The Backstage Educator
3 Followers
Houston, Texas, United States
About the store
Jessica Huchital is a veteran Theatre educator with over two decades of experience teaching middle school students the power of performance, play, and presence. As the creator of The Backstage Educator, she supports fellow teachers with creative resources rooted in real classroom practice. Jessica holds a BFA in Theatre from Indiana University with a secondary education certification, and a Master’s degree in Theatre for Colleges and Communities from NYU’s Steinhardt School.
She believes that great theatre classrooms are built on trust, structure, and the freedom to take creative risks. When she’s not directing student performances or designing curriculum, you’ll find her going to the zoo, playing with her dog, and spending time with her family.
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What is Pantomime
A comprehensive series of pantomime lessons focused on developing students’ nonverbal acting skills through engaging activities. The lessons begin with mirror pantomime exercises, where partners closely imitate each other’s slow movements to build synchronization, focus, and body awareness. You then introduce basic mime techniques emphasizing stillness, controlled gestures, and exaggerated facial expressions to communicate clearly without words. Through progressively structured warm-ups and part
Not Specific
Drama
From Lip Sync Unit to Performance
The Lip Sync Unit teaches students choreography, expression, and collaboration as they prepare a group routine. The unit ends with a low-cost, family showcase where students perform live for parents. This event gives students the thrill of performance and recognition, while showing parents the value of theatre in a direct, memorable way. It’s an engaging, impactful way to strengthen both student skills and the theatre program.
Not Specific
Drama, Music, Other (Performing Arts)
Foley Unit Lesson Plans
This Unit introduces students to the art of creating live sound effects for radio plays. Using a short script like The Haunted Locker, students are assigned roles and collaborate to produce sounds such as footsteps, creaking lockers, wind, and ghostly wails using everyday classroom materials. The lesson emphasizes creativity, timing, and teamwork as students perform the script while coordinating their foley cues in real time. This engaging activity helps students understand how sound enhances s
Not Specific
Drama, Other (Performing Arts)
Theatre -- The First 3 Days of School
The first three days in a theatre class are crucial for building a safe, supportive environment where students feel comfortable expressing themselves. Many students come in unsure or nervous, often unaware of what the class will require. These early days are designed to break down fear, introduce the unique structure of a performance-based class, establish clear expectations, and encourage safe risk-taking. Through purposeful interaction, students begin forming connections and learning how to co
Not Specific
Character Education, Classroom Community, Drama
Lip Sync Unit -- Lesson Plans and More
In this engaging 2–3 week unit, students build on their pantomime and choreography skills to create and perform a dynamic lip sync routine. Working in small groups, they select a themed song, memorize lyrics, and design choreography that combines expressive and rhythmic movement. Performances require exaggerated facial expressions, teamwork, and stage presence. Students are assessed through song research, lyric preparation, rehearsal checkpoints, and a polished practice performance.
Not Specific
Dance, Drama, Music
Also included in: From Lip Sync Unit to Performance
Performance -- Lip Sync
One thing I learned quickly as a theatre teacher is that in order to retain students and begin building a successful program, it is important to give them the opportunity to perform in front of their parents. The performance is short and sweet, rehearsed in class only and performed in one night. This is a step by step guide on how to create a performance.
Not Specific
Character Education, Music, Other (Performing Arts)
Also included in: From Lip Sync Unit to Performance
Musical Theatre Choreography for non-dancers
This middle school theatre unit introduces students to choreography as “planned movement” through rhythm, expression, and creative formations. Over the course of about a week, students learn to differentiate between rhythmic and expressive movement, practice five foundational dance steps (Step Touch, Grapevine, 3-Point Turn, Pivot Turn, Jazz Square), and build short sequences to music. They explore how choreography uses counts, patterns, and formations to create dynamic performances while workin
Not Specific
Dance, Drama, Physical Education
Using Your Voice
This three-day middle school theatre unit introduces students to key voice vocabulary and techniques through engaging, hands-on activities. Day 1 focuses on diaphragm control using breathing games such as balloon belly breathing, feather float, and bubble blowing. Day 2 introduces projection, articulation, pitch, tone, and volume with tongue twisters, partner games, and expression challenges. Day 3 expands to pause, pace, and inflection, allowing students to explore meaning and expression throug
Not Specific
Drama, Other (Performing Arts), Vocabulary
The Invisible Box -- A Pantomime Activty
The Invisible Box lesson introduces students to mime by teaching them how to create the illusion of pressing against an imaginary wall using precision, resistance, and controlled movement. Students learn step-by-step techniques such as "clicks," sliding hands, and adding realistic expressions to strengthen the illusion. The teacher models a full pantomime performance of being trapped inside a box and escaping by “drawing” a door with an imaginary marker. Students then create their own pantomime
Not Specific
Character Education, Drama
Beginning Theatre -- Moving Pictures
In this two-day middle school theatre lesson, students move from creating silent frozen pictures to building dynamic “human machines” using repeated sound and movement—no dialogue allowed. Working in small groups, they collaborate to bring scenes and movie moments to life, developing physical storytelling, ensemble skills, and stage presence. The lesson follows the structure of Plan, Practice, Perform, encouraging creative risk-taking in a supportive, low-pressure environment.
Not Specific
Drama, Other (Performing Arts)
The Art of the Tableau -- Frozen Pictures
Frozen Pictures are an essential introductory activity in a theatre classroom. They allow students to engage physically and creatively—without the pressure of speaking in front of the class. This lesson helps students build trust and ensemble through movement and group work while reinforcing vital concepts such as audience etiquette, performance etiquette, and collaborative creativity.
Not Specific
Character Education, Classroom Community, Drama
Pantomime Activity -- Tug of War
In the Tug of War with Pantomime activity, students work in pairs to create the illusion of a tug of war using only their bodies—no props allowed. They use exaggerated pulling and resisting movements, facial expressions, and physical tension to convincingly pantomime the struggle, focusing on clear storytelling and synchronized actions. This exercise builds teamwork, body control, and the ability to communicate action and emotion without words.
5th - 12th
Character Education, Classroom Community, Drama
Partner Pantomime and Rubric
Students will work with a partner to create and perform a synchronized pantomime that tells a short story with a beginning, middle, and end. These will be performed side by side and each person is using the same legs, arms, facial expressions etc.
Not Specific
Drama
Showing 1-13 of 13 results
About the store
Experience
Jessica Huchital is a veteran Theatre educator with over two decades of experience teaching middle school students the power of performance, play, and presence. As the creator of The Backstage Educator, she supports fellow teachers with creative resources rooted in real classroom practice. Jessica holds a BFA in Theatre from Indiana University with a secondary education certification, and a Master’s degree in Theatre for Colleges and Communities from NYU’s Steinhardt School.
She believes that great theatre classrooms are built on trust, structure, and the freedom to take creative risks. When she’s not directing student performances or designing curriculum, you’ll find her going to the zoo, playing with her dog, and spending time with her family.
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