Thirty-six pages familiarize scholars with the story and vocabulary of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After reading and listening to an abbreviated version of the holiday tale learners show what they know about the sequence of...

Whether you choose to include Twelfth Night in your course or whether Shakespeare's comedy has been thrust upon you, be not afraid to incorporate an interactive resource into your study of Shakespeare's tale of loss, love, and identity....

The house lights dim, the curtain parts, lights slowly come up, revealing the stage. Before the actors appear, before a word is spoken, the audience is drawn in by the lighting, by the colors, by lines of the set, by the props, and...

Musicals have been adapted from stage plays, novels, and movies. With The Lion King, Disney transforms its animated film into show-stopping, live-action musical theatre. The guide Disney provides to accompany a study of the award-winning...

The world is a stage, and so is your classroom! Hone the skills of the next generation of Tony® award winners with a set of exercises, reference pages, writing prompts, and excerpts from famous plays.

It's a tale of life, retold by a genius, full of sound and fury. Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood takes center stage in a resource that spotlights how the director adapted the characters and themes in Shakespeare's Macbeth to Japanese...

To make the point that there are many forms of language, each with its own purpose, class members select 10 lines from Doescher's play, translate these lines first into contemporary English and then into "SMS/Tweet." 

How does Shakespeare employ figurative language to emphasize central ideas in Hamlet? Using an interesting resource, learners complete a Quick Write to answer the question. Additionally, they continue their study of the play by exploring...

Following a ghost's advice may not be in anyone's best interest, but that doesn't stop Hamlet! Using an interesting resource, pupils continue reading Act 1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which the ghost tries to convince Hamlet to seek...

How can an author's decisions impact a text? Using an insightful resource, scholars begin their study of Hamlet by reading Act 1.1. They explore the language, characters, and setting in small groups. Upon finishing group work, pupils...

What tools did Shakespeare use to develop his characters in the play Hamlet? With the resource, pupils engage in a discussion about how the character Claudius introduces and develops Hamlet. They explain how word choices in Claudius's...

What does it take to build a stage production from the ground up? Scholars read a weekly blog detailing the behind-the-scenes action of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. They also listen to interviews with the cast, meet the...

Why do characters do what they do? Scholars use the resource to explore character motivation in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. Additionally, they discover pictures, interviews, and videos from the Deutsche Bank production of the play. 

Do most people resemble Titania, the fairy queen; Puck, the mischief-maker; or someone else? Pupils take a fun quiz to find out which character they are most like from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. They also explore a weekly...

Emilia mocks Bianca, who is in a relationship with Cassio, who attacks Montano. Using the resource, learners explore profiles of the characters from Shakespeare's Othello. They also read a scene-by-scene synopsis and follow a weekly blog...

Love, deception, witty bante—that's much ado about a lot!  As learners navigate the resource, they view an interactive character map and read character biographies from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Pupils also listen to...

A variety of activities boost viewers' comprehension of Rudyard Kipling's classic The Jungle Book. Discussions, games, writing assignments, and hands-on activities are available for before and after watching the play.  

An engaging video featuring William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is accompanied by six activities designed to reinforce vocabulary, story elements, and comprehension. Scholars match words to pictures, place events in sequential order,...

After watching a three-minute video detailing the life of William Shakespeare, scholars take part in several activities designed to show what they know about the famous writer. Learners read a series of eight sentences and put them in...

There are two distinct periods of African theater: BC (before colonialism) and AC (after colonialism). The 49th installment of the Crash Course Theater and Drama introduces viewers to African dance and theater traditions. However, they...

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....

What a tragedy! Scholars take a close look at Greek tragedy in the form of plays. After analyzing plays, learners think about a play that relates to their own personal anxiety and recreate or reinterpret a scene from that play.

Many Broadway shows, including Hamilton, got their start off the infamous street. Video 47 from the Crash Course Drama and Theater playlist focuses on the creation of Off-Broadway theater. Discussion centers around specific theaters and...

Not all Broadway shows feature exciting kick lines and jaw-dropping ballads. The 46th video from the Crash Course Drama and Theater Playlist talks about the serious side of Broadway. Part of the video covers the work of Tennessee...