Performing Classics Teacher Resources

Set this slideshow up at as an independent work station, or to provide your theater arts class with a look at the many manifestations of modern literary drama. Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, and Arthur Miller are the focus of the...

Viewers of a short video learn about the development of the Broadway Book Musical in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Scholars explore the Golden Age of Broadway, which produced classics like Annie Get Your Gun and...

Check out this 21-page text guide if Sophocles' Antigone is part of your course content. Packed with background information, suggested talking points, and activities, the guide is a must-have for instructors using the Greek tragedy. 

Combine music, acrobatics, dance, and mime, and you have Beijing opera. An informational video walks viewers through a timeline of Chinese theater, including the introduction of the opera. Comparisons to other forms of drama throughout...

Drama is ever-present in our daily lives and eloquently depicted on stage. Middle schoolers practice writing scenes based on different prompts and frameworks, and then perform those creative scenes for their classmates. The...

Is it crazy to fall in love with your own work, or is that the purest love of all? Compare two renditions of the classic Greek myth Pygmalion and Galatea with a literary analysis exercise. After students compare the similarities and...

Politics and theater go hand-in-hand. The 39th video in the Crash Course Theater and Drama series introduces plays from the futurist and constructivist movements, including works from an Italian fascist. A summary of "The Storming of the...

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has delighted readers for generations. An in-depth study guide gives an overview of an adaptation of the classic story for the stage. Along with summaries of the plot and key characters, theater...

Aladdin, Disney's Broadway musical comedy, is a magic carpet ride. Prepare your class for a field trip to the show with a study guide that is a treasure trove of activities, cultural connections, and background information.

Here's an eight-page packet that describes 70 different improv activities to use as warm ups for drama classes. 

Historically, members of the upper class provide plenty of fodder for comedic writers. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is no exception, and a study guide for the classic play discusses some of the Victorian social...

Young theatre artists engage in a scavenger hunt to acquaint themselves with set design. The challenge is to search the site and match a separate maquette with each of the 24 clues.

George Bailey learns that it truly is a wonderful life when he discovered how many lives he has touched—not to mention how many new generations of lives the story touches every year. A study guide on It's a Wonderful Life ...

Introduce your young learners to opera by dressing up as Mozart and recounting some of the fascinating details of his life and music. After exploring the Metropolitan Opera's site for kids, the class listens to a reading of Kyra...

Students study Richard Wagner and his idea of "Music Drama". Students listen to his music, pantomime, and lead "music dramas" to discover Wagner's idea of the world of composition and drama.

Students create a sculpture of one of their classmates heads in the manner of the Greek sculptures. They apply the correct terminology into making their sculpture. They evaluate their own project and focus on areas to improve on.

Introduce your class to the Greek tragedy with a study of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. Learners examine the features of a Greek tragedy, Sophocles’ achievements and contributions, and the universal themes that make the drama an...

Students create Valentine's Day hearts in this variation of a classic activity for the early-elementary classroom. The "hands that touch the heart" is a great gift that can be given to family, friends, or fellow students. A materials...

In this history of opera activity, students explore and research what an opera is and then answer four questions regarding the history of opera in complete sentences.

Pupils explore the roles in Noh drama and the significance of Noh masks while creating their own version of a Noh play in this High School lesson adaptable for either the Language Arts or Theater classroom.

Students examine Japanese theatre and create their own face masks which display certain emotions, props, costumes and perform in improvisational theatrical games.

Fourth graders analyze the book Train to Midnight, based on the Underground Railroad. They compose and perform a puppet play based on the book. Students perform and videotape their puppet plays.

High schoolers engage in a lesson looking at a major scene of a Shakespeare play. They assume the role play of being the director and apply problem solving skills in order to conduct the scene. Others must switch roles and take on the...

Students create light bulb Santa's using old light bulbs, acrylic paints, ribbon, and cords in this art lesson plan for the second through eighth grade classroom. This is a great activity to do before winter break. A picture of the final...