© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg.

1
 Classroom Management Strategies!
Overview
Drama class not like regular school. Students are learning on their feet, interacting with others,
making discoveries on their own rather than being “taught.” A certain degree of organized
chaos is not only acceptable, but warranted in a successful drama workshop.

That said…there are times when the energy level of the class needs to shift. Sometimes
students become highly energetic and lose their focus. Sometimes they are bored and not
staying on task. When these instances arise, you’ll want to have some innovative strategies that
can bring students back to their center.

The first rule of great classroom management is prevention . If students are enthusiastically
engaged in a learning experience, they do not spin out of control or distract themselves out of
boredom. Here are some ways to prevent chaos while nurturing creativity:

Rules
A great way to present the rules is to have the students tell you what the rules are. Students
already know. You may want to write down what they say on a poster board and have each
student sign it somewhere. Put the poster board up whenever you hold class.

You may wish to say something like, “Okay, now, we are going to go over the rules. But I don’t
like to be the one to make the rules. How about you guys decide what our rules should be!”

Students will always give you a great set of rules. You can add “Be kind and supportive to one
another.” Or “There are no wrong ways or wrong answers in acting!” You may also wish to call
the “rules,” something else, like “agreements,” or “laws.”

Here is an example of a list of rules:

Be kind and respectful

No talking when the teacher is talking
Only one person talks at a time
No hitting, pushing or shoving
No one is allowed to go behind the curtain on the stage
Be supportive of one another

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 2

 Consequences
Establish consequences during the first class. You
may wish to say something like, “If anyone breaks the
rules, they will have to sit out for five minutes, or
during the next activity. All of the activities are really
fun, so it’s sad when someone has to sit out. This will
happen to at least one person in this class. Just make
sure it isn’t you.”

Sometimes younger students who sit out do not stay

put. One thing that works is to give the student a
piece of paper and a drawing instrument and instruct
him/her to draw a picture of the offending behavior.

Whenever a student re-joins the group, he/she must

apologize for the behavior and promise not to do it
anymore. Explain the importance of building
“ensemble” in the theater and that everyone must
work together to be successful.

If you are teaching an after-school drama class, make

it clear that students who are not able to follow the
class rules will not be allowed to remain in the class.
Excuse students who are extremely disruptive directly
after the first class. When informing the parents,
address the behavior itself and say something such as
“Johnny interrupted class repeatedly and was not able
to follow instructions. He is not ready for drama. He
may not continue in this class, but we can try again
next year.”

Extremely disruptive students often NEED something

like drama, but drama, or an after-school class is not
the proper environment for these students because it
works to the detriment of the rest of the class. Never
feel badly for excusing a student, instead, feel good
about the choice you made on behalf of the rest of
the students. Additionally, the person who is excused
may learn a valuable lesson about his/her behavior
and the consequences he/she will encounter as a
result.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 3

 When Someone Breaks the Rules…
Give Immediate Consequences
Swift justice is the key to a well-organized class. Students will test your boundaries almost
immediately. If you have laid out rules and consequences, make sure you stick to them without
wavering. Students will watch how quickly you follow through with another student, and will be
extra aware of their own behavior.

Here are some creative ideas for consequences-

Statue Time Out

Actor must stand like a statue of her choice, on the side lines during the next game. If
she moves or talks, she must remain a statue for another game.

Behavior Pantomime
Actor must sit out the next game, but before being allowed to rejoin the group, she
must silently act out the offending behavior, then silently act out what she’s going to do
from now on.

Picture of Behavior
Actor must draw a picture of the offending behavior during time out, and share it with
the class with a statement about how she will conduct herself for the rest of class.

Actor’s Promise
Create a ritual for letting the actor back into the circle. The actor who had a time out,
must make a statement upon re-entry. The group can come up with what this is, but it
should be something like “I promise to try harder to honor the group and our play.”

TIP-Upon re-entering the circle, and making amends, the whole group
should say something like, “Welcome Back Amanda!” This is an
important step, as it acknowledges the apology, and brings the group
closer.

Have an Ejector Seat!

Excuse Certain Students
Drama class is often a very exciting undertaking for students. They tend to enter with “birthday
party” energy; it’s normal to experience the students as being less focused than in other
classroom settings. It’s important to establish clear expectations and to deliver swift justice,
when agreements are broken. Students will test boundaries, especially on the first day. That
said, occasionally there will be a participant who is simply not ready for drama. When a student
is repeatedly disruptive despite consequences, he/she can derail the experience for all of the
other students. For this reason, it is important to be able to lovingly excuse the student early
on.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 4

 An Ounce of Prevention…
For Drama Clubs--Put a Message Such as this on Your Flyer:

“Great actors are patient, kind and follow directions. We are protective of the
workshop environment and the experience of each participant and will excuse
students without refund who are repeatedly disruptive. If the student you are
enrolling has difficulty following directions or focusing, he/she may not be ready
for drama. Call our office if you have questions/concerns.”

Observe Students during the First Class

Be aware of any students who seem to take a large amount of your energy.

Get Your Administration on Your Side

If you are teaching in a regular classroom or school-day setting, try your best to get your
administration to back you up and allow you to excuse students who are repeatedly
disruptive.

For After-school Drama Situations--Call the Parents Directly After the Class
Say something positive about the child and then describe the behavior(s) you encountered:

“I’m calling about drama class today. Alex is very creative and
has a lot of energy. He had trouble today staying quiet with
other students were performing and he kept going behind the
curtain when I asked him not to. When I had him sit out during
one of the games, he chose to climb up on the high pile of gym
mats and jump off over and over. In order to give everyone a
positive experience of drama, it’s important that students follow
the rules we agreed on. We have two options at this point. Since
it’s the first class, we can excuse him and issue a refund. But if
you think he is capable of focusing better in the future, we can
have him try another class. We do ask that a parent or care-
giver attend the next session to help him follow directions. But if
the behavior persists, we may have to excuse him, and will not
be able to offer a refund. He just may not be ready for drama.
What would you like to do?”

(Certain adjustments to the consequences may have to be made

according to different school settings or organizations. Perhaps a
student will have to have study time instead of drama, or join
another part of the after-school program.)

Don’t Feel like You Failed

Remember, the experience of the class overall is more important than the needs of one
student. Most teachers are very good-hearted, and will continue trying to help a student
with chaotic energy at the expense of the other class members. However, the very act of
excusing a student from a program that he was excited about can be a valuable life-lesson,
and may influence him to make changes that allow him to function better overall.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 5

 Rules for the Drama Teacher…
Be Firm and Consistent
After you set up your rules, role-play how each applies, and stick to the consequences right
from the start. Look for the positive things going on as well! Recognize and praise!

Establish Routines
Students want and need to know the routine or procedure for such things as beginning class or
ending class. There is a collection of opening and closing class rituals on Drama Notebook.

Reinforce Positive Instead of Punishing Negative

Catch students being attentive and cooperative, point it out and reward them with praise or
some small token.

Present Appropriate Material

Make sure the activities are presenting are age-appropriate and engaging to students. Often,
the right material merely means activities you are personally excited to share with the students.
Students feel your enthusiasm, and are more likely to focus when they can tell you are having
fun.

Give Clear Directions

Pretend you have never heard of the game you are
about to play, and give directions from the very
beginning. Before play, ask students if they
understand. If necessary, share an example or do a
trial run.

Model Good Behavior

If you do not want the students to be angry or
aggressive, do not yell or raise your voice or get
angry.

Over-prepare
Have plenty of activities for each day. Begin a
meaningful activity or project that the students can
talk about with their parents or friends that evening.
Don't be afraid to start right into your curriculum.
Keep things structured, but allow flexibility for
extending activities from which the students are truly
benefiting.

Mix it Up
You’ll want to balance your class with group games where everyone is involved, taking-turns
games where players go one at a time, and performance activities where some players are
onstage and some players are in the audience.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 6

 Have a Signal for “Quiet”
You may want to find something more magical than holding up two fingers or saying “one, two,
three, eyes on me.” These are commonly used in classrooms, and can get worn out. In other
words, they are booooring. Here are some more creative ideas, or feel free to make up your
own!

Call “Actor’s Neutral”

This is a stance in which the actor stands up straight, feet hip-width apart, arms
hanging loosely, looking straight ahead. Think of it like “Attention!” in the army.

Sing Your Request

“When I need your attention I sing!” When you sing, everyone must turn into a
statue. Statues are made of stone, they do not move and they do not talk. If
someone is still moving or talking by the time you’re done singing, they have to
sit out the next game.

Turn to Stone
When you freeze, the rest of the class has ten seconds to catch the freeze.
Everyone becomes frozen like icicles. If they are not frozen by the time you
softly count to ten, they are out for the next activity.

Play Dead
Lie on the ground. When this happens, everyone has ten seconds to die. If they
aren’t dead by the time you count to ten, they are out the next game. At the end
of this one, you have everyone lying there, ready to listen.

Clap a New Rhythm

Or sing a song. Teach the class how to finish your rhythm or sing your song.

DSS
This stands for Do Something Silly. When you the students attention, stand in
place and start making a repeated weird motion such as slapping your forehead.
As soon as the students see you, they must freeze in place and make a weird
(silent) motion. Give a prize for the silliest movement of the day.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 7

 Make the Space Your Own…
Establish Spatial Boundaries
Drama class is often held in a space other than a traditional classroom, larger spaces tend to be
better for drama class. If you must work in a classroom, you’ll want to move the desks aside to
create an open playing space.

If you are holding class in a gym, cafeteria, music room, auditorium space, start by clearly
defining rules of the space. Create an area where you always “circle.” Create areas for students
to work in small groups. Create a “stage” and an audience area and explain that when actors
are onstage, they must stay within the boundaries of the stage during their piece (even during
action or running scenes). If you are in a gym, younger students will have an impulse to run
while rehearsing their piece and even while performing it. Make sure it is clear that all action is
to take place on the “stage.”

Tips for Containing the Space

Mark off Your Stage

You may choose to use blue tape, orange cones, bean bags, lines on the gym floor, or
other “marking” devices to create the stage.

Create Small Group Circles

When students need to sit in small groups, working cooperatively, you can bring in
several hula hoops, place them around the room and have the students choose one to
sit around the perimeter to plan their play.

Separate Alex from Joey

Have students sit in some kind of order when
they are in a circle. This keeps problem
students away from each other and gives
students something to focus on when they are
asked to join the circle.

Shrink the Gym

Particularly in larger playing spaces such as
gyms and cafeterias, it may be necessary to
make the space smaller.

For younger students, say something like:

“We are going to use this half of the gym for

class only. I want you all to imagine that on
the other side of the green line is a forest full
of strange creatures, most of whom bite!
Therefore, we will not be going past the green
line during drama class!”

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 8

 Stop “Counting Off.”
Avoid “counting off” to create groups, or having students pick their own groups. Counting off is
boring and students try to outsmart you by counting first and moving to be with their friends.
Asking students to find a partner invokes immediate feelings of rejection in some students.
Instead, use these creative techniques for getting students into pairs or small groups!

Space-walk
Lead the students in walking about the space in the room. Instruct them that when you ring the
bell or stop the music, you will call out an instruction “put two elbows together.” Students must
find another student and put their elbows together. You can do this as many times as you like
and stop at a point where they are in the size of groups you need (two, three, four, etc.) Other
examples of things to call out: six feet together; two hands; four heads; eight knees; groups of
three based on hair color; groups of four based on color you are wearing on top; groups of two
based on length of hair; groups of three based on eye color,
etc.).

Animal Space Walk

Have the students move through the space as if they are
their favorite animal. Find another person who you think is
the same animal (for pairs). Find two other creatures that
move the same way you do (threes). Become crows (or
snakes, or whatever is related to what you were just doing).
Touch the tip of your wing to one other bird. You now have
a partner for the next activity.

Wild Kingdom
This game is filled with laughter and fun with the intention of forming the participants into
groups of 4 - 10. Before class, make slips of paper with various animals on them (cow, pig, cat,
dog, etc.). Decide how many students you want in each group and make the appropriate
number of slips of paper. For example: If you need groups of four, make four slips with cats,
four slips with dogs, etc. Let students pick a slip out of a hat. Tell the participants not to show
their animal to anyone else. Then tell students to move about the room making the sound of
their animal. They must find the other matching animals.

First Names
Have everyone count the number of letters in their first name. Now ask them to find someone
who has the same number of letters. Those two are now partners. If a person can't find
someone let him/her use another name s/he is called by (i.e., a student named Matthew may
use the name Matt and then look for someone with 4 letters instead of 7.) If they still can't find
someone pair up with a person who has the closest number of letters.

Find Your Family

Students each get a slip of paper with “Jones-Dad,” “Smith Brother,” “Hernandez Mom,” etc.
They must find the other members of their “family.” (Be sure to only put in as many family
members as there are students in the class.)

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 9

Playing Cards
Decide how many groups you want and what size. For example, if you would like to have 5
groups of 5 and you wanted to randomly put them into groups then get 5 Kings, 5 Aces, 5 2's,
5 Jacks, and 5 Queens (of course you will need more than one deck of cards) and shuffle them
up. Pass them out and match up the five who get the Kings, Queens, etc.

Playing Cards Pairs

Count the number of students in your group and pull the appropriate number of pairs
from a deck of cards. Hand out the cards face down to the students and instruct them
to find their partner without showing their card. Make sure to put some jokers and face
cards in the mix! If you have an odd number of students, create one group of three.

Seven Dwarfs
Divide students into groups of seven and have them each choose to be one of the dwarves
from Snow White (no duplicates). You may want to bring a poster board with the names of the
dwarves on it. Then tell them to disperse into groups of like-dwarfs bringing all the Grumpy’s in
one group, all the Sleepy’s in another group and so on.

“Choose someone you’ve never worked with, or don’t know very well”
This is one circumstance in which it is alright to have students select their partners. Students
don’t feel left out when they are asked to find someone they don’t know.

Opposites Attract
Ask players to pair up with someone who is different from them in some way, examples:
boy/girl; tall/short; long hair/short hair; blond hair/brown hair; blue eyes/brown eyes; etc.

Similarities
Quickly make a series of statements and ask participants to raise their hand if this is true of
them. Examples include: I am a Leo; my favorite color is purple; I am a basketball fan; I have
brown eyes; etc. The first two people to raise their hands are partners and do not respond to
any more statements. In the case of ties, move on to the next question.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 10

 When Things go Badly Anyway…
Play an Extreme Focus Game
If energy is particularly scattered, stop the activity and play an extreme focus game such as:

Counting to Ten as a Group

The entire group must count to 10 together. Only one person at a time may call out a
number. If 2 or more people speak at once, the group must start at the beginning
again. Discourage solutions that make the problem easy to handle, such as raising your
hand before talking or going in a pre-determined order. Hold on to the restrictions and
the sense of fun will emerge automatically. Groups seldom tire of this game.

Point Nod Move (On Video on Drama Notebook)

Participants in a circle. One person starts by pointing to another player who “nods.”
Player one, who pointed starts moving toward player two to take her place. Player two
must point to another person and receive a nod before getting up to take that player’s
place. (This game may also be played in chairs.)

TIP- Even though it is fun when the teacher plays along, try and
stay out of the game so you can act as a judge. This avoids
disputes about how much hesitation is too much and whether
people adequately become their animals. (It's not fair if "it" is
caught because she is really being a slug and the "goose" isn't.)
Have the new person be "it" each time, whether the old "it" is
caught or not. That way everyone gets to play. The students
understand that the real point is the animal pretending.

Statues (aka Wax Museum on Video on Drama Notebook)

Establish a playing space with boundaries. This is the inside of the museum. Players find
their own space and wait for you to call out a type of statue.

Rock Stars
Cheerleaders
Aliens
Ghosts
Dogs and cats
Monsters
Farm animals
Teenagers
Busy executives
Noah’s ark
Bodybuilders
Police and criminals
Halloween
Kid’s choice

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 11

 Choose one player to be the museum visitor. Teacher/lead player is the curator. He
invites the visitor into the museum but warns her that he thinks that one or two of the
statues are real, because someone has been eating his Cheetos. (Make up a different
story each time.) The visitor must be on the lookout for statues that move. But the
statues do not want to get caught. Statues try to move only when the visitor isn’t
looking. Statues can follow the visitor or merely shift their stance. If the visitor sees a
statue move, she calls out the person’s name and that person is out. There is a rule that
whomever she calls out is just out, and that person can’t argue. That means that the
visitor must be extra careful to only call out people she actually saw moving, not a
person she just knew moved. Play continues for a few minutes. Then the visitor gets to
pick the next visitor.

Zip Zap Zop (On video on Drama Notebook)

This is one of the most famous theater warm-up games. It combines quick thinking with
fast movements. Before you play, practice jumping, clapping and pointing at the same
time. (Okay, since you can’t actually clap and point at the same time, practice jumping
and clapping, and pointing right after you clap.) The second thing that you need to
remember is the title of the game, in the right order: zip, zap, zop. Stand in a circle. One
person starts by jumping, clapping and pointing to someone as she says, “zip.” The
person she points to jumps, claps, and points to someone else saying “zap.” The person
she points to then jumps, claps, and points to someone saying “zop.” The person he
points to then jumps, claps and points to someone saying, “zip.” The game continues
until someone gets out. If you don’t say the right word, you’re out. If it’s not clear who
you pointed to, you’re out, so be sure to make eye contact and point directly at the
person. If you pause or wait too long when it’s your turn, you’re out. When a person
gets out, you may have a seat and help judge when others get out by breaking one or
more of the rules. Variation: When players get out, they can turn into “mines” by staying
in their place, but crossing their arms over their chest. If a player still in the game points
to one of the “mines,” he is out too.

Slow Motion Race

The winner is the last person home. Once the race has begun, the actors must never
stop moving and every movement should be executed as slowly as possible. Each
“runner” should take the largest step forward she is capable of on every stride. When
one foot is being moved in front of the other, it must pass above knee-level. In the
process of moving the foot forwards, the actors must stretch their bodies right out so
that in this movement the foot will break the equilibrium, and every centimeter it moves,
a new muscular structure will appear instinctively, activating certain dormant muscles.
Another rule, both feet must never be on the ground at the same time. The moment the
right foot lands, the left must rise and vice versa. Always with one foot on the ground.

Who Started the Motion?

Players stand in a circle. One player is sent from the room while
another player is selected to be the leader who starts the motion. The
outside player is called back, stands in the center of the circle, and
tries to discover the leader who is leading the other players through
different motions (moving hands, tapping feet, nodding heads, etc.)
Leader may change motions at any time sometimes even when the
center player is looking directly at the leader. When the center player
discovers the leader, two other players are chosen to take their places.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 12

 More Sneaky Tricks…
Roll the Dice
Just for fun, you can go to the post office and purchase two white square mailing boxes.
Assemble and put the appropriate dots on them (you may have to tape them together). Use for
deciding how many times the class will play an activity, or how many people get to go this time,
etc. Allow the students turns throwing them.

Monitor Groups
Drama class involves many instances where students work in small groups. Make sure you are
always circulating among the students, coaching the members of each group.

Call “Curtain” and “Scene”

Demonstrate to players that before they perform, they will call “curtain.” A play taking place in
the theatre begins when the curtain opens. Since we aren’t using a real curtain, the stage
players will wait until the audience is ready, then one of them will announce, “curtain” when the
stage players are finished, they will call “scene.” Ask audience players to not raise their hands
(if it is a performance where the audience is guessing something) until the stage players are
finished. This is distracting to the performers.

Let Students be in Charge

When players are onstage, let them wait until the audience
is ready. When audience players must guess something after
a performance, or give feedback, let the stage players call on
the audience members. This helps you create a self-
organized group.

Guide Students into Quiet

At the end of a “space-walk,” have the students become
stones/pebbles. They sit or curl up on the floor and are
silent. At the end of a movement activity, have the students
turn into freshly fallen snow. These are just examples of how
you can end activities purposefully at a place of rest and
quiet. They are then told to remain silent while you describe
the next activity.

Issue Compliments
Before asking students to disperse for a short time, or to find
their own corner in the room, or do any activity that requires
them to distribute themselves about the space or to retrieve
something and return, say something like “I know that your
parents raised you to be civil, cooperative members of
society who don’t run, scream or interrupt each other. So, I’d
like you to walk silently to a place in the room…” This is fun
to play with because you can offer different compliments
each time, even making them humorous. “I know your
parents didn’t raise you to be wild beasts…”

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 13

Students Choose Next Players
When students are done performing their scene, have onstage players pick which group goes
next. If you are playing an onstage game that requires two or more actors, let each actor pick
his/her replacement. This takes pressure off the teacher. Keep reminding “Only raise your hand
if you have not had a chance to play.”

Colored Squares of Paper

When appropriate, especially during longer drama activities or camps, you may bring small
squares of colored paper. When you see a student behaving well, hand them a square of
colored paper and have them put their name on it. Put the squares in a fish bowl and draw a
winner at the end of the day who wins a prize. This one is great for substitute teachers. This
one works like magic and students catch on right away!

"I'm Watching Someone"

At the beginning of class, tell the class that you are going to be watching two students in
particular to see how their behavior is. Do not tell them who those two students are. If these
students behave well and doing what they are supposed to, the entire class will be given a
special treat at the end of class (extra time to play a game of statue or murder, cookies, etc.).
This really helps ALL of the students behave because no one knows who you have your eye on!
If the result is a positive one, let everyone know at the end who was responsible for the class
privilege. High "fives' go up everywhere! If the result is negative, do not mention the names but
let the students know that we will try again the next time.

Stopwatch/Beat the Clock

A stopwatch is useful for many things. If you need students to form a line, give them ten
seconds. If you need students to put their snack away and come back to the circle, you can
"time" them by giving them ten seconds. If you are doing an activity that has a time limit,
students get a kick out of the fact that you will call "time!" using a stopwatch. Egg timers are
wonderful for timed activities. If you give students ten minutes to write and rehearse their play,
the egg timer dictates the end, not you. You may also use egg timers for "time outs" with
students. Say, "You may rejoin the group after five minutes.”

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 14