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Use this lesson plan to introduce to students the act of making a tableau and apply tableau work in groups. Students will start by examining the story of a photo and discussing how they could make that photo three dimensional. They are taught the three elements that make an effective tableau, the different spaces and shapes to use in a tableau picture, and how a group must work together. After exploring tableau through exercises, groups are given a tableau assignment to apply what they have learned.

Use this lesson plan with students who have some background in tableau. Students will apply the tableau form to a nonlinear framework to communicate an emotion, to visualize a word, and to illuminate an issue.

Use this lesson plan as an introduction to onstage physical action. Students will demonstrate comprehension of nonverbal communication by identifying, discussing and demonstrating different aspects of body language. They will brainstorm examples of nonverbal communication. They will practice these gestures in exercises. They will come up with body language for different characters and relationships between characters. Their final task will be to put what they've learned into a short scene and then write a reflection.

The speech is a great gateway to teach students about how to write a monologue. Use this lesson to identify the similarities between a speech and a monologue. Students will analyze a speech, identify what makes a good speech, and learn that the same qualities apply when it comes to writing a good monologue. They will write their own speech in pairs, and adapt their speech into a monologue.

Use this lesson plan to get your students to practice the act of writing theatrical action. It's much different than writing a story. Students learn that in plays characters "do" an action, they don't "describe" an action. Students practice taking prose descriptive sentences and re-writing them as theatrical action. Students are also introduced to proper play formatting.

Use this lesson plan to introduce students to the act of reading aloud in a theatrical manner. Reader's Theatre emphasizes the sound of a piece as it has no costume, sets, blocking, or even memorization of lines. But that doesn't mean the reading is static - students will learn and practice how to incorporate volume, tone, pace, emphasis into a reading as a class, and then as a group assignment.

Use this lesson plan at the beginning of the year to introduce the concept of ensemble and what it means to work together. Part One: Students participate and then reflect on exercises where they have to work together to make the exercise successful. They are given an Ensemble Expectations Handout. Part Two: Students participate and then reflect on exercises where they have to work together as an ensemble in a theatrical context. Here the exercises add elements of character and story such as creating a family portrait, tableau, group objects, one word storytelling, and choral speaking.

Playwrights leave hints and tips in the text as signposts for character building. But how do you find those hints? How do you use them to develop a character? In this lesson plan, students will examine scenes from my plays, identify character development clues, and apply those clues. The included teaching script will show you those character clues so you know what students are looking for. The Scenes are included in the plan as well as a reflection rubric. The analysis areas are: facts and concrete assumptions, sentence structure, and strong forms need strong characters.

Students will practice speaking in front of their peers as they explore personification and emotion in a monologue. After seeing a model exercise, Students choose an object and an emotion as the base for their monologue. Students play the part of the object and decide on a story that explains why they feel their current emotion. Students demonstrate stage presence, vocal presence and creating a relevant story.

Students use narration, dialogue and mime in this skit sequence where a character teaches the audience to be like them. Each skit has three scenes, two narration/acted out instruction scenes and one dream sequence. The teacher models this activity narrating different scenes of what it takes to "be" like him/her. They include students in the scenes, prompting them to act out his/her narration. The teacher emphasizes how the first two scenes include narration, and then dialogue when students "act out" the activity. The third scene, the dream sequences involves narration as the main character tells their dream, and mime as students act out the mime. Once students have participated in the teacher's model, they are divided into groups and put together a "Being Blank" scene sequences for themselves.

Students create a character and maintain that character throughout an activity. Students create an original character by filling out a form. These characters participate in a speed date round. Female characters sit in an outer circle of chairs. Male characters rotate clockwise through an inner circle of chairs.The characters introduce themselves and talk for one minute before moving on to the next meeting. Teacher pairs students up and in their pairs student plans and present a short improv: The First Date.

Students will understand the importance of raising the stakes in their performance through their objective and tactics. Students will also understand how their choice of tactics, and their intensity, creates emotional shaping in their performance. Students explore tactics choices, obstacles and emotional shaping while playing the “Candy Bar Game.” Students have an objective to get a chocolate bar, but have a variety of obstacles in their way to do so. They have to choose tactics to help them get their objective and explore the emotions that come as they get closer and closer to the goal. An excellent activity to show students exactly what it means to have an objective, to employ a tactic and the emotions attached to doing so.

To demonstrate how modern character development exercises apply to Shakespearean characters. Students apply exercises to a character from Shakespeare by examining at the character’s foreground and background, answering character questions, and creating the character’s physicality. This will demystify the process of preparing a Shakespearean monologue and give students the tools they need to prepare a monologue on their own.

Students will understand how tactics are active and how to use them to achieve their character’s objective. Students consider the tactics they use to get what they want in their everyday lives and then demonstrate how to use various tactics for an assigned objective by playing “Tactic Fairies.” Two students act out a scene, while their "fairies" make them change their tactic 4 or 5 times to get what they want. This instills that a character can't just repeat the same tactic over and over again, or try one tactic and stop. The consequence of certain tactics is also introduced.

Students will learn the details a stage manager must be aware of as well as how to communicate those details in a clear and productive way. Students analyze a work of art to find the visual details required for that “production” and create an organized list to communicate those details. Students then apply those skills to a written script as the stage manager.

For students to learn, demonstrate, and appreciate the use of positive and negative space onstage as they work towards constructing their own Tableaux. Students learn the concept of Positive Space (the space occupied by a performer) and Negative Space (the unoccupied space). They explore the use of positive and negative space when creating a collaborative image on stage.

Use this lesson plan as an introduction to a playwriting unit. This is a two lesson plan unit. Students complete exercises that demystify and reframe the four foundational elements of the playwriting process: Warm Ups, The Idea, Character, and Conflict. These plans are grounded in the statement: “You can’t build a house without a good foundation.” In order to write plays students need to know the basics first.

Students will receive an introduction to neutral mask and explore the importance of the body as a communication medium. Students participate in three exercises that explore neutral mask: Reflecting emotion through the body, Reacting to music, and a short mime that combines an emotion and a household chore. Students will write a short reflection after the activities are completed.

To create and experience an experimental piece of drama that demonstrates the power of juxtaposition through music and interpretation. Students choose a piece of music that has a definite emotional “feel” to it. Students create a scene entirely in mime that interprets an opposing feeling.

Students will understand the use of the tableau as a theatrical device (to make a powerful statement). Students will learn to cooperate as they create both on-the-spot and semi-planned improvisations. In groups, students create a movie poster tableau for an “original movie.” After all the groups have had their turn, each group prepares and performs a scene from their movie.