shows.

In this course, you will learn what breath control and projection are, how to breathe from your diaphragm and speak loudly without yelling, and how to teach these skills to your students. Led by teacher and singer Elisabeth Oppelt, this course will be helpful both in your teaching practices and in creating material to teach your students. This course also includes both formal and informal assessments for you to use in your classroom.

“Yes, and…” is the guiding principle behind all improv. This course will teach you how to teach improv, and more importantly how to give feedback to your students. The course looks at making strong offers and also using gibberish to ironically improv communication skills. You will also see how feelings can safely be used to add flavour and get laughs in our scenes.

Jennine Profeta, Second City performer and theatre educator, leads this course with a clear methodology for teaching and giving positive nurturing feedback. This course will give you all the tools and the insight you need to teach improv with confidence.

Commedia dell’arte is a 16th Century masked acting form. It’s the basis of all comedy and it’s a form that many teachers want to include in their curriculum.

Instructor Todd Espeland has designed two courses that work hand-in-hand with teaching this fantastic physical form.

In Commedia I: Playing Comedy - Todd teaches the principles of comedy through four key elements: status, appetite, swing, and intention/invention. This course provides an excellent foundation upon which to explore Commedia to its fullest. Includes bonus videos, handouts, reflections, and exit slip question ideas for each lesson.

Commedia dell’arte is a 16th Century masked acting form. It’s the basis of all comedy and it’s a form that many teachers want to include in their curriculum.

Instructor Todd Espeland has designed two courses that work hand-in-hand with teaching this fantastic physical form.

In Commedia II: Style - Todd moves on to the specific style of Commedia dell’arte. This includes a history of commedia, the stock characters and how to physicalize them, sample lazzi and a capstone assignment. The course includes video demonstrations so you can see the exercises and activities in action.

Second City performer and theatre educator Jennine Profeta is back and ready to help you take your Improv classes to the next level. It’s all getting students to perform - and how to be a great improv coach who can keep them supported and grounded (and having fun!)

In this course, you’ll learn the golden rules of improv. You’ll learn a bunch of improv games (great for warm-ups, teaching tools, and even for competitions). You’ll learn Jennine’s tips and tricks for what to look for when coaching and how to troubleshoot common issues.

The course is designed to help you improv as an ensemble and give you the know-how to coach with confidence whether it’s in the classroom or on the stage!

Instructor Kerry Hishon is an actor, director, writer, and stage combatant with years of experience in youth theatre. Her course, Theatre Etiquette 101, is designed to help students be successful in their theatrical journeys.

When teaching students who are brand new to theatre, it’s important to discuss and apply the expectations of the drama classroom and the theatrical world.
This course starts by explaining "what is theatre etiquette", and then moves through every step in the production process from audition to post-show recovery.

Every module has tips for both you and your students, classroom exercises, rehearsal exercises, and reflections. There are also printable posters included to use in your classroom or backstage.

Jennine Profeta, Second City performer and theatre educator, leads this course. This course was designed to give a teacher tools to create a safe environment in which students can go beyond their old patterns to take risks, embrace failure, be more confident and aware of the effects of their word choice. The course includes modules on risk-taking, creating a safe environment, failure, confidence, and positive/negative speak.

Teacher Angel Borths developed this unit when she was looking for lessons to teach the basics of pantomime in the classroom.

This unit culminates in a finished product for performance, either for peers, or for theatre festivals. The rubrics and written work for this unit take planning and preparation for performance into account. The exercises can be pulled out and used independently, but work best when used to build toward a finished product. You can also pull the ground plan and stage directions lesson plans to use with playwriting or directing lessons.

Students will explore the question “what is theatre?” and analyze it by comparing film and television productions. Each session comes with an journal prompt, a warm up game, and an exit slip for assessment. This is a great unit to start off a school year.

Feel free to customize it as much as you want, and refer to the Pacing Guide for more details and ways to supplement with other DTA materials. While you’re analyzing “what is theatre?” with your students, you can introduce classroom procedures and do icebreaker/trust games. You can also remind the kids that Theatre is Ensemble - all of the games they play help to build ensemble.

In this unit, students are introduced to stage directions and how actors move on stage. They will explore what’s important for onstage action, the basics of stage directions, and how to keep open. By giving students something concrete to focus on, it allows them to overcome any stage fright. Teachers can refer to the Pacing Guide for more details and ways to supplement with other DTA materials.

This unit will culminate with students trying out what they’ve learned in a short scene. Each session comes with an journal prompt and an exit slip for assessment.

Students will explore nonverbal communication through movement, body language, simple mime, and storytelling. They will learn the specific art of pantomime through hand position, tension, follow-through, and action/reaction/interaction with objects through warmup games and exercises.

The unit culminates in a two-person pantomime performance. A rubric is included for the performance as long as journal prompts and exit slips. Please refer to the Pacing Guide for more details and ways to supplement with other DTA materials.

How does an actor analyze a script? Students start with character analysis (how do we learn about a character in a script? what are the facts/inferences about a character?) and then explore the ideas of “objective,” “obstacle,” “stakes,” and “tactics.”

The unit culminates with students applying learned script analysis techniques on an assigned scene. Please refer to the Pacing Guide for more details and ways to supplement with other DTA materials.

In this Mock Audition Unit, students will start by discussing the audition process. They will make connections between their personal views and the process. Students will then apply the steps of auditioning from putting together a resume, to choosing a piece based on provided information, to audition etiquette, to the actual audition itself. A final reflection and rubric are provided for use at the end of this unit.

A short play is included that can be used as the source material. You can also choose your own play for this process.

In this unit, students will be introduced to a key element of performance: the voice. Students will explore how to thoughtfully communicate character, story, and emotion vocally. Students will begin by exploring articulation so that they understand the importance of clearly communicating their words onstage. They will further build on this with the following lesson on the different vocal varieties of pitch, tone, rate, and volume.

The final lesson helps students explore vocal characterization as well as the details and layers that can bring that character to life vocally. This unit study of the voice culminates in a final puppet show where students are asked to bring a story and character to life by using vocal variety, articulation, and characterization.

In this unit, students explore how to communicate with their body by exploring elements of physicality and Pantomime. Lesson one helps students explore body awareness as well as the use of the senses and details in pantomime performance. In lesson two, students explore body language and how it is used to communicate by examining the art of flirting. Lesson three helps students create a distinct physical characterization. Lesson four introduces students to the quality of Pantomime – Consistency. In lesson five, students explore the quality of exaggeration in pantomime. In the final lesson, students prepare a pantomime story for performance.

Through this six lesson series, students will use journals, participate in class discussions and practice the elements taught by performing for their peers and as a class. Assessment tools include both informal assessment as well as a final Pantomime performance.

In this middle school unit by Rachel Atkins, students will explore how to strengthen a theatrical argument through objectives, communication, and conflict: What characters do, what they say, and how they say it when they make an argument or try to achieve an objective. To do this, students will use tableaux, dialogue, and improv. There are presentations and post-lesson writing assignments that you can use for assessment.

How do characters, actors and writers use a variety of actions to achieve an objective or support an argument? How do they enhance their communication by word choice and emotion? How do they develop and strengthen their own arguments by understanding other points of view?

The unit is adapted for a virtual environment.

The purpose of this unit is for students to know the differences and practice skills for film versus stage acting. They should also know the basic vocabulary of acting for the camera. It will also be helpful for them to get practice in editing. By seeing both sides of the camera, they will gain valuable experience in seeing what works from both the producing and acting side. Students will be able to see and reflect on their work.

The purpose of this unit is for students to know the differences and practice skills for film versus stage acting. They should also know the basic vocabulary of acting for the camera. It will also be helpful for them to get practice in editing. By seeing both sides of the camera, they will gain valuable experience in seeing what works from both the producing and acting side. Students will be able to see and reflect on their work.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the foundations of acting. At the end of the unit, students will be able to understand the value of making rich acting choices on stage.

This unit gives students an opportunity to explore and develop acting skills on a more advanced level, regardless of experience. They will explore skills, including voice, movement, emotional recall, memory, playing objectives, and character development culminating in a final scene.

In this unit, students will create and perform an abstract theatre scene. Abstract is a genre that does not rely on realism and deliberately breaks the rules of a given form. In the case of theatre, this refers to the commonly presented rules of performance, acting, and the relationship with the audience. Movement is often stylized and symbolic. Ideas and themes are expressed visually and aurally with little dialogue using music, lights, costumes, and props.

Students will discuss and participate in exercises that apply subtext in a conversation.

The assignment for the lesson is a one minute scene - two people at a restaurant, preparing to order. Each pair chooses one of the provided subtexts to play in the scene. Their job is to present the scene so that the subtext is clear.

Includes two assessment rubrics.

This is a great exercise when students are in the middle of preparing a monologue. Students will apply variety to a monologue in the following ways:
- Variety of pace (choosing a line to slow down or a place to pause)
- Variety of tone (choosing a line to deliver with an opposite tone)

Includes two sample monologues.

Certain sounds are always connected to certain objects - the slam of a door, cowbell, a ringing phone. How does the environment change if the sounds are changed? Does the change of sound change the scene?

Includes a list of websites to use for free sound effects.

To identify and interpret inflection in a dialogue and be able to translate that into a script.

Students work with a partner to interpret inflection in a "naked scene" and translate that inflection adding stage directions to the script. Students have to clarify their stage directions so that another pair can pick up the scene and deliver the intended intention.

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?

Students will perform a modern scene the same way that Shakespearean actors performed text. They will compare and contrast the experience to preparing a scene for class.

The fourth wall is an imaginary wall that stands between the actors and the audience. As actors we tend not to speak to, look at or acknowledge the audience when we are performing. We want the audience to be observers but not necessarily involved in the scene. There are times however when we want to speak directly to the audience. When we do, that is called breaking the fourth wall. It is a technique that can be useful in specific instances but should not be abused by actors.

Many students dream about becoming a professional actor. But what are the steps? How do you start? It’s not as simple as saying “I want to be an actor.” Students will move beyond this vague statement to research and present specific aspects of starting an acting career.

Many students dream about becoming a professional actor. The headshot is one of the most important calling cards of the professional actor. A bad headshot can get an actor rejected before they step through the door. Students will complete exercises that respond to the question What makes a good Headshot?

Students often rely on their verbal skills to tell a story. They “tell” us what’s happening instead of “showing” us what’s
happening. “Show don’t tell” is a guiding principle in theatrical storytelling. We want to see what’s happening to characters
as they experience it. We don’t want to hear characters explain the story or what they’re feeling. This lesson plan will put this principle into action through the exercise Silent Story.

What tools do students need to properly prepare a scene? What exercises? This multi-class lesson plan models and practices those tools and exercises with the full class before they have to take on a scene for assessment.

In this exercise, students will learn about the concept of status and how it affects character interactions. Using the good old
system of “Rock, papers, scissors”, they’ll determine who moves up and down the status ladder.

Instead of presenting a lecture on influential acting teachers, students self-learn in this lesson plan. Have students research an acting teacher, prepare a presentation and teach an exercise in groups.

What should go on and what should stay off of an acting resume? What is an auditioner looking for? Students will discuss the purpose of an acting resume, review a model, create their own and reflect on the process.

There are a number of different acting techniques: Method, Stanislavski, Viewpoints, Meisner, Viola Spolin. Use this lesson plan as an introduction to a specific technique.

Instead of learning by lecture, have students learn by doing. The Relaxation Exercise encourages students to focus on relaxing the body part by part. The Animal Exercise encourages students to observe an animal, take on the characteristics of an animal and reflect on how animal exploration would be helpful in character development.

When we think of Commedia dell’arte, we often think “mask.” But before we get to mask, it’s important to establish the foundation. Knowing the technical elements of playing comedy are essential before adding on the layers of mask, archetypal characters, and Lazzi. This lesson plan looks at one of the cornerstone tools for playing comedy: status. Status is at the heart of Commedia dell’arte. Students will explore high and low status through the game called Status Walks.

This Lesson Plan introduces one of the important tools of an actor: the body. Student actors often have difficulty getting out of their own body, especially if they suffer from any kind of stage fright. How do we move on stage? What happens when we’re afraid to move? How can we get beyond nerves to become comfortable with our bodies? What do we “do” on stage?

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.

The objective of the lesson is for students to explore historical events that are significant to them through various theatrical mediums that may seem unusual or “out of the box.” The inspiration for this lesson plan comes from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s theatrical hit Hamilton, which utilizes rap and hip-hop music and colourblind casting to tell the story of the American founding fathers.

In this student driven activity, students will work together to put up a short one act play from audition to production within a one week time limit. The purpose of the activity is to show students, quickly, how important it is to work together, to collaborate, and to negotiate as a group. This is also a good activity to apply responsibility. The students themselves are responsible for all aspects of this activity - you should only take on an advisory role. Give feedback when asked but don’t act as a director or make decisions for your students. The point is not a “perfect” production but to give students an activity where they must work together in order to succeed. The process is more important than the product.

To practice planning and performing transitions between scenes in a smooth and well-prepared manner, with increasingly shorter time frames and other challenges.

The objective of this lesson is for students to delve deeper into their roles by experimenting with performing a variety of everyday tasks while in character. As well, it offers students the chance to explore different ways of moving and thinking while in character.

The objective of this lesson is twofold: first, for students have the opportunity to perform individually onstage to practice volume, diction, and enunciation while speaking, and receive feedback from their peers on those elements. Second, students will then observe others’ performances and give feedback to their peers. Two challenges in one lesson!

The objective of this lesson is for students to explore different ways of analyzing text, to make their character’s lines rich and full of emotion and meaning. This lesson provides three exploratory exercises (which can be used individually as desired) as well as a culminating assignment.

In this real world application lesson students view videos of a theatre profession, complete viewing quizzes, and hand in a Reflection.

In musicals, it is important to remember that acting does not stop when the music begins. In this lesson, students will learn to find meaning behind the lyrics of a song so that they can convey the character’s feelings while performing.

To use theatrical techniques to present a short lesson from another class in a creative and entertaining way. The lessons and methods of presentation are only limited by the students’ imaginations.

Making a first impression is the most important part of an audition. By learning to slate with confidence, students will learn how to introduce themselves in an musical theatre audition.

The objective of this lesson is to introduce the concept of cold reading to your students, and provide them with an opportunity to
practice and perform cold readings within the classroom.

Part of the audition process is preparation. And that is not just memorizing a single monologue or one song. It’s preparing a wide variety of material for a variety of situations. By preparing an audition portfolio, students will be ready for any type of audition that may arise. The portfolio will also help students explore different genres of musical theatre.

Pauses serve a great purpose in theatre. What's not being said in that pause? Here's an acting exercise to use in rehearsal.

Breathing exercises for student actors.

Five things every actor should reflect on before stepping onstage.

Five Steps to Building your Foundation through script analysis.

An audition guide for student actors. Covers choosing, preparing, and performing monologues. Plus - how to process feedback.

Use this actions list for improvs, scene work, and pantomimes

Use these characters in improvs and scenes

Do your students use the same emotions over and over again in scene work or in improvs? Get them used to expanding their feeling horizon with this list.

Looking for new objects for students to use in improvs, mimes and scene work? This sheet has over 200 objects to choose from!

This exercise looks at exploring your script through action words. The idea is to find the “action” in your dialogue. I’m not talking about blocking. I’m talking about visualizing action, injecting movement and life into your performance.

This is a template and example you can use with your student actors to ensure commitment and a clear understanding of expectations across all aspects of a high school production. There is also an example parent/guardian contract included, to ensure their understanding regarding production commitments, including attendance, participation fees, and parent volunteer opportunities. These are both designed to help you communicate with your student actors and parents in order to set your cast and families up for a successful production.

Use this movie moment to teach students about how important it is to play comedy straight and never “wink” to the audience.

Sometimes when beginning actors approach difficult text, they play exactly what’s on the page. If it’s a sad monologue - they play the whole thing sad from start to finish. If they think the character is mad, they’ll yell all their dialogue. There is a time and place to play a moment as written. But more often than not the most powerful option is to play the opposite. A great example of this is Robert Shaw’s USS Indianapolis speech from Jaws.

Teach students how to create a secret scene partner when they perform a monologue.

Pace is an important part of monologue and dialogue delivery. Use this movie moment to teach students about playing with the delivery speed.

Learning lines comes easy for some and not so easy for others. Download these exercises you can use with your students to get those lines down pat.

How can we keep every actor engaged? Give them something to explore, even if they only have one line. Do this exercise with your class or with your cast. Every actor can benefit from learning how to approach a single line.

A guide for teachers to help with their student actors; to find the right balance within an emotional performance, including exercises that can be explored to counteract overemotional acting.

Four key steps to preparing for an audition are outlined in this guide that will help students prepare for auditions.

Tips for becoming a professional actor.

Students sometimes have a hard time with improv because they don’t know where to start. How do I make up lines on the spot? All they need is a little push to get them moving in the right direction. Use picture prompts.

Use these two monologues from the movie Little Voice to discuss status and changing status with your students.

Actors who are about the same age and level tend to have the same challenges. Allison Williams has created this guide to do’s and don’t when competing with a monologue or scene.

Tips for student actors when looking for an agent.

Some professional actors attend an acting school after high school. Some don’t. Which is the right
path? Training is never a bad thing. But there’s no one answer to the kind of training a professional
actor needs.

Young actors fall prey to scams every day. They so want to be in the business, they’ll do anything to make it happen. Unfortunately there are many people out there who know this and will also do anything to get money out of the naive actor. Read this guide to learn how to avoid scams for actors starting out.

Headshots and resumes are necessary. They say what you look like and what you’ve done. If you want to become a professional actor it’s important to know the ins and outs of both. Make them simple and straightforward. No bells and whistles. This guide has all your student actors need to know.

Looking for character duet ideas for students to use in improvs, mimes and scene work? Over 85 pairs to choose from!

A set of six reflection worksheets to use in rehearsals, group activities, and performance.

What steps should you take before you start rehearsals? Use this 8 step handout to get your students ready to rehearse.

This one page handout is a great guide for students to keep in mind when performing the Bard and other classical works.

This 3 page list of active verbs will help to get action out of your actors in a scene. Encourage the actors to play both physically and vocally with the verb.

These resources are designed for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine.
Characters: Ramona (16) and Jenny (16)
Genre: Dramedy

Use this profile to explore the details of your masked character.

Use this rubric to assess scene performance.

Use this rubric to assess monologue performance.

Tips and tricks for preparing a Theatrical Resume - as well as a sample for students to start from.

This resource provides a video example of multiple tactics to spark a discussion with your students.

In groups, students will research a well known acting teacher, give a presentation and teach an exercise.

Rudolf Laban was a choreographer and a dancer. He defined human movement into eight efforts. Each movement has four component parts (direction, speed, weight, flow). Those four component parts have two elements to them (direct/indirect, quick/sustained, heavy/light, bound/ free).

Use these “efforts” to give your students specific choices when it comes to character's physicalization. Choose an effort that defines how they move.

A guide to the four necessary comedic tools for playing Commedia dell’arte: status, appetite, swing, and intention/invention.

Learn the five keys that every actor needs to know when rehearsing a play - designed to help students to their best work.

Use this exercise in the middle of a monologue project, to get students to the heart of the monologue, using improvisation techniques.

A printable poster for your classroom - with some key reminders of the role of the audience.

A printable poster for your classroom or theatre - a few simple rules for theatre audience etiquette!

In Respect for Acting, Uta identified 9 questions an actor should ask themselves as they prepare. It’s all about being as specific as possible. Introduce the 9 questions to your students, and use the included worksheet and reflection.

Use this exercise with the Shakespeare you are studying (or the included monologue) to answer the question: how can punctuation give clues an actor can use to help act the scene?

This exercise encourages students to examine the language of a scene for clues on character action. Shakespeare often tells actors exactly what to “do.”

One of the ways that we can learn about status is by physically playing status in the body. Use these descriptions to physicalize high/low status with your students in the Status Walks Game.

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.

It’s a question that comes up time and time again - How do I get my students to memorize their lines. What strategies do you use? Here are 7 strategies for students to use both on their own, and in rehearsal.

Use these character maps to help students delve deeper into character analysis.

A printable poster for the drama classroom or backstage.

A printable poster for the drama classroom or backstage.

A printable poster for the drama classroom, scene shop, or backstage.

A printable poster for the drama classroom, scene shop, or backstage.

A printable poster for the drama classroom or backstage.

A printable poster for backstage.

A printable poster for backstage or scene shop.

A printable poster to remind students to do a pre-check.

A printable poster for backstage reminders.

A backstage/scene shop reminder for student actors - printable poster.

A backstage reminder for student actors - printable poster.

10 basics for performers to consider when evaluating their theatrical performance.

Tips on monologue blocking for students.

A poster for actors in the drama classroom.

Use this template to track a monologue, including play details, character details, objectives, obstacles, tactics, and more.

This section focuses on some of the fundamental skills involved in acting, movement, voice, and character development, through the lens of LGBTQ+ students.