Theater Play Teacher Resources

A video, number 44 on the Crash Course Drama and Theater playlist, covers the work of Bertolt Brecht, who believed theater should be more than an escape from reality. Content covers a range of Brecht's styles and includes a summary of...

Plays are meant to be performed! After reading the entire play, invite your learners to choose a scene from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead that relates to earlier class discussion about characters, motifs, and themes to interpret...

Were they worth the wait? Naturalistic Russian plays were hidden for years due to government censors who only wanted to display melodrama. In 1898, a private theater opened and began showing plays not approved by the government. Viewers...

For thousands of years, the dramatic arts played an important role in civilization. The first episode of Crash Course Theater, a high-quality video series, defines and gives a brief overview of the topic. From explaining the difference...

Some of the greatest plays contain only one act. A video, the 36th in the Crash Course Theater and Drama playlist, provides an overview of playwrights connected to the Irish Renaissance, particularly J.M. Synge, who was known for his...

In the Middle Ages, theater left the church of moved outside to a secular stage. An interesting video describes the transition from pulpit to public venue, discussing common plot lines and other aspects of medieval drama. Animated...

Who doesn't love a play where most of the characters die? Such deaths are a defining characteristic of many of Shakespeare's tragedies, the topic of an informational video on the Bard and his works. Along with outlining the plot elements...

Believe it or not, German theater did not become established until years after theater in other European countries. A video describes the history of German theater starting in the late seventeenth century. After a discussion, viewers...

Life doesn't make sense, so theater shouldn't make sense either. A video about the theater of the absurd, the 45th installment of the Crash Course Drama and Theater series, discusses the unique movement in theater history. An overview of...

Believe it or not, Shakespeare wasn't the only British playwright to rise to fame during the Renaissance. Writers other than the Bard make up the content of a video about British theater during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The...

Kabuki and Bunraku may sound like new age exercise routines, but they're actually types of Japanese theater. An informational video describes the history of theater in Japan during the nineteenth century. The resource includes a...

Sometimes it's impossible to keep up with the Joneses. Scholars watch video 48 in the Crash Course Theater and Drama series that describes poor theater, which takes out the typical lights, costume, and sets that rich theater includes....

Welcome to the Renaissance, known as one of the most vibrant periods in the world of theater. An informational video provides a thorough overview of the period, noting key changes that took place on the stage. After a lengthy discussion...

Oh, the drama! According to Plato, poetry is a false representation of reality and, to him, poetry included drama. The Puritans also despised theater, a topic the informational video explores. The narrator describes the controversial...

When it comes to quality theater, Americans were tardy to the party. A video on early American theater, number 40 on the Crash Course Drama and Theater playlist, shares information about plays during the early 20th century.  Discussions...

Artists shattered stereotypes during the Harlem Renaissance. Video 41 on the Crash Course Drama and Theater playlist describes art and theater during the time period with a focus on Broadway plays and musicals written by...

The Aztecs turned the act of making sacrifices into a theatrical production. These native religious practices introduce a video on Pre-Columbian theater. By watching the video, viewers discover the connection between theater and the...

Politics and theater go hand-in-hand. The 39th video in the Crash Course Theater and Drama series introduces plays from the futurist and constructivist movements, including works from an Italian fascist. A summary of "The Storming of the...

Darkness. Murder. Emotion. These traits characterize expressionist theater. A video, number 38 on the Crash Course Drama and Theater playlist, discusses key themes and works from the period. An overview of Spring Awakening, which...

Unless you're singing about a lonely goatherd in the Sound of Music, goats have little to do with theater, and yet the word tragedy comes from the Greek words for goat and song. A video about Greek drama, the second video in the Crash...

Video 37 in the Crash Course Drama and Theater playlist discusses surrealism, as well as symbolism and dadaism in the world of theater. Playwrights the narrator discusses include Maurice Maeterlinck, Paul Fort, Lugne Poe, and Andre...

How did people in the nineteenth century encourage better decision making? Using playwrights to discuss morality, of course! A video on British theater in the 1800s describes sentimental comedy and the common characteristics found within...

Students create and perform folktale plays. In this reader's theater and Asian literature lesson, students work in groups to rewrite Asian folktales into scripts and perform the folktales for their class in a Reader's Theater. Lesson...

Quite a few movies are somewhat based on Shakesperean plays. Can you match them correctly? The title of a movie is given with four Shakespeare play titles to choose from for each question.