Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...

The world is a stage, and so is your classroom! Hone the skills of the next generation of Tony® award winners with a set of exercises, reference pages, writing prompts, and excerpts from famous plays.

Students explain how individual elements (e.g., plot, theme, character, conflict, etc.) comprise the structure of a play. They write an original one-act play with developed characters, specific setting, conflict, and resolution.

Drama and story elements go hand-in-hand. Have the class dive into a dramatic play to show character intention, conflict resolution, main events, and the dialogue in a Hawaiian folk tale. They read the story, then group-up to...

Putting together information gained from their script analysis, their readings, and their research, groups create a conceptual design statement for their assigned scene. The statement explains how their scenic design creates the mood and...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

Introduce young thespians to all aspects of the theater. A syllabus for a one-semester drama course provides lessons that take learners from the history of drama to the many facets of play production.

Young thespians can try their hand at writing a script and acting out a scene, while gaining a deeper understanding of the universal topics presented in Shakespeare's wide array of plays. Begin the lesson by conducting a compare and...

Comparing the more modern film Ten Things I Hate About You to The Taming of the Shrew leads to an understanding of how Shakespearean plots can be applied to modern-day situations and characters. As a culminating activity, groups select a...

Students edit scenes from Shakespeare's The Tempest in documentary fashion and perform their edited scripts. For this play analysis lesson, students read through Act 2 and 3 and discuss how and why to cut lines in a play. Students create...

Learners use Shakespearean sonnets as part of a poetry analysis lesson. In this sonnet lesson, students perform a sonnet by Shakespeare but treat it as a script to be acted out. Learners work in pairs to create motions for two lines from...

While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet.  Although designed for gifted learners, the...

Young scholars participate in a play. For this historical figures lesson, students choose a person from history and take on their role. Young scholars research the character, create historically accurate costumes and work in groups to...

To err is human ... and also leads to some hilarious situations. A script introduces readers to Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, a play full of slapstick humor and other funny elements. Although lacking in activities, the text works well...

High schoolers 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...

Students read "The Golden Ball" and discuss plot and story elements. In this drama lesson, students review script vs. story writing and presentation. Students take turns reading parts of the play and discuss, make paper crowns and...

Students discuss areas of ambiguity in Julius Caesar and analyze the language as a tool to illustrate complex desires. In this Shakespeare lesson, students define subtext and use a neutral scene to act out subtext. Students create their...

Eighth graders create an original scene or short one-act play within specified guidelines. Assessment is based upon the performance of student-created scenes during class time. Rubrics for assessment and connection to state standards...

Fifth graders examine basic theatre vocabulary and use it to discuss a play.  In this theater lesson, 5th graders identify the elements of a play.  Students perform their play and use theatre vocabulary to explain their...

Learners analyze text and utilize outside resources to determine Iago's fate, which is not addressed by Shakespeare in Othello; students present their findings in an organized trial scenario.

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...

Students investigate global geography by researching the country of Scotland. In this cultural investigation instructional activity, students view images of Scotland on a computer and listen to audio interviews about Scottish citizens....

Young scholars construct a critical review of a performance. In this theatrical lesson, students learn why critical reviews are important and create their own critical review. Young scholars discuss their review.