Frequently Asked Questions-Drama Notebook

I’ve been teaching drama for twenty years. Is this site just a compilation of everything I’ve already seen?

No. While you may be able to find some of it, the majority of material is fresh, original work that took seventeen years to compile and new lessons are added all of the time.

No. While you may be able to find some of it, the majority of material is fresh, original work that took seventeen years to compile and new lessons are added all of the time.

Your time is valuable. Why spend hours searching the internet, finding broken links, a handful of basic drama activities, or incomplete content when you could easily have thousands of pages of high-quality drama materials at your fingertips? Even if you click away from this site today, promise yourself that if you do not immediately find what you’re looking for, that you will come back and at least try Drama Notebook.

Absolutely yes! Having a theatre background is a plus, but the lessons and activities in this site are easy for almost any teacher to understand and follow.

Join for as long as you are teaching, then cancel. Come back if you start teaching drama again. Many members are teaching drama for only part of the year, or in after-school settings.

It would take an individual or a district many years and thousands of dollars in workshops, books and training to develop what is readily available on this site. We have several different very affordable options here.

The author of Drama Notebook believes that educators and artists, especially those who work with children, are making an incredibly meaningful contribution in this world and she wants to keep it affordable. Plus, most teachers join thinking that they will get some good ideas and stay for a month or so, but then they find that the site is incredibly valuable on an ongoing basis and they decide to stay for a year or more. That said, there are limits to how much you can download/print per month, so you can’t just join for a month, take everything you want and then cancel. There are no limits on downloads with the yearly membership.

Group licenses for school districts, after-school providers, children’s theatre companies and other organizations are available at discounted rates. Read more about group licenses here.

Can I pay for one membership and then give the password out to my entire staff or school district?

No. Drama Notebook has a “virtual” security guard who alerts us when there is an account sharing violation.

Most drama activities work for ages four to ninety! Drama Notebook materials are perfect for students ages 5-18.

Are the materials in Drama Notebook designed to comply with common core standards?

Yes and no. Standards vary according to municipality; however, they tend to be quite broad for theatre. You should be able to easily find materials in Drama Notebook that will satisfy your requirements. But the lessons are not formatted with the obligatory page and a half of administrator-speak at the top. If you’re in a position in which you must prove satisfaction of standards, you’ll have to add the appropriate assessment metrics in yourself. NOTE: Janea does author custom-lesson plans for various organizations and districts that do include compliance assessments. Contact her directly with your needs.

Drama Notebook is PCI compliant. An independent assessment agency performs a monthly scan on the site and has deemed it safe for visitors/members. If you have any technical problems, please contact us immediately. There is usually a simple solution!