Items tagged "Scene Work"

Students are introduced to scene work performance through a simple, contentless scene unit. In this unit, performers will use exercises like “Show and Tell” to learn how to fill in the gaps of a story by creating scenarios and detailed characters with backgrounds. Students will further fill in the gaps by exploring environmental and physical conflict as well as stage business. The lesson “Thou Shalts of Staging” will guide students through basic staging and performance technique.

Students are introduced to scene work performance through a contentless scene unit. Students prepare and perform a contentless scene to demonstrate their understanding of characterization, staging technique, and working with conflict and stage business in a performance context.

In Part 2 of Scene Work, students take everything they learned in Part 1 and apply it to the staging of a scene. Students work independently to block, build character, experiment and rehearse a scene. You can continue the scene work process from Part 1, or if your students have a grounding with scene work basics, perhaps they just do Part 2 of this unit.

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.

The goal for this unit is to give students a process to work primarily on their own to create a staged scene with specific, dynamic blocking and three-dimensional characters. This unit would work well as a culminating project for a semester. In this unit, students will work independently to analyze, block, build character, experiment, and rehearse a scene. Their performance can count as a summative assessment for the class. Material: This unit requires that students have access to scenes from plays. Ideally, students should work in pairs and prepare duet scenes.

In this ELP, students will read a scene, identify the beats, apply action words to each beat, and reflect on how they would use this information to present the scene.

This lesson provides two different exercises for students to try: Silly Statistics (Improv Game) and Serious Statistics (Theatre Exploration Project). The objective of this lesson is to give students the chance to think differently about how scenes can be developed and to show that ideas can come from just about anywhere—even supposedly “non-theatre-related” classes and topics.

Can you tell a great story in six minutes? How about in six seconds? You definitely can. Prior to TikTok, there was Vine—a short-form video hosting app where users created and shared six-second-long looping videos. Even within the limit of six seconds, creators were able to make fascinating and funny content to entertain and educate their viewers. The following lesson challenges students to make a scene and tell a story in only six seconds. They have to make quick, precise decisions and get to the point right away. And, of course, they have tobe clear and easily understood by the audience. Your students can choose to either create and perform a live six-second scene or create, film, and edit a six-second video.

Use this list of locations for improv scenarios and scene work.

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!

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Madeline (15) and Emily (18) Genre: Drama

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Keith (17) and Cameron (16) Genre: Drama

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Shelley and Ben (both 17) Genre: Dramedy

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Devon (17) and Rayden (15) Genre: Dramedy

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Miranda, Counsellor Kelly, Conrad, Ariel Genre: Drama

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Jake, Ken, Moe, Dennis, Karen, Lisa, Joan (all 17) Genre: Dramedy

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Rul (16), Rea (16), Tor (17), Fea (14), Vio (17) Genre: Drama

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Mom (45) and Daughter (17) Genre: Drama

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: John (17), Juan (16), Joe (17) Genre: Drama

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Jo, May, Helen. (all 16) Genre: Drama

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.

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Devour, Image, Purge, Starve Genre: Drama

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Trilby (12) and Charlotte (12) Genre: Dramedy

Use this scene in your classroom for character study, scene work, substitute teachers, performance, Individual Event competitions, and however else you can imagine. Characters: Gerald and Madeline (both 16) Genre: Comedy

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

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 rubric to assess scene writing assignments.

Use this rubric to assess scene performance.

Use these dialogue prompts for improvisation work. Includes characters, location, want, and a first line for each prompt.

Use these first lines prompts (list of 35) for monologue and scene work.

In this exercise students will read a scene in its original form, read a modern adaptation, and then compare and contrast the two.

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

The actor has to only ask one question—what does the character want to do? (Bill Ball, A Sense of Direction) • The to-do part is essential. It leads to action, and action is at the core of the acting process. • That’s why it’s called acting, not talking. • The to-do provides the character with a purpose. This resource offers a list of potential 'to-do's to apply to scene work.

Obstacles are the barriers and limitations the character must overcome to achieve their goal. • Obstacles can be internal, such as emotional, psychological factors. • External obstacles include an “other.” • Obstacles are not limitations. Plays are about characters in conflict, characters in crisis. • Obstacles spark creativity. This worksheet helps actors define the obstacles in their scene work. What stops YOUR character?

A collection of 15 scenes in which no two characters get within six feet of each other. Use them to explore the physical and emotional distance between people - what causes us to stay apart? Great for class work and competition, and where social distancing is required in class.

Best practices for staging scenes in the drama classroom.