Actor Resources – Character Analysis
Enjoy this Character Analysis Worksheet designed for Kids Grades 4-6 In my experience directing as many as 111 young actors, I have learned that it is nearly impossible for one adult (and even two adults) to keep every student fully engaged 100% of the time. I often found myself having to come up with relevant …
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Play recommendation: “Down and Out” by John Patrick Shanley Length 10 min or less Characters 3-5 Age recommendation 9+ “Down and Out” is a short one act by John Patrick Shanley. His play, which is three pages long in my script from Dramatists Play Service, Inc., is part of a compilation by Shanley called “Welcome …
Continue Reading »The Principal’s Desk Vol 4
Idealism in a World Far From Ideal As a young budding musician in high school, I am now slightly ashamed to admit that music was the most important thing to me. The shame lies not in my immature idealism, but in the fact that I would use it as an excuse to get a pass …
Continue Reading »Parenting Your Creative Child Within
I’m a parent, a business owner and a wife. That’s how I would characterize myself if I was pressed to identify who I am in relation to that which places demands on me every day. But occasionally I’m also a singer, director, actor, theater teacher, dancer, party planner and, if I really thought about it, …
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5 reasons theater games are valuable to an actor’s training. I had a friend in college, a fellow theater major, who was a strong actor but a weak memorizer. I don’t say that to be rude — he is a good person and a friend. He was entirely aware of his Achilles heal and would …
Continue Reading »The Principal’s Desk Vol 3
Do the Arts Really Help My Child in Math? I’m willing to bet that most have heard the assertion, if not the research, about the arts and math. A couple of times a year, I hear the question from a parent and it is always difficult to answer. The difficulty lies in whom the child …
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Summer is here! School obligations have ended or have at least tapered off and, no matter where you live or how old your kids are, there will inevitably be rainy days or even late summer days when your kids (and even their neighborhood friends) will lie around your house complaining about how bored they are. …
Continue Reading »The Principal’s Desk Vol 2
Supporting The Arts In a Climate of Financial Crisis In a financial climate that calls for prioritization, sacrifice and often a day to day fight to keep our heads above water, interesting (yet entirely explainable) contradictions appear: Sales of $50 video games remain strong if not increase. The price of gold continues to rise. It …
Continue Reading »Upstage/Downstage
Upstage/Downstage: Why? One of the first lessons that I teach young performers is how to take direction and move across stage. When I say young performers, I am typically referring to elementary school students. However, anyone who is new to the rehearsal process, regardless of age, needs to be able to recognize basic theatrical lingo …
Continue Reading »Ten Playwrights
Ten Playwrights Every Theater Person Should Know If you are a high school student who has aspirations of obtaining a degree in theater or if you are an adult who finds him or herself newly and unwittingly drawn to theatrical pursuits, I urge you to get acquainted with the following ten playwrights. Theater, like fine …
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