THEATRE GAMES: AT LEAST 2

Actors learn to commit to a private truthful moment in front of an audience.

A warm-up improv game starting with gift-giving, both literally and through strong offers.

Using improvisation to act out particular scenes from the musical or play we are performing. This helps motivate the students to 'let their hair down' and act and have fun.

This exercise helps allow students to learn and use their vocabulary words. Also, it helps them get used to improv.

A game designed to create a comfortable environment and a creative improvised outlet for participants to bond.

A fun and quick character creation/transformation/improv game.  The kids LOVE it and would play it all through rehearsal if I let them!

This is an opening for long form improvisation.  It uses audience suggestion and the imagination and physicality of the players.   Actors become inanimate objects as well as people, physically creating a setting as well as characters.

Students will demonstrate their ability to create a character background by participating in a character interview.

Translating a scenario by acting it out.

Actors identify the animal and/or song that their character represents or reminds them of.  This can be seen throughout the play and/or for curtain calls.

Students must answer a question, one word at a time!

Ask students to form a circle.

Ask each student to come up with a word to describe their day so far.  For example, exciting, boring, etc.   After each student says his or her word, the whole group repeats it. 

Then, ask each student to come up with one action to go along with their word.  After each student's word and action, the whole group repeats the word and action. 

After going around the circle a couple of times.  Have one student arbitrarily go to another student and, while facing them, say his/her word with the action.  The student who was chosen then repeats the word and action back to the first actor - as in mirroring him/her.  The second student then goes and chooses another student arbitrarily and says his original word with action.  At first, you have only one person at a time meeting another student.  Then, as it progresses more students are called upon to take their words and actions to other actors.  It is a game of focus and memory.

Intro pantomime activities to break the ice the first few days of class.

Develop character by discussing statements such as: If my character were a color...If my character were a food...If my character were a book...If my character were a kitchen appliance...If my character were a vacation...If my character were an animal..If my character were a magazine...etc.

This exercise allows students to create the characters, settings, and plots for their own improvisations. Depending on the age group, it is interesting to see how, inventive, humorous even silly, and/or dramatic the scenes can be.

Two actors working through a scene or improv will be given a separate motivation or goal to obtain in the scene that is unrelated to the scene itself. Works on a young actor's ability to gain something from the other actor while staying in the moment. 

To mold students into shapes and have them use their creativity to name their creations.

Engages two students in an improvisation that contains elements found in a well-written dramatic of comic scene containing conflict.

Articulation exercises relax the mouth and is good practice for an actor's voice and characterization.

To physicalize emotion by showing emotions and feelings through use of space objects.

A variation on the Meisner repetition exercise that allows for scene and character development.

To develop improvisational skills, use creative imagination, nonverbal language and become aware of voice inflections by telling a story in gibberish.

To get students moving, thinking fast and on their feet through improvisation.