Drama From a Distance

Hello and welcome to "Drama From a Distance", my name is Bryan Starchman. I have been teaching high school drama for the past 20 years and I am a published playwright. My plays have been performed over 3000 times in all 50 states and 10 countries and many of my students have gone on to have scenes and plays produced based on what they've written in my classes. I also run an improv troupe called Grizzly Got Your Tongue? (GGYT?) and in the summers I teach a drama day camp for elementary students. As we all face the new reality of teaching from a distance during Covid-19, I realize that drama is going to be especially difficult to teach "online". The first thing I did was create an online play to be produced using digital conferencing software like "Zoom". It is entitled Stuck at Home and is available for purchase through Eldridge Publishing (www.histage.com). While writing this play I realized that I could teach other teachers and students how to create theater from a distance and that would mean drama programs could continue even while sheltering in place. This book is in no way supposed to replace the drama classroom. Nothing can ever replace meeting with a group of excited (or even reluctant) students in a black box space, teaching them movement, lighting, rigging, acting, film criticism, creative writing, improvisation, stage combat, etc. But on those days, weeks, or even months that we are not able to meet with our students "Face to Face" I have created eight weeks worth of lessons to keep students engaged until the time when conditions are ideal and they can return to your classroom. Some of these lessons build on previous ones. Others stand alone. I recommend you start with Week 1 and use what works for you. If you want eight weeks worth of lessons, they are here. If you want to pull some ideas for improvisation or focus on my daily creative writing prompts, you can pick and choose. I also repeat sections each week so that you aren't flipping back and forth trying to find the daily "Warm Ups" or instructions for grading "Improvisations". As you move ahead with me into this uncharted territory of Drama from a Distance, remember what all good directors must focus on when working with teenagers. We must be flexible, we must be focused, we must be ready to think outside the box, and in the end we must be willing to do whatever it takes because the show MUST go on