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Students will create a character based on a superhero. They are to establish their walk, how they use their super power, how they talk, and know some background details. Once this “public” side is established, students will add in the “private.” What is this superhero like, at home, when they are alone and not in the public eye? There has to be something surprising and unexpected in their presentation.

This lesson assumes that students have been introduced to the Choral Speaking Technique and have previously practiced it. Use this Lesson as a Part Two to the Choral Speaking Lesson Plan. Students will apply the tools of Choral Speaking on a historical speech. Students will be asked to reflect on how the speech changes within a choral speaking context. Students will also be asked to apply gesture and unison movement to their presentation.

Students will discuss the theme of a reputation in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Students will participate in activities, scene work and written reflection on the theme. It is assumed that students are in the middle of reading the play or at least have been introduced to the story.

Students will compile modern-day clichés and stereotyped phrases and use these words/phrases to create a scene. The point of the exercise is to take something unfamiliar like the Theatre of the Absurd and identify a point of connection. A technique that we know well (the use of cliche and stereotype) is something Theatre of the Absurd Playwrights also know well. Use this exercise as a precursor to studying The Bald Soprano. You’ll need a scene from The Bald Soprano for the end of this lesson.

Students will discuss and apply dramatically the theme of Traps vs Escapes in Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie. It is assumed that students have started reading The Glass Menagerie or know the story. Use this lesson as a supplemental to your study of the play.

Stage Managers have numerous responsibilities in the production process. This lesson will focus in on the things a stage manager does prior to and during blocking rehearsal from preparing for rehearsal, to taking blocking notation, to communicating important notes to other members of the production.

Lumber is expensive, so just letting the students have a go at building a stage flat could get pricey. Why not let them “try it out” by constructing the cheapest flat they’ll ever make. This lesson plan guides students through the identification and construction of the various elements of a stage flat (both Hollywood and Broadway) using paper, drinking straws, and glue.

In this lesson, students will first work in groups to create a pantomime called “Trapped.” The requirements of the pantomime mimic the elements of plot structure but shhhh, they don’t know that yet. Let them first enjoy the pantomime and then spring it on them that they just learned something.

Improvisation is a great tool for storytelling and getting important concepts across to all students including struggling readers and writers. In this lesson, you’ll use the improv game “Scene Redux” to help strengthen the students’ understanding of main idea and detail as it relates to storytelling.

This is a great exercise to allow students to create original stories. Students literally make a “human story board” by standing in a line and adding in various elements of a story. The story begins with a beginning, middle, and end and then the students add main ideas and details to round out the entire story.

Beware the the Jabberwock! Not really, it’s actually a wonderful poem to use with students to get them to use their imaginations, rely on context clues, and explore word sounds and basic imagery. In this exercise, students will analyze a stanza from Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll in order to create a performance based on that analysis. This exercise is a great springboard into approaching Shakespeare.

In this ELP, students write a series of letters between two characters in a play.

In this ELP, students will study a handout on Ancient Greek Tragedy, take a short quiz and write a reflection.

In this ELP, students reflect on their relationship to theatre using quotes as a jumping off point.

Students will discuss and dramatize the theme “truth and lies.” This lesson plan can be used as a pre-study exercise before a unit on The Crucible by Arthur Miller. You could also use it as a general lesson on the verbal and physical characteristics of the act of a believable lie. A great theatrical exploration!

Sometimes it’s less intimidating for students to approach Shakespeare’s language with a goal in mind. In this exercise students are given a line from a Shakespeare play out of context and asked to create a scene using three tableaux that tell a story. By approaching the language with an active goal in mind, students delve deeper into the language’s meaning and take control of the story.

In this multi-class lesson plan students will construct a character from scratch. They will start with a name, decide on a physicality, come up with personality details based on that physicality and then answer interview questions in character.

Students will compare and contrast a scene from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Lindsay Price’s adaptation Humbug High.

In this ELP, students build comprehension of a play and it’s characters through an external exercise.

Improvising in pairs is an excellent training ground to improve listening and cooperation skills, and to practice exploring character and conflict. Students will read and respond to a Duet Improv introduction sheet, then apply their knowledge through pairs Improv exercises and reflect on the experience.