Pursuing a career in the theater can seem intimidating and overwhelming. In this video from Treasures of New York: The Drama League, students receive advice from successful theater professionals like director Diane Paulus and actress Judith Light. From practical suggestions like staying informed by reading the newspaper, to more general advice like finding one’s passion, students hear from and are inspired by the words of experienced artists.

African-American theatre has a rich long history that is part of the heritage of this art form. This assignment gives students the opportunity to take a deeper dive into one topic personally, and benefit from other student's work in broadening their knowledge of this art form.Student will choose a topic from the choices provided, conduct research, and prepare & present their findings in a 5-minute presentation. The presentation may be done live in a face-to-face class, live in a synchronous virtual class, or recorded for an asynchronous class.

This resource was created by Kayla Henery, in collaboration with Lynn Bowder, as part of ESU2's Mastering the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education and experiential learning.

In this video from August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand the playwright discusses the influence that the blues has had on his writing. The clip also features a performance from Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and commentary from several theater scholars.

“No Hablo Español” explores the conflicted cultural identity of a Latina high school student who can’t speak Spanish. Playwright Rosa Estevez explains why parents born in a Spanish-speaking country might prefer English for their children. People behind the scenes describe the play’s fresh pathways for discussing cultural identity, the importance of authenticity and language, and the role of the dramaturg in advocating for the playwright. The play was part of the New Voices Young Playwrights Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

With a behind the scenes look at the production of Mary Poppins, Jeromy Smith and Lyndy Franklin Smith, founders of the Lexington Theatre Company, describe their partnership, goals, and how they put a show together. Jeromy explains the factors that affect their choice of plays to perform. Lyndy details how a production comes together over the course of three weeks. The collegiate ensemble rehearses music and choreography in a four-day boot camp, then the professional actors join the cast. After almost two weeks of rehearsals, costume fittings, set design, and technical adjustments, the production is ready for opening night.

Andrew Branca, a high school student from Central Academy of Technology and Arts, in North Carolina talks about how he was inspired to write Boal after attending a summer theater workshop on Brazilian theater activist Augusto Boal. Cast members discuss what it was like to collaborate on the playwriting process and why they felt it was important to start a serious discussion on racism and Islamophobia.

Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

Boal is a play written and performed by high school students from the Central Academy of Technology and Arts in Monroe, North Carolina. Boal brings a variety of social issues to the stage, focusing on racism and Islamophobia.

The play was inspired by Augusto Boal, a Brazilian theater director, writer, and politician. Boal was the founder of the Theatre of the Oppressed, a theatrical group dedicated to creating political change.

The performance was taped as part of the High School Theatre Festival during the Southeastern Theatre Conference.

Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

Diversity in theatre has come a long way, and it has a long way to go. This industry has been dominated for far too long by one sector of the population and other stories have not been told. This project encourages the students to tell their stories from their varied and unique backgrounds and share that with their classmates and community. Playwriting is a unique way to tell a story, and this is an avenue that many may not have considered. This project will broaden the scope of the students view on theatre and encourage them to step up and make their voice heard.

Google document outlining the steps for a cross curricular activity between a class studying Shakespeare (in my case it was Theatre) and an Art class (in my case it was Advanced Graphic Design). Students are tasked with designing a
t-shirt using a quote or image from Shakespeare and the school logo and name.

Jeromy and Lyndy Franklin Smith describe their roles in the Lexington Theatre Company. Jeromy, the producing director, focuses on logistics, contracts, and budgets. Lyndy, the artistic director, concentrates on auditions and casting, public relations, and marketing. When a show is in production, the two share directing duties. Collaboration with each other and their staff makes for a successful show.

This is Volume 2 of a textbook for a Fine and Performing Arts survey, an introductory course. It covers Theatre and Cinema.

In this activity from Commonwealth Theatre Center in Louisville, Kentucky, students can write and perform a monologue addressed to a selected emotion describing their experiences with the emotion and why they would like to spend more or less time together. Students will better understand their relationship with their emotions and communicate complex ideas.

A person’s starting line for success is due to a series of circumstances that are outside their control. This unit focuses on economic status as a factor of birth that can determine the opportunities that one can access. My students will unpack their economic identity to (1) examine how their economic status affects access to opportunities and (2) determine the choices they have control over that could increase future financial success. Through a careful examination of this facet of their identity, my goal is for students to identify the limitations that are correlated to their economic status and the choices that they can make to level the playing field between themselves and their wealthier counterparts.

Exploring the American Dream: "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry.The American Dream means different things to different people. By viewing Hansberry's work, "A Raisin in the Sun", students will have the opportunity to identify the different dreams held by the characters in the play and how they are both similar and different.Reflect on the play and fill in the response sheet regarding each character's "dream." Please use full sentences and proper grammar. There is no minimum word count.

This resource was created by Wendie Meyer, in collaboration with Lynn Bowder, as part of ESU2's Mastering the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education and experiential learning.

A class at Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky, becomes a production studio as students learn about filmmaking in Vanessa Miller’s yearlong film course.

Prom night brings an intense moment of connection for two teens, unleashing a flood of texts and social media posts. Things start to move rapidly. How much does this relationship really mean? “Friday,” written by Hannah Schmidt of Fern Creek High School in Louisville, considers the role of electronic communication in the confusion of teen romance. It was among the seven short plays produced by the 2017 New Voices Young Playwrights Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.