Connecticut Gilbert & Sullivan Society
Jobs in the Musical Theater
Much like an iceberg, the actors you see on stage are only a fraction of the number of people involved in a theatrical production. Introduce theatre arts students to the roles played by the behind-the-scenes- personnel with an worksheet...
Curated OER
From Page to Stage
Students, utilizing video clips and Web sites, compare specific passages from original texts to moments in Broadway musicals on which they were based, analyzing similarities and differences between them. They adapt literature into a...
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"Movies That Rock": Moulin Rouge
Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...
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Adapting a Musical
High schoolers transform literature into musical productions. For this integrated arts lesson, students discuss how musicals are written and produced. High schoolers then select literature they are familiar with to adapt into musical...
Thalian Association Community Theatre
West Side Story: Teacher Resource Guide
West Side Story is widely known as a modern-day Romeo & Juliet. Learners read a list of characters from the play and list their counterparts from Romeo & Juliet before completing a vocabulary enrichment activity and word jumble....
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MTV and Othello
After reading Acts III and IV of Othello, give your class a fun, interactive, music-related activity. Begin by asking students about songs they have heard in movies or plays. Let them look up the lyrics online and ruminate about the...
Curated OER
Being in the Noh: An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays
High schoolers read a Japanese Noh play and discuss its structure and traditional characters. They choose a short myth and write a Noh play based on it.
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Studying The American Musical Theatre
Students discover the group dynamics necessary to produce an American musical in this six day lesson. Themes and characterization techniques are explored during collaborative small group research projects.
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"Mambo" from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein
Students encounter and study "Mambo" from "West Side Story," by Leonard Bernstein. They practice utilizing musical elements (instrumentation, tempo, and dynamics) to create a certain mood for a scene with music. Each student interprets...
Curated OER
Chinese Percussion Music
Students investigate Chinese percussion instruments and ensemble performances. They play compositions with Chinese percussion instruments such as small gongs, large gongs and drums.
Tune Into English
America – West Side Story
Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a lesson on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with Anita's assessment...
Busy Teacher
The Phantom of the Opera
It's no masquerade! If Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera is part of your curriculum, check out this three-page packet loaded with suggestions for before, during, and after reading activities.
Curated OER
Noh Theater
Students compare Noh drama to western drama and trace the influence of Japanese theater on modern western drama. In this Noh drama lesson, students read the play Black Tomb (Kurozuko) defining the elements and conventions of Noh drama...
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Noh Theater
Learners 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 instructional activity adaptable for either the Language Arts or Theater classroom.
National First Ladies' Library
Language Arts: The Rise of the Operetta
Pupils develop an appreciation for the musical theater form, the operetta. In addition, they present parodies of songs from The Mikado. Working in small groups and accessing provided Websites, they compose their parodies. Once completed,...
Curated OER
The History of Rock and Roll: Part 8 - The 70's Have a Nice Day - Lesson 2
Students identify the characteristics and elements of large scale rock productions. They examine the similarities between the American Vaudeville shows and the large-scale rock theater productions of the 1970's.
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"War of the Worlds": A Broadcast Re-Creation
Why did Orson Welles' 1938 Broadcast of a adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds cause such a panic? To answer this question, class members listen to the original broadcast and research the panic that resulted. They then engage...
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Artistic Influence - Lesson 3
Students discuss how musicians' messages can influence society. They think of examples of artistic expression in music, the visual arts, dance, and theater that can lead to a society's self-examination.
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Daily Actings
Students view clips of Anna Deavere Smith's work. They interview people on video or audiotape to learn their lines, dialect, and syntax to assist them in theater. They create a play which emulates the people in which they interviewed.
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Inspired by Muses, Graces and Fates
Students examine how artists express the Muses through the arts. In this art and history lesson plan, students work cooperatively to identify the Greek Muses, Graces and the Fates. Students will identify the attributes of each,...
Curated OER
"Carnival Overture"
Pupils assess that music can be used to express feelings and create a story portraying many different feelings based on "Carnival Overture," by Antonin Dvorak. They become more educated listeners as they listen to and interpret "Carnival...
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Learning From Lyrics
High schoolers analyze a song to determine the composer's point of view regarding the subject addressed in the song. They design and create an original visual aid that illustrates the theme of the song. Students identify any social...