Got this off a website but I own nearly all of them and swear by them.
1. Acting in Person and In Style Australia by Carol Wimmer – I use this book a lot when I am teaching monologues, duologues, acting skills (voice workshops). It is also brilliant for teaching a range of performance styles. THERE IS THE ONE PRIOR TO THE '''AUSTRALIA''' VERSION BUT I KNEW CAROL AND HER WORK SO I LOVE IT
2. Dramawise by Brad Haseman – The bible full of exercises for explicitly teaching the elements of drama. I highly recommend this book as a starting point for beginning teachers. REALLY GOOD RESOURCE TO HAVE WHEN ADVOCATING FOR YOUR PROGRAM, TOO
3. You’re On by Rob Galbraith – Another fantastic text with exercises to teach students about performance elements as well as the roles of people behind the scenes.
4. Living Drama by Bruce Burton – This is actually part of a three part series (Making Drama and Creating Drama are his titles for lower secondary drama students) and is best used with senior students. It looks at aspects of drama in a slightly more sophisticated way which is applicable to senior students and their essays. LOVE THIS WHOLE SERIES: CREATING, MAKING, AND LIVING DRAMA; USE THEM FOR VARIOUS AGE GROUPS, BUT USUALLY 7 THROUGH 10
5. Navigating Drama by Richard Baines and Mike O’Brien – A great text for students in Year 9-10 Drama. Some of the particularly helpful sections include the playbuiding chapter and the commedia dell arte chapter. USE THIS A LOT
6. Navigating Senior Drama by Richard Baines and Mike O’Brien – I like this senior text because of its focus on the NSW Drama Syllabus. It has focus chapters on Australian Drama and Theatre which forms part of the theory component of the course as well as a section specifically devoted to some of the Studies in Drama and Theatre topics (Brecht, Greek Theatre and American Drama). It also has good chapters on the Group and Individual Performance units. THIS IS GEARED TOWARD HSC STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA, BUT YOU CAN ADAPT THEM TO NEARLY EVERYTHING
7. Centre Stage by Matthew Clausen – Great teaching suggestions plus some really great templates for teaching the elements of production including costume design and lighting and sound plotting. MAT IS A TEACHER AND MARKER AND HE HAS WRITTEN A REAL 'HANDS ON' BOOK HERE
8. Lighting and Sound by Neil Fraser – everything you need to know about lighting and sound in a simple easy to understand way. Absolute gold.
9. Stage Design and Props by Michael Holt – As above. An absolute gem of a book if you want to learn about set design and making.
10. Costume and Make-Up by Michael Holt Ditto as above.
Oh, and if I haven’t mentioned it before Improvisation: A Guide by Lyn Pierse. Absolutely excellent for anything Theatre Sports or improvisation related. Oh, oh, oh and if you’re teaching Publicity and Program Design try Stage Management and Theatre Administration by Pauline Menear and Terry Hawkins.
Most of these can be purchased on Amazon.
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Lori Constable
Teacher; director of Drama
Independent District 112
Chanhassen MN
Original Message:
Sent: 01-09-2016 08:06
From: Phillip Goodchild
Subject: What are your MUST HAVE resources (books, scripts, etc) for your classroom?
I thought someone might have mentioned it already, but since they haven't, Gai Jones' 'Raising the Curtain' is a wonderful resource.
I also really like 'Technical Theatre for Non-technical people'. Written with quite a bit a snark and wit, it's a great intro text if students are wanting to explore the tech areas of theatre.
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Phillip Goodchild
Theatre Arts Instructor/Assistant Department Head of English
Ruskin FL