Theatre Resources

Inspirational Video<3

• A moving message from the Artistic Director of the Guthrie Theatre, Joseph Haj, about the future of live theatre in these complicated times.

Acting

• • Headspace Theatre: This article from Teaching Theatre magazine, written by playwright Michael Dixon, provides all that you need to create a lesson for creating and performing monologues in a unique way. Each actor must use only their head, and the performance must happen in a box. Translates beautifully to the small space and restricted views of each other in virtual meeting spaces. A great exercise for the more experienced actors.

  • Here is a Family Fairy Tale activity that uses tableau and is appropriate for younger students. AND it can be done offline!

  • Practice the art of observation and work on physical character development. 100 Ways to Walk is a lesson based on a very funny YouTube video of a man walking on a treadmill. Students describe the walks, create their own and make a flipgrid video presentation/performance.

  • Here's some great advice about developing and delivering your monologue.

  • Work on your understanding of facial expression by following this lesson

  • Stretch your voice with these vocal resources provided by John Hopkins University

  • If you're already studying a character, curate a playlist of songs that represent your character.

  • Learn and practice a new accent. Record yourself reading a paragraph from a book in that accent.

  • National Theatre: Students can follow along with a Vocal Warm Up series.

  • Try these Animal Walks for kids. It's great for those cooped up at home and are craving movement! This website, And Next Comes L, has lots of resources for younger students as well as special need students. Here is an activity exploring the Five Senses and one for Mindfulness. Using the arts for self care and mental health is key during these overwhelming times!

Improvisation

• • Here are some ideas to brush up your improv skills at home.

  • Drama Machine which creates fantastical scenarios for improv starters.

  • Here's a fun improv game to play online or at home with friends. Slide Show. More ideas from Drama Resource.

  • Viola Spolin Theatre Improvisational Games and exercises online. "Spolin’s work focuses on all aspects of theater. The learning is done with the use of games and exercises with a focus of integrating experience."

Technical Theatre

• • Here is a beginning makeup resource suggested by Amelia who is studying theatre through the Hampton Public Library in Hampton, VA, under the tutelage of Head Librarian, Evelyn Williams. Thanks ladies!

  • Here's a unique props video. How to make liquid props. "In this Behind the Scenes video, TheatreSquared highlights the work of its props master, Brodie Jasch in its T2 Education Series, Tech Tuesday. In this video, Jasch walks viewers through his process for creating liquid props and their containers. Warning – there will be blood!… also vomit."

  • Mat Kizer's Scenic and Lighting Design page has some great tools. Here is the page for the lighting design lab, and be sure to play around with the Drama Machine which creates fantastical scenarios for theatre students to write or design.

  • Scenic painting technique - practice small on a piece of cardboard: videos demonstrating how to paint faux bricks.

  • Theatrefolk is offering a great resource for distance learning technical theatre. Here is a lesson about creating a Costume Vision Board, a Publicity Lesson and a lesson on developing a producer's Elevator Pitch. All this work could be applied to dream shows for next year's season.

  • Feeling crafty? Make some props (a confetti cannon!) with the Old Globe Prop Designer, Dave Buess. Be sure to look at the notes for great prop resources.

  • Try your hand at creating some old age makeup. This is by the pros at Mehron Makeup.

  • Learn to do the makeup from the Broadway musical, Moulin Rouge!

  • Cirque du Soleil 60 minute special has highlights from several of their shows. Other content includes a Get in Shape series and a Color Me Cirque makeup series. Or maybe you just want to learn to juggle from a cirque artist. Explore all they have to offer!

  • Make puppets from recycled items at home, perform with them, video and post to share. Resources:

    • Puppetry Ideas video

    • Jim Henson video on how to make muppets

    • Gyre & Gimble videos on creating and using puppets in storytelling

  • Technical Theatre Tutorials (youtube playlist from AMCA Theatre Company)

  • Smooth-On's makeup effects tutorials

  • Imagineering in a Box is a partnership between Disney parks and Kahn Academy. Students create worlds, design attractions and bring characters to life!

  • If you have Disney+ have a look at the series Prop Culture. A fascinating journey with props from Disney movies and how they were made, used and now restored.

Playwriting

• • Write a mini-musical (using songs of your choice) following this easy lesson

  • Here's one that you can do offline! Check out The Art of Noticing Blog. Adapt the "Observe a Poem" prompt for a scene or monologue. Take a safe, social distance walk around your neighborhood, or even just a room in your home. Pause and really take notice of small things. Use this as your spark for creating. Try it again in a week and notice your different results. Create a series of these, record and share as you like! Play with a partner and compare results.

Shakespeare

• • Shakespeare Unlimited Podcast from Folger Shakespeare Library. Try these: If Shakespeare Wrote Mean Girls or William Shakespeare's Star Wars

  • Walk through the business of producing a Shakespeare show, through creating your own company to fulfilling the tasks of each of the staff (dramaturg, designers, director) in this Production Process Webquest

Responding to Theatre

• • iTheatrics is producing "Zoomsicals" (Zoom musicals!). These are especially appropriate for the younger set. Check out The Big One Oh! Jr., already online.

  • Disney Cruise live stage productions of Tangled and Beauty and the Beast: These are well produced, shorter versions, appropriate for all age levels. Great puppetry in Beauty and the Beast.

  • Read or watch a play for free at Drama Online Library (a repository of playtexts, video recordings, audio recordings, and much more) and

    • Do an analysis of a text using these worksheets from Black Box Education.

    • Review a performance using these worksheets from Black Box Education.

  • Evaluate a performance of your choice found on youtube

  • Select a favorite play, scene, or monologue (or compare and contrast two versions of the same one). What was your criteria?

  • Wondering how to do a digital production? Have a look at this production of Measure for Measure by the Catholic University of America.

Other Skills

• • La Jolla Playhouse Staging Area has lots of great things to engage in as well! Home town players!

  • The Old Globe has great resources! Support the home town players. Pay special attention to the Globe to Go series which is based on the School in the Park model. It's all free!

  • We're zooming around here! Have a look at this link about fun games to play with younger children on Zoom. #itsnevernottheatre

  • Disney has even more resources available. Check out Disney On Stage: Fun Activities to do with your Family at Home. There are some great videos in the "Careers in Theatre" section, including backstage peeks into the London stage production of Aladdin.

  • Try a Drama Class Scavenger Hunt. From the creative minds at Theatrefolk, complete with distance learning adaptations.

  • Beat by Beat Press has come out with some great online resources.

  • How to create an excellent self tape for submission. Truly a skill for all actor's to master. Especially helpful for students creating work to submit for online learning assignments.

  • Have you heard of the Getty Challenge? Choose a painting and recreate it with things you have around the house! Be sure to share your work. Use this to each tableau and then write a monologue or short scene from the point of view of the characters in the image. Go even further and explore beginning, middle and end. What happened right before this image? What happens next? Write a short play and have your family act it out. Share the results online!

  • Create your own drama vocabulary notebook with this template from Black Box Education.

  • Make a podcast at Anchor.fm. It's super easy. Keep a first person account of your experience during this time, after all we're living through historic times. Encourage students to tell stories and share them. Record your ideas about theatre and create a series!

Free Monologue Resources

• Looking for monologue for students to rehearse and perform while at home? Here are links to boys monologues and girls monologues.

• Monologues from Beat by Beat Press with great advice for filming them.

• Backstage.com

• Theatrefolk.com

• Actorpoint.com

• Stage Partners

• Headspace Theatre: This article from Teaching Theatre magazine, written by playwright Michael Dixon, provides all that you need to create a lesson for creating and performing monologues in a unique way. Each actor must use only their head, and the performance must happen in a box. Translates beautifully to the small space and restricted views of each other in virtual meeting spaces. A great exercise for the more experienced actors.

Videos of Interest