1,392 stories from Theatrefolk
Episode 162: Drama Teachers: Tips for Travelling with Students Does the thought of taking 30 or more students to New York or London sound exciting or like a nightmare? At some point in every…
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” -Stephen R. Covey How many times have you been giving instruction in class and wh…
We were lucky enough to speak with two teachers at Northwest Middle School in Flowood, MS – Emily Wright and Genifer Freeman – about how the entire school (even the Principal) go…
We're always asking students to reflect. It's almost like a knee-jerk reaction. Reflect on that exercise! Reflect on group work! Reflect on the unit! Here's a rubric just for reflections! Bu…
Episode 161: Spoken Word Do you have students who just don't want to be in your drama class? How many of you are struggling to find a way in? In this podcast teacher Christa Vogt talks about…
Large drama classes can be lots of fun " they are often noisy, but full of energy and excitement, and the time absolutely flies by. But there are challenges too " with larger classes, it can…
This improvisation game is great for students who are brand-new to improvisation. It focuses on students going with the flow and joining in the scene, rather than trying to one-up another an…
The "show circle" is one of my go-to theatre techniques, no matter whether I'm teaching a drama class or directing a production. Whenever it's time for class or rehearsal to start, the first…
Creating rituals in the drama classroom is a great way to build community and a sense of teamwork " a feeling of "we're all in this together." The most easy, basic ritual is starting each cl…
Episode 160: Student Voices: Competition The topic this week is competition. Lindsay interviews four groups of students who competed with scenes at the Florida State Thespian Festival. How d…
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 outside …
Episode 159: Interview with Stephen Gregg Lindsay talks to playwright Stephen Gregg (This is A Test, Crush, Small Actors, The New Margo, Twitch) about his start down the writing path, his wr…
Devising a brand-new piece of theatre from scratch can be exciting, overwhelming, or just plain scary for students. It can be challenging for students to narrow their focus when there are li…
Are your students feeling stuck or frustrated with their playwriting assignments? This exercise will help get them unstuck by challenging them to explore alternative situations for their sce…
So, you've decided to do some playwriting with your students. Fantastic! But now comes the hard part " actually sitting down and writing. Whether in a notebook or on a computer screen, that …
Scenes from a Bag is one of my most favourite theatre games. It can easily become one of those "takes over the whole class period" games because it's simple and fun for students. This game i…
Episode 158: The Show Must Go On Everyone has a show must go on story. Sets fall, lines are forgotten, sometimes the light board catches on fire. In this podcast we hear a number of differen…
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 thea…
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 t…
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 against …
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 of…
Episode 157: Creating An Environment Teacher Ray Palasz talks about set design and creating an environment. He also discusses a set design project using Sketch Up. You too can include set de…
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 important…
When working with historical theatre pieces by playwrights like Shakespeare and Marlowe, a common complaint is that their diction is difficult for students to understand. One way to help stu…
Commedia dell’arte is a style of theatre that was popular in Italy during the 1500's. It was recognized for being comedic, improvised, and having clear elements: Stock characters inclu…
