Theatre curriculum and drama lesson plans
Your theatre class, already planned.
33 complete units by working theatre teachers. Pick one tonight. Teach it tomorrow.
$199 a year for every unit. No auto-renew. Purchase orders welcome.
- 33 units
- 235 lessons
- 16 teacher-authors
- K–12 grades
- NCAS aligned
Adopted district-wide by New York City public schools.
Teachers make the units great
Meet the teachers who wrote them
33 units written by 16 working theatre educators, the people who teach this every day.
How it works
Pick a unit. Teach from the plan. Watch them perform.
- 1
Pick a unit
Filter by grade and topic, or take a whole ready-made semester. Preview any unit free before you buy.
- 2
Teach from the plan
Every lesson is written out step by step, with printables, rubrics and the standards on the page.
- 3
Watch them perform
Every unit builds to a culminating project or performance. Many units need no theatre background to teach.
Inside every unit
- Lesson-by-lesson plansWarm-ups, activities and discussion prompts, written out step by step.
- Printables and rubricsHandouts, journals and assessment tools you can print or assign.
- Standards on the pageAligned to the National Core Arts Standards, with codes listed lesson by lesson in most units.
- A finish lineEvery unit builds to a culminating project or performance.
Where do you want to start?
Find a unit
Showing all 31 student units · 2 Director’s Guides
Ensemble, SEL & Wellness
Curtains Up on a New School Year!
Building Trust, Community, and Connection
Grades 6–126 lessons
No theatre background needed
Acting & Performance
Intro to Acting
Building Skills, Confidence, and Stage Presence
Grades 6–1210 lessons
Uses a Dramallama play
Acting & Performance
Improv!
Collaboration, Creativity, and the Power of “Yes”!
Grades 6–128 lessons
Theatre Foundations
Middle School Theatre Explorations
A Creative Journey for Emerging Theatre Artists
Grades 6–88 lessons
No theatre background neededUses a Dramallama play
Theatre Foundations
High School Stage Essentials
Advanced Theatre Applications
Grades 9–128 lessons
Uses a Dramallama play
Acting & Performance
An Actor’s Toolbox
Essential Skills for Strong Character Development
Grades 9–129 lessons
Uses a Dramallama play
Acting & Performance
Stand Out!
Audition Training for Student Actors
Grades 9–128 lessons
Uses a Dramallama play
Acting & Performance
Surfing Shakespeare
A Simple Guide to Playful, Powerful Performance
Grades 9–128 lessons
Directing & Dramaturgy
Unlocking the Script
How Actors, Directors and Designers Turn Words into Worlds
Grades 9–128 lessons
Uses a Dramallama play
Musical Theatre & Movement
Movement as Story
Exploring Dance Through Collaboration and Creativity
Grades 6–128 lessons
Musical Theatre & Movement
Intro to Musical Theatre
Telling Stories Through Song and Movement
Grades 6–127 lessons
Musical Theatre & Movement
Musical Theatre Dance for Non-Dancers
Teaching Dance Basics
Grades 6–127 lessons
Playwriting & Devising
Playwriting Basics
Creating a Story for the Stage
Grades 6–129 lessons
No theatre background needed
Playwriting & Devising
Our Monologues, Ourselves
Stories That Shape Us
Grades 9–126 lessons
No theatre background needed
Technical Theatre
Design Team Introductions
It Takes a Village
Grades 6–127 lessons
Uses a Dramallama play
Technical Theatre
Introduction to Stage Management
How to Manage Space, Time, Resources and People in a Theatrical Setting
Grades 9–1210 lessons
Uses a Dramallama play
Technical Theatre
Lighting Design for Everyone
Basic Lighting for Technical Students
Grades 6–125 lessons
Technical Theatre
Introduction to Sound Design
Creating Stories Through Sound
Grades 6–128 lessons
Uses a Dramallama play
Technical Theatre
The Prop Box
Unlocking Creativity Behind the Scenes
Grades 9–128 lessons
Uses a Dramallama play
Technical Theatre
Design Project: Reimagining a Fairy Tale
A Collaborative Introduction to Theatre Design Roles
Grades 9–128 lessons
Uses a Dramallama play
Directing & Dramaturgy
From Ritual to Broadway
An Active, Engaging Exploration of Theatre History
Grades 6–1210 lessons
Directing & Dramaturgy
Teaching Students the Art of Directing
Cultivating Leadership, Vision, and Collaboration in Young Directors
Grades 9–128 lessons
Ensemble, SEL & Wellness
Beyond “Yes, and…”
Communication, Consent, and Class Culture for Student Actors
Grades 6–124 lessons
Ensemble, SEL & Wellness
Social Emotional Learning Through Drama
With a Culturally Responsive Teaching Lens
Grades 6–125 lessons
No theatre background needed
Ensemble, SEL & Wellness
Substitute-Ready Theatre
Creative Continuity in the Classroom
Grades 6–124 lessons
No theatre background needed
Ensemble, SEL & Wellness
Wellness Guide
Gratitude, Presence, and Don’t Forget to Breathe
Grades 6–125 lessons
No theatre background needed
Inclusive Practice
Theatre for the Neurodiverse Classroom
Foundational Storytelling and the Exploration of Relationships for Everyone
Special Education, K–84 lessons
Theatre Foundations
Elementary Theatre Essentials
Building Young Theatre Artists
Grades K–58 lessons
No theatre background needed
Ensemble, SEL & Wellness
Elementary Culture Exploration
Understanding & Sharing Identity
Grades K–54 lessons
No theatre background needed
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Ready-made courses
A whole semester, units already in order. Swap any unit for another.
Ready-made course
Theatre 1 · Middle School
A first-semester course for grades 6–8: ensemble, acting basics, improv, movement and writing.
- Curtains Up on a New School Year!6 lessons
- Intro to Acting10 lessons
- Improv!8 lessons
- Movement as Story8 lessons
- Playwriting Basics9 lessons
5 units · 41 lessons
Ready-made course
Theatre 1 · High School
A first-semester course for grades 9–12: ensemble, character work, monologues, Shakespeare and script analysis.
- Curtains Up on a New School Year!6 lessons
- An Actor’s Toolbox9 lessons
- Our Monologues, Ourselves6 lessons
- Surfing Shakespeare8 lessons
- Unlocking the Script8 lessons
5 units · 37 lessons
Ready-made course
Tech Theatre Semester
Every design and crew role, one unit at a time, ending in a full design project.
- Design Team Introductions7 lessons
- Introduction to Stage Management10 lessons
- Lighting Design for Everyone5 lessons
- Introduction to Sound Design8 lessons
- The Prop Box8 lessons
- Design Project: Reimagining a Fairy Tale8 lessons
6 units · 46 lessons
Ready-made course
Student Directors
Grow student leaders who can run a rehearsal, then put them to work.
- Teaching Students the Art of Directing8 lessons
- Director’s Guide: Applications for Dramallama’s One-Act CatalogComing soon
- Adapting Children’s Books8 lessons
2 units · 16 lessons · 1 guide coming soon
For you, the director
Director’s Guides
Short courses for teacher-directors, not student units.
- Director’s Guide to Blocking6 lessons
- Director’s Guide to Costume Design5 lessons
- Director’s Guide to Creating an Improv TroupeComing soon
2 guides · 11 lessons
Unit in the fall. Show in the spring.
Teach the play you’re producing
Twelve units and guides teach with Dramallama scripts. Performing scenes in class is covered by Dramallama U. Performing for an audience needs a play license, and the Llama Plan covers both.
From teachers using it
What teachers say about Dramallama U
“I like the units that are built clear enough for a beginning teacher, but for us veteran teachers, it also has everything to give us that creative boost to our lessons so they don’t get tired.”
“I really appreciate the jumping point they provide. I LOVE that the standards are listed and I don’t have to jump through hoops for my district to equate them to our state standards. It has helped us build a program and helped to revitalize my teaching.”
“I used the High School Stage Essentials and loved it. I just started a Drama 1 class last year at our High School and this was the perfect curriculum to use.”
“I am currently using the Improv lessons with my beginning acting class, and it’s helping us ease into a topic that can be scary for new actors and improvers.”
“I also enjoyed reading the Director’s Guide to Blocking. It is great to see other experienced directors’ thought sequences.”
“The props unit. I used almost everything in it.”
“I like how they are all complete and ready to use and be implemented.”
“Love that I can download the lessons/units I’ve purchased as PDFs. That is huge!”
“I’m actually such a huge fan.”
Simple, yearly pricing
Dramallama U
$199/year
Every Dramallama U unit and Director’s Guide.
33 units and 235 lessons for $199. That’s about $6 a unit, or 85 cents a lesson.
Best value
Llama Plan
$799/year
Dramallama U plus every full-length and one-act play, with unlimited performances. Unit in the fall. Show in the spring. Musicals are licensed separately, at $1,499 per title.
Getting it approved
Send your principal a ready-made request with the price and standards. Pay by card, check or purchase order. Preview any unit free before you buy. No auto-renew.
Written by people, not prompts
33 units by 16 working theatre teachers
Danielle Miller · Brian Avers · Karen Kidd · Lori Koenig · Brian Cooper · Nicki Shepherd · Anna Beck · Sarah Kate Bode · Nicholas Holstein · Austin Koenig · Helena Ortiz · Amanda O’Donnell · Matthew Peters · Michelle Robbins · Rebecca Stephenson · Alexa Wynschenk-Ring
Dramallama U questions
Can I preview a unit before I buy?
Yes. Every Dramallama U unit has a free preview. Open any unit, click Read For Free and enter your email to start reading.
What grades is Dramallama U for?
Most units are written for middle and high school (grades 6–12). Each unit card shows its grade range. Three units are built for elementary and special education classrooms.
Is it aligned to standards?
Yes. Dramallama U is aligned to the National Core Arts Standards, and most units list the codes lesson by lesson, so you can drop them straight into your plans or hand them to an administrator. Most units use the Theatre standards. Movement as Story uses the Dance standards, Intro to Musical Theatre adds Music and Dance, Playwriting Basics adds ELA writing standards, and the Wellness Guide uses the CASEL social-emotional competencies. The Director’s Guides are training for teachers, so they carry no student standards.
Do I need a theatre background to teach it?
No. Many units are written so a classroom teacher with no theatre training can run them from the plan. Look for the “No theatre background needed” tag in the unit finder.
Can my students perform scenes from Dramallama plays in class?
Yes. Performing scenes in class is covered by your Dramallama U membership. Any performance for an audience needs a play license, which you can get on the play’s page or with the Llama Plan.
Can I pay with a purchase order?
Yes. Choose your plan and request an invoice, or email [email protected]. We invoice within one business day, and your access starts as soon as we receive the PO.
Does it renew automatically?
No. No Dramallama plan auto-renews. You decide each year.
Plan your spring semester tonight.
33 units for $199, about $6 each. Every unit, every grade band, one yearly price.
