A student learning to work on stage sets needs to become familiar with standard materials and equipment, the ways in which they operate, and ways to piece them together to create a set for a scene. This package contains the following three lessons for acquainting the learner with such information: resources and equipment, piecing together some…

Outlines a basic approach to "Readers Theatre," the communication of literature in a theatrical context. Contains the exercises "Sardines Today!" which promotes awareness of poetic setting, and "Dress Up Day!" which presents an opportunity to explore the role of suggestive costuming. (PRA)

To assist educators in effectively teaching the works of such a critical author as William Shakespeare, this Digest identifies and describes some of the most significant and useful online resources. The digest notes that the sites were chosen on the basis of their technical excellence, purpose, content, authorship, and general usefulness for…

This booklet provides instruction, for the director of junior high and senior high school plays, in the effective arrangement of characters on stage. Suggested exercises include the construction of still-picture tableaux on stage (using scenes from fairy tales and Chekhov's "The Bear") and the implementation of "blocking"…

The purpose of these lessons is to provide learning experiences which facilitate junior high and senior high school actors' mastery of stage movements when working with scripts. Suggested exercises include practice in finding motivation for actors' stage movements, acting a scene (from "West Side Story"), and interpreting and acting scenes of…

Once an actor or actress has gained experience with basic stage movement and speech, convincing character portrayal may be the next skill to be developed. This package is designed to provide a deeper understanding of character development through careful reading, research, thought, and experimentation. The two related lessons--from research to…

Intended to aid teachers in charge of implementing drama programs, this guide (in French) is to be employed in conjunction with the "1992 Second Cycle Secondary Drama Program of Studies" (Alberta, Canada). The guide's sections are as follows: (1) Introduction; (2) L'Adolescent; (3) Securite (discussing both emotional and physical…

This paper provides 18 lesson plans that use educational technology for instruction in the visual and performing arts in secondary schools; these lesson plans were developed as part of a workshop held in the State of Washington in May 1988. The lesson plans were developed to follow the format of State of Washington Superintendent of Public…

Designed as a practical guide for teachers, this handbook presents ways of introducing drama and movement into secondary school curricula. A basic program for a movement class is offered, based on three objectives: one's own movement, secondary or underlying motives, and the balance of freedom and discipline. In the first section of the book,…

Developed with the recognition that many playwrights have theater in their blood (e.g., Eugene O'Neill was the son of a famous actor), the three lessons in this package present, through experience, the fundamentals of dramatic structure. These lessons for the beginning playwright focus on elements of dramatic plot, conflicts, and crisis and…

The curriculum guide is an instructional package designed for beginning pre-college drama students with hearing impairments. The seven lessons emphasize work requirements in the theater as well as an understanding of drama. Each lesson includes a list of lesson objectives, materials provided, materials and equipment needed, and vocabulary…

Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that adapting part of a novel into a dramatic reading makes students more intimate with the author's intentions and craft; and that a part of a novel may lend itself to various oral interpretations. The main activity…

Intended to foster playreading skills in high school students, this lesson plan can be used to teach the essential ingredients of a play in a single class period and can be used verbatim or adapted as desired. The plan includes a phase for motivating student interest in reading plays, a discussion of the skills needed for reading a script, and a…

Developed in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Broadway theater, this guide provides activities that encourage middle, junior, and senior high school students to use newspapers to answer questions about 22 plays. Detailed lesson plans are included for three Broadway hits: "Cats,""Les Miserables," and "Jelly's…

This teacher's guide, the result of a 3-year Title 3 project, is a sequentially arranged program designed to introduct high school students to acting and to provide them with an understanding of the uniqueness of dramatic literature, particularly Shakespearean drama. The processes of the theatre are explored, introducing improvisational exercises…