Benedict Hastings (Robert Walton) and Billy Irving (The Creature) in Frankenstein | Blackeyed Theatre | © Alex Harvey-Brown
Looking to add a Halloween twist to your lessons this October?
We've pulled together a selection of spooky Digital Theatre+ content and seasonal activity ideas to help your students explore topics like fear, the supernatural, and classic villains.
Whether you're teaching theatre, ELA, or planning some creative enrichment, these ideas are a great way to bring a spooky spark to your classroom.
Create a Halloween Tableaux
Why not use freeze frames to recreate an iconic horror moment? Great examples include Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 1, and Hyde's transformation in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
- In pairs or small groups, have students choose a spooky event from a play you have studied. Print out the extract from the text, and ask them to mark the beginning, the middle, and the end.
- Students should then work to create a tableau for each moment. Make sure they are thinking about what the characters will be doing at each moment – who is demanding attention? What's going on around them? How close together or far apart would characters be?
- Ask each group to present their tableaux. The rest of the class should decide if the relationships are clear based on where they've positioned themselves on stage.
This activity helps students to develop their skills and understanding of physical storytelling, emotional expression, and interpreting dramatic tension. Find out more about creating a tableaux in How To: Rehearse Workbook.
Demonstrating Costume Design | © Digital Theatre+
Set a Costume Design Challenge
Pick a villainous or 'spooky' character from a play you have studied – think The Creature from Frankenstein or Miss Havisham from Great Expectations.
In pairs or small groups, students should discuss how they imagine the costume for their chosen character. Make sure they consider things like the time of year the story is set – does this person spend a lot of time in the cold?
This activity helps students think about character interpretation, visual storytelling, and serves as an entrance point for textual analysis. Spark inspiration for this activity with our e-learning video Demonstrating Costume Design.
Dive into Mask and Identity
Characters often use disguises to mask their 'villainous' intentions, like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol or Iago in Shakespeare's Othello.
In the case of Iago, he falls into the archetype of 'deceiver', a common role in plays of Shakespeare's time. He presents himself as a weary, sometimes crude but extremely loyal soldier, and it is this image of an unwaveringly honest person that allows him to deceive people.
Why not ask your students to design a mask (either literal or symbolic) for the villain of their choice?
Xine Yao | We Wear The Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Analysis © Digital Theatre+
Bring this activity to life with this recital of Paul Laurence Dunbar's 'We Wear The Mask'...
'We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.'
Looking for more spooky ideas for your next theatre lesson? Book a demo of Digital Theatre+ today!