Monday, June 20, 2016
One thing that often comes up in student writing is that characters only seem to exist from the first page to the last page. Students don’t think of their characters as having lives outsid…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMMonday, May 30, 2016
If you study theatre history, it is a given that Shakespeare will make an appearance. But it’s not a given that you will hit upon 17th Century France and the works of Molière. What was th…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMSaturday, May 28, 2016
How do we connect students with theatre history eras that are difficult to relate to? Theatre is all about change. Not only do we want to look back and identify origins, but it’s important…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMMonday, May 23, 2016
If you’re going to study theatre history, Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Era are two of the most fascinating topics to study. But time and time again students (and teachers) resist agains…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMSaturday, May 21, 2016
If you want students to learn the elements of a theatre history era, there’s no better way than to study a scene from a play that exemplifies that era. For example, look at the principles …
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMMonday, May 16, 2016
Theatre History is a necessary unit in any drama curriculum. To understand where we are, we have to explore where we’ve been. For example, to understand the role of the actor, it’s impor…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMSaturday, April 30, 2016
Have you heard of Tech Challenge (sometimes it’s called Tech Olympics)? Teams compete in common tasks that every technician should know and/or participate in during the run of a show. Some…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMSaturday, April 16, 2016
Six Tips to Keep Your Students in Stitches Many modern teen plays can be easily costumed from the closets of the cast or (even more simply than that) jeans and show t-shirts. But if you’re…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, April 5, 2016
Episode 154: Come With Us To Kabuki If you’re going to teach a Theatre History Unit, one of the areas you may include is Japanese Theatre: Kabuki, Noh or Bunraku. Theatrefolk co-owners Lin…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, March 29, 2016
Episode 153: Directing Mary Poppins Artistic Director of the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre Todd Espeland directed the musical Mary Poppins last fall. How did put his own stamp on the musical? …
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMSaturday, March 26, 2016
Uta Hagen held a lot of influence in 20th century American Theatre. She made her Broadway debut in 1938 in Anton Chekov’s The Seagull. She also acted against Marlon Brando in A Streetcar N…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMMonday, March 21, 2016
One approach to character development is to identify the difference between what characters want and what they need. Sometimes students get the two mixed up. Which is more important? Do play…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMSaturday, March 19, 2016
Characters come to life in the small details, the little things like personal preference, food, or music choices. These two exercises can help student actors discover those details and reall…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, March 15, 2016
Episode 152: Reflecting Forward On Theatre School Grae Greer is in the middle of her last semester of her theatre program at Marshall University. Why did she choose Marshall? What were h…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, March 1, 2016
Featuring you – the theatre educators that work so hard for your students. We’re proud to present the Drama Teacher Spotlight! Want to join? Just click here and tell us about you…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMEpisode 151: Reflecting Back on Theatre School Jesse Wilson was born in LA, started acting at an early age and was accepted into Juilliard. He was on track to becoming a traditional profes…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMSaturday, February 27, 2016
Student actors tend to keep their limbs close to the body. When we think about creating physical pictures on stage, one of the easiest ways to present depth is through extension. How can we …
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, February 23, 2016
We have a great community of amazing playwrights here at Theatrefolk that contribute to our collection of middle and high school plays. We hope you’ll enjoy this peek behind the curtain…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMMonday, February 22, 2016
Whether adjudicating for a full length or a monologue competition, one of the most frequent comments I make is that students need to work more at developing the physical side of their charac…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMSaturday, February 20, 2016
How do we communicate without words? We communicate without words every day. A frown and crossed arms communicates a clear message, as does a nod, wink, or a “come here” gesture. There�…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, February 16, 2016
Episode 150: Using Drama In Other Classes Today we have two playwrights who also happen to be two teachers: Amanda Murray Cutalo is an English teacher(Nice Girl, Typecast) and Taryn Temple…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMMonday, February 15, 2016
Are you playing Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream? One of the seven deadly sins? A banana in an improv scene? A god in a Greek myth? The Lint Roller in The Absolutely Insidious and Utterly…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, February 9, 2016
We have a great community of amazing playwrights here at Theatrefolk that contribute to our collection of middle and high school plays. We hope you’ll enjoy this peek behind the curtain…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, February 2, 2016
Episode 149: Do-it-All Directors Are you a do it all director? Today we talk to a number of teachers who have to do it all. We have high school and middle school teachers and teachers who …
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, January 26, 2016
We have a great community of amazing playwrights here at Theatrefolk that contribute to our collection of middle and high school plays. We hope you’ll enjoy this peek behind the curtain…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMMonday, January 25, 2016
When you’re rehearsing a musical close to performance week, the last thing you want to hear is that one of your students can’t sing. Promoting vocal health in young singers is crucial. H…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, January 19, 2016
Episode 148: Writing Across Genres Today we talk to Treanor Baring who written poetry, plays, novels, and scripts for television. What’s her favourite form of writing? What are the impor…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMMonday, January 18, 2016
If you want your characters to be three dimensional, you have to consider their voice. What words do they choose? What’s the structure of their language? How do they communicate? A charact…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMSaturday, January 16, 2016
Want to get your students working together as an ensemble? Are you looking for a great vocal warm up that will improve their listening skills? Use rounds! A round is a short musical piece in…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, January 12, 2016
We have a great community of amazing playwrights here at Theatrefolk that contribute to our collection of middle and high school plays. We hope you’ll enjoy this peek behind the curtain…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AMTuesday, January 5, 2016
Episode 147: Directing the School Musical Directing a musical is a daunting feat. Directing a musical with students can be overwhelming! In this podcast listen to three teachers talk about t…
SOURCE: Theatrefolk at 01:00AM 
