Enhancing English Skills Through Interactive Drama Activities:

Example lesson plan with standards

Have you ever considered how actors should walk onto a stage? Not only do these activities provide an engaging and creative outlet for students, but they also offer a unique opportunity to improve their language proficiency in a fun and immersive way using 21st-century technology, best teaching practices, national core art theater standards, and more…

Drama Lesson Plan: "Three Entrances" Technique by Uta Hagen

Grade Level: 6th Grade

Subject: Drama

Duration: 55 minutes

Objective:

By the end of the lesson, students will understand Uta Hagen’s "Three Entrances" exercise and practice making strong, purposeful character choices through physical movement, emotion, and imagination.

Materials Needed:

• Open space for movement

• Whiteboard and markers

• Notebook or paper for students

• Props (optional, such as a chair, a book, or a bag)

Lesson Plan:

1. Warm-Up Exercise (10 minutes):

• Objective: To get students physically engaged and prepare them for character work.

• Lead the students through a “walk-around-the-room” activity where they explore different paces and moods (e.g., walking with excitement, walking with hesitation, walking as if they’re sad).

• Discuss: How does changing the way you walk change how you feel? How does it change how others might see you?

2. Introduction to Uta Hagen’s "Three Entrances" (10 minutes):

• Explain that Uta Hagen was a famous acting teacher who created exercises to help actors bring characters to life on stage.

• The "Three Entrances" Exercise:

  1. This technique helps actors make every entrance purposeful, showing the character’s journey before they even speak.

  2. Key Question: What happened to the character right before they entered?

• On the board, write the following three situations for the entrances:

  1. Enter as if you are entering your home after a long, tiring day.

  2. Enter as if you have exciting news to share with someone waiting inside.

  3. Enter as if something shocking just happened before you came in.

3. Demonstration of "Three Entrances" (5 minutes):

• Have a volunteer or two demonstrate walking through an imaginary door based on one of the scenarios.

• Ask the class to observe: What do they notice about the character based on how the student enters the room? How can the entrance alone tell part of the story?

4. Activity: Practicing Three Entrances (20 minutes)

• Split the students into small groups of 3-4. Each student will take turns entering the room or space three different times, based on different given circumstances.

• Instructions:

  1. Before each entrance, imagine what has happened to you right before you enter.

  2. Choose an entrance style based on what you’re feeling, what you’re thinking about, and what your physical state might be.

• Example situations:

  1. You just won a prize at school and are coming home to tell your family.

  2. Look up a song, and physically do the meaning of the lyrics.

  3. You’re nervous about a surprise test you just had and need to relax.

5. Group Feedback and Reflection (10 minutes)

• After everyone in the group has performed their entrances, the group will discuss:

  • What did you notice about the entrances?

  • What emotions were clear from the way the character entered?

  • Did the entrances feel different from one another? How?

• Come back together as a class and ask for volunteers to perform one of their entrances in front of the group.

• Provide positive feedback on how each student conveyed their character before speaking.

6. Reflection and Discussion (5 minutes):

• Ask the students to reflect on the following:

  • How did it feel to enter a space with a clear character goal in mind?

  • What choices did you make about your physicality and attitude?

  • How can you apply this exercise to other parts of acting?

7. Conclusion and Wrap-Up (5 minutes):

• Review the importance of making entrances purposeful in acting. Uta Hagen emphasized that characters don’t start when they speak – they start as soon as they enter the stage.

• For homework, assign a written reflection:

  • "Describe a real-life moment where your ‘entrance’ (into a room or situation) felt important. How did you act or feel before entering, and how can you use this experience in your acting?"

Assessment:

• Participation in entrance exercises.

• Observation of purposeful character choices during the activity.

• Reflection on how the "Three Entrances" exercise impacted their understanding of character development.

This lesson introduces Uta Hagen’s "Three Entrances" technique in a way that engages middle school students by focusing on physical expression, imagination, and reflection.

National Core Arts Standards for Theater (NCAS) – Grade 6

1. Creating:

• TH
  .1.6.a: Identify solutions to design, technical, and acting challenges in a drama/theater work.

  • Students experiment with making their entrances purposeful, solving the challenge of how to communicate a character's internal state physically.

2. Performing:

• TH
  .1.6.b: Experiment with various physical choices to communicate character in a drama/theater work.

  • The "Three Entrances" exercise directly aligns with this standard, as students try out different physical entrances to embody their character’s emotional state.

3. Responding:

• TH
  .1.6.a: Describe and record personal reactions to artistic choices in a drama/theater work.

  • During feedback and reflection, students share how they interpreted their peers' entrances and discuss how those choices affected the overall performance.

4. Connecting:

• TH
  .1.6.a: Explain how drama/theater connects oneself to a community or culture.

  • Students reflect on how their own experiences (substitution) can inform the way they portray a character’s entrance, drawing on personal and cultural context.