Daily Grade - Lesson Plans
Major Grade - Presentation
DUE:______________
THEATRE HISTORY TEACHING UNIT
You and your partner will "teach" the rest of the class a lesson on Theatre History. Your
lesson will be based on one of the "Our Theatre Heritage" units from the text (no two pairs will
do the same lesson). Lessons will last 15 minutes each.
You may choose to use one or more teaching techniques (some are listed below).
Use your imagination and creativity - remember how you like to be taught and how you learn
best.
Teaching techniques include: lecture, questions & answers, worksheet, discussion,
participation, overhead, puzzle, game, etc. (remember you aren't limited to these techniques).
While you teach, you must include certain things:
 What was happening in the world at that time
 How did theatre relate to or reflect society at that time
 What (if any) lasting effect did this have on the theatre (how might we "see" the effects
in theatre today)
During your presentation YOU MUST:

present something tangible to the class (i.e. posters, handouts, worksheets, puzzles,
notes, overhead pictures, etc.)

present information gathered from a source or sources other than the text
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have a review to see if the class understands what you've taught.
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show some sort of "example" of what you're talking about (this could occur at any point
in the lesson)
You must also turn in "Lesson Plans" for your unit that includes:
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title of unit
outline of how you plan to present lesson
copy of any handout given (and answer key if applicable)
instruction sheet for game if one is to be played
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IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER:
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Don't just read - teach! Explain it - Put it into your own words
Plan everything even how you will set up and get ready
(who will do what)
If you play a game be sure to explain how it relates to your unit - or why we're playing it
Be careful about having your students do too many things at once (i.e.- listening to
notes and answering questions, from a worksheet at the same time)
"Candy" rewards are OK, but use them sparingly and wisely
You may use notes (or note cards) but only as a reference
GRADES will be based on:
1. Do you know and understand the information?
2. Did you get that information across to the students?
3. Did you have all the "necessaries"?
 something tangible
 information from another source
 a review
 complete lesson plan
 an example
4. Imagination, creativity and clarity
5. Accuracy in information, handouts, notes, etc.
6. Organization and energy during presentation
School of
Theatre Arts
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THEATRE HISTORY PROJECTS
Pre History
Storytelling -- origin stories, etc.
Storytelling -- student written
Ritual ceremonies -- create a list of rituals that are a part of our lives today.
Task related movements and language
Event related movements and language
Symbolic language and items
Rituals and their meaning for “watchers” - “performers
Greek Theatre
Choral readings
Mask making
Theatre models or drawings
Scenes from Greek plays
Original scenes -- ex. Typical family going to the play festival
Roman Theatre
Scenes from Roman plays
Masks or costumes
Original scenes -- ex. Architects and builders planning to “adapt” a Greek theatre or working on a
colossal entertainment venue. Typical Roman audience etiquette.
Medieval Theatre
Model or drawing of a medieval wagon
Original Morality, Mystery, or Miracle play
Original scene -- ex. Clergy actors or congregation members discussing plays
Eastern Theatre
Noh, Masks and costumes -- Kabuki, makeup and costumes -- Chinese Opera costumes
Model stage or drawing
Original scenes -- ex. Father training son to take Kabuki role, audience members attending a play,
modern day person attending a “traditional” play today.
Paraphrase of Chinese, Sanskrit, Noh or Kabuki play or original script using typical eastern
themes
Italian Renaissance Theatre
Masks and costumes
Scenes from Commedia based plays such as A Company of Wayward Saints
Model stages, theatres
Scenes involving stock characters
Original scenes -- ex. Troupe of commedia dell’arte discussing a new scenario, audience
members at a neoclassic play, playwrights discussing versimiltude
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Elizabethan and Jacobean Theatre
Model theatre or drawing
Scenes or monologues from plays
Paraphrase of plays
Costume
Original scenes -- ex. Groundlings and wealthy theatre patron discuss a performance. Actors
discuss past or upcoming production.
French Neoclassic Theatre
Costume
Makeup drawing
Model proscenium arch theatre or drawing
Scenes or monologues from plays
Paraphrase play
Original scenes -- ex. Richelieu discussing building his theatre or adapting a tennis court,
aristocratic patron discussing upcoming production with members of an acting company.
Restoration and Eighteenth Century Theatre
Make and learn to “use” Restoration hand prop (fan, handkerchief, parasol, snuff box)
Theatre model or drawing
Costume
Makeup drawing
Write a contemporary comedy of manners
Paraphrase play
Original scene -- ex. Actors discussing serious vs. frivolous play or Charles II’s decree about
actresses, stage hands discussing theatre machinery, the raked stage and/or special effects.
Romanticism and Nineteenth Century Theatre
Scene from play
Paraphrase play
Original scene -- ex. Life in the Kemble household (Sarah, John and perhaps parents and other
siblings), theatre technicians discussing the new gas lights and special effects, and/or
historically accurate costumes, Romantic acting lesson.
Theatre model or drawing
Realism and Naturalism in Theatre
Scene from play
Paraphrase play
Original scene -- ex. Playwrights, actors, or audience discussing the “isms” or the new motion
pictures, Traveling players taking their show on the road
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Twentieth Century Theatre
Scene from play
Paraphrase play
Write original script using Symbolism, Expressionism, Futurism or Epic Theatre style.
Original scenes -- ex. Actors being trained in the Stanislovsky system, Actors/singers discussing
the new musical, Actors and technicians worrying about movies and TV, Theatre
Technicians discuss innovations in theatre equipment.
General
Masks through the ages
Women actors throughout history
Changes in the theatre building or place
Changes in the stage or playing area
Advances in special effects
The Music of Drama
The Role of the Director
The Story of Stage Makeup
Time Lines
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THEATRE HISTORY GROUP PROJECT
Objective: To research and to teach the class about a specific period of Theatre History.
Directions: Complete the following research project with your group, assigning different parts
of the project to each member of the group.
1.
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH: Read the section of the textbook concerning your specific
time period, finding other points of research (play titles, playwrights, etc.) from other
sources.
2.
RESEARCH: You will find additional information about your time period in other books
in the classroom or in the library and information available on the internet. Locating this
information must be done outside of class if not completed during the class time given
for research.
3.
ORGANIZING THOUGHTS: Write an informal paper (rough draft) of all the things you
have learned about your specific time period. Include playwrights and titles of their
plays, any significant changes from the previous theatre period (types of stages, use of
actors, special effects, etc.) and any important historic events of the time period. Note
your sources at the end of the paper.
4.
PRESENTATION: Prepare a presentation of the material covered in your research
(due ___________) to teach the class about your specific time period in theatre history.
Each member of the group should participate in the presentation. Make the
presentation exciting, interesting, and informative. Keep in mind the techniques that
help people learn and remember information. A visual, such as a poster, costume,
drawing, etc. will only help your grade. There will be an overall group grade and
individual grades given.
OUR
THEATRE
HISTORY
PROJECT

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THEATRE HISTORY TIME LINE ASSIGNMENT
Objective: To research, create and present to the class a time line of a specific period of
Theatre History.
Directions: Complete the following research project with your group, assigning different parts
of the project to each member of the group.
1.
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH: Read the section of the textbook concerning your specific
time period, finding other points of research (play titles, playwrights, etc.) from other
sources.
2.
RESEARCH: You will find additional information about your time period in other books
in the classroom or in the library and information available on the internet. Locating this
information must be done outside of class if not completed during the class time given
for research.
3.
ORGANIZING THOUGHTS: Produce your section of the time line using the information
you have learned about your specific time period. Include playwrights and titles of their
plays, theatre buildings, acting styles, and any significant changes from the previous
theatre period (types of stages, use of actors, special effects, etc.) Place this
information at the top of the time line and important historic events of the time period at
the bottom. You must include pictures of theatres, actors, costumes, masks, etc. A list
of your sources is due when you present your section of the timeline.
4.
PRESENTATION: Prepare a presentation of your timeline (due ___________) to teach
the class about your specific time period in theatre history and add to the “class
timeline.” Each member of the group should participate in the presentation. There will
be an overall group grade and individual grades given.
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Theatre History and Style Terms
Greek Theatre
Dionysus
Thespis
skene
Oresteia
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Aristophanes
Aristotle
tragedy
comedy
Commedia Dell Arte
Renaissance
Arlecchino(Harlequino)
Pantalone
Brighella
Capitano
Columbine
Iazzi
Elizabethan/Shakespeare
public theatres
pit
private theatres
The Globe
revenge tragedy
tragicomedy
histories
Puritans
French Neoclassic/English Restoration
neoclassical
French Academy
Moliere
Theatre-Francaise
the Great Rebellion
Restoration Comedy
comedies of manners
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Modern Theatre
Antirealism
symbolism
expressionism
surrealism
absurdism
existentialism
Samuel Beckett
Eugene Ionesco
Edward Albee
Epic Theatre
Presentationalism
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Theatre Traditions and Myths
1.
The phrase "break a leg" is used to wish each other good luck, even though it seems to
be a contradiction in terms. No one knows for sure who coined it, but there are several
theories: One is that, since the great actress Sarah Bernhardt got by on a wooden leg
(she actually wore one only briefly), a performer would be lucky to be like her. More
likely, it derives from Hals-und Beinbruch, a German phrase meaning "may you break
your leg and neck"--which was intended, with typically heavy Teutonic humor, to ward
off "the evil eye."
2.
The phrase "in the Limelight" came about because at one time, lime was used on stage
lights to take away the warm glow of an ordinary electric bulb and to produce an effect
more dramatic and unusual. This was usually done with an overhead spotlight that
shown on one main star at certain moments during a stage play. Today "to be in the
limelight" means the same thing in a metaphorical way: to have all the attention focused
on a certain person.
3.
The phrase "to steel someone's thunder" usually means to deprive someone of his/her
due credit by "beating him to the punch," the phrase was first used in 1709 when a critic
and playwright named John Dennis devised a successful form of imitation thunder to be
used as a sound effect in his own play, Appius and Virginia. The play was a flop, and
just a few nights after it closed he attended a performance of Macbeth in the same
theatre, and during the performance the thunder sound effects he had invented were
heard. In a violent passion, he rose from his seat and cried out, "See how the rascals
use me! They will not let me play run and yet they steal my thunder!" The expression
caught on, and ever since it has been used to mean stealing credit for another's
accomplishments.
4.
It is bad luck for an actor to change costume in which he/she has found success. If the
play has a long run the same garment is often worn until it becomes threadbare.
5.
The Witches' Song in Macbeth is believed to have the power of casting evil spells.
Hence, the seasoned actor seldom choose to play this part.
6.
To hum the Witches' Song from Macbeth where a fellow actor can hear it will mean that
you are likely to lose his or her friendship.
7.
Actors will not go on a stage where there is a picture of an ostrich or peacock.
8.
Actors will never repeat the last line of a play at rehearsal, as it is considered an ill
omen for the upcoming opening of the play.
9.
If the handle of a wrong door is turned while seeking entrance to the theatre manager's
or an agent's office it is taken as an omen of failure. To correct this the applicant must
return home and start out fresh the next day.
10.
Should an actor stumble over anything while making an entrance, they will forget their
lines.
11.
Should a costume catch in the scenery as an actor is entering the stage, a new
entrance must be made, or else bad luck will follow throughout the entire performance.
12.
After the performance should an actor kick off his/her shoes and have them alight on
their soles, it is considered a good omen. Should they fall on their sides, however it is a
sign of bad luck.
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14.
Actors will not allow green or yellow to be worn on stage. Green is said to be unlucky for
both the play and performance, while yellow is believed to create memory loss while
learning a part.
15.
Actors believe that wigs bring luck and will go out of their way to wear one even though
the part does not call for it.
16.
Should an actor's squeak upon making an entrance, it's seen as a sign of audience
approval and applause.
17.
For another to look in an actor's mirror while he/she is putting on their make-up is
considered unlucky.
18.
Should a cat run across the stage during the play, misfortune is sure to follow.
19.
An actor must never look at the audience from the wrong side of a drop curtain. It is
considered unlucky and highly unprofessional.
20.
The peephole through which an actor looks out at the audience must be in the center.
If it is placed to either side it will bring bad luck.
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