A TRIPOD to hold my iPhone as we videotape various skits.
I own one but invariably it's at home in my closet when I need it in my classroom. They are too inexpensive NOT to be always available. $15 on Amazon.
Two reasons why a TRIPOD is a "must have" in a Drama or Video Workshop, or for anyone who understands the value of taking photos and videos in their classroom:
1. A lot of people can't keep their camera still while taking a video of a skit. Shaky ruins video.
2. The presence of the camera on the tripod gives kids with a sense of "this is being recorded so I want to do it right."
A Selfie Stick
Very handy for "zooming into, over and around" actors and the scene in our skits and dramas. Kids love to see it coming towards them. Very playful.
$8 at Walmart. 
Selfie sticks are also a great way to take "above the scene" photos of kids who are laying on the floor as they act out a scene. You've seen this "effect" in commercials and its a lot of fun.
You can get pretty creative with a selfie-stick.
I've used them to do "Helicopter Cam" fly-ins of Bible scenes the kids were acting out. I've given the stick to a student to take "selfies" while they interacted with" Jesus and the crowd inside the man's house where they cut the hole in the roof." Each kid had a pre-determined "face to make" and "line to say" when the camera came to them (a fun take and discussion starter on "crowd reactions to Jesus"). [Poses, reactions, and lines to say are all great things to discuss ahead of time, are fun to photograph, and fun to view afterwards as you ask more questions and make teaching points.]
I'm working on an "Angels Appearing in the Sky above the Shepherds" A-V/Video Workshop where the kids pose the scenes, verses, and REACTIONS in the scripture while laying on the floor (as if the floor were a wall) so that those playing the angels can appear to float above them. The camera is on a selfie-stick so that the photo is taken from ABOVE looking down toward the floor. Super fun look. This technique was used in a lot of commercials 2015-17, Example of perspective seen below.
