Hot seating is a drama strategy in which a character or characters, played by the teacher or a student, are interviewed by the rest of the group. The purpose of hot seating is to develop a role in drama lessons, rehearsals, and other creative arts. The technique is useful for fleshing out a character and developing questioning skills with the rest of the group.

Here are the key steps to hot seating:

• The pupil playing the character sits on a chair in front of the group (arranged in a semi-circle), although characters may be hot-seated in pairs or groups.
• The teacher takes on the role of facilitator to guide the questioning in constructive directions.
• The person in the hot seat (teacher or student/s) needs to determine who they are in the interview, where they are, and why they are in the hot seat.
• Use textual evidence, other forms of research, or personal experience to prepare.
• Encourage the audience to ask strong questions that are relevant and within the dramatic situation and reframe any questions/add to responses if they are unclear.

Hot seating can be used to explore a specific event, explore motivation and multiple perspectives/experiences related to a theme, topic, event, or idea within a story. It can also be used as a rehearsal warm-up during which actors portray their characters from the play.