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.

Learn how the National Theater conceived a new version of the iconic Balcony Scene in this behind-the-scenes mini-documentary about the making of Great Performances: Romeo and Juliet. During the ongoing shutdown of London due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Theater created a compelling hybrid of theater and film that brings an exciting contemporary perspective to the play.

“Shakespeare’s potential for reinvention is endless,” said director Simon Godwin. “Over 17 days of filming, the company was united by a sense of shared exploration. As well as being given intimate access to the thoughts and feelings of characters, we were able to bring to life remarkable, forgotten spaces at the National Theatre. Desire, dreams and destiny came together to make Romeo & Juliet sing in an entirely new way.”

This resource was created by Terresa Greenleaf, in collaboration with Dawn DeTurk, Hannah Blomstedt, and Julie Albrecht, as part of ESU2's Integrating the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education, practice, and coaching.

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.

These drama activities based around the lives of Crispus Attucks, Biddy Mason, Elijah McCoy, and Bessie Coleman complement our Black History lessons on these figures. Students will script, stage, imagine, and improvise in a series of prompts perfect for theater classes or any other learning context in which creativity and performance are emphasized. This package contains four documents, each containing multiple activities based around the life experiences of these remarkable Americans. The Woodson Center's Black History and Excellence curriculum is based on the Woodson Principles and tells the stories of Black Americans whose tenacity and resilience enabled them to overcome adversity and make invaluable contributions to our country. It also teaches character and decision-making skills that equip students to take charge of their futures. These lessons in Black American excellence are free and publicly available for all.

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.

This resource was created by Jennifer Trenhaile, in collaboration with Dawn DeTurk, Hannah Blomstedt, and Julie Albrecht, as part of ESU2's Integrating the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education, practice, and coaching.

This resource was created by Ross Renfo, in collaboration with Dawn DeTurk, Hannah Blomstedt, and Julie Albrecht, as part of ESU2's Integrating the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education, practice, and coaching.

About the Arts, Care & Connection Lesson Pilot Series: Arts for Learning Northwest collaborated with Oregon teaching artists on the development of this series of four arts courses designed for K-5 students, with integrated social emotional learning content in the areas of dance, visual arts, theater, and music. This lesson is part of a pilot project, and will be shared in its final version in an Oregon Open Learning Lesson Collection. 

This resource was created by Molli Miller, in collaboration with Dawn DeTurk, Hannah Blomstedt, and Julie Albrecht, as part of ESU2's Integrating the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education, practice, and coaching.

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.

This resource was created by Jenny Motacek, in collaboration with Dawn DeTurk, Hannah Blomstedt, and Julie Albrecht, as part of ESU2's Integrating the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education, practice, and coaching.

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.

This resource was created by Megan Reppert, in collaboration with Dawn DeTurk, Hannah Blomstedt, and Julie Albrecht, as part of ESU2's Integrating the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education, practice, and coaching.