THEATRE GAMES: ICEBREAKERS

Learn each others names, and test memory skills, as a cast begins to work together as a team.

This activity builds cooperation and trust and is a great beginning activity for new casts and/or theatre groups.

This is an ice breaker game that really just helps the students get to know each other better and to further help the students develop social skills.

After selecting an index card notated with a simple sentence, a student will communicate the meaning of the sentence through the use of

nonsensical words, sounds, and/or pantomime- a fun way to learn how to express one’s self and specific thoughts without words.

"Duck, Duck, Goose" becomes an acting game when the "Goose" is replaced with anything the leader calls out.  A great game to break down inhibitions and introduce the concept of "always saying yes."

A musical mingle and guessing game for students as they take on different characters.

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

Engage the student actors in a conversation regarding "Status."  What does it mean in life (at school, at home or in the wider community)?  What does it mean on stage (between characters or between actors and the audience).  We discuss how status can effect the body language, the voice, the dialogue...the overall truthful portrayal of a character.

Here is a great icebreaker game that students seem to love!  It's called "Neighbors"  The participants will stand in a circle.  One player is picked to be in the middle.  That person will approach a person in the circle, he will ask: "Do you like your neighbors?"  If the answer is no, the two people on either side of the person must switch places while the person who did the asking will attempt to take one of their spaces in the circle.  If the answer is "Yes, I like my neighbors" The person must then say "...but I don't like _________"  The _________ can be a silly yet appropriate choice such as "People who are wearing blue" or "People with open toed shoes".  At that point, all the people who are wearing blue or open toed shoes must switch places in the circle with someone else who has on blue or open toed shoes.  It's fun and a bit wacky. Gets people moving. 

YES! is a deceptively simple yet effective concentration and ensemble building game.  The game can be played with new groups or groups who know each other well.

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.

Translating a scenario by acting it out.

This game can go on for hours as groups begin to trust and enjoy the process of working as an ensemble.  In theory, it is like one large mirror activity, however, coach should encourage movement and vocal involvement in the exercise.  The purpose is not to mirror perfectly, but to move, breath and begin to think as one connected ensemble.  Best for creating a sense of unity and a wonderful physical warm-up.  I learned this one at the National Theatre of Great Britain while attending a post-graduate actor training program.  

This energetic warm-up will get your group focused, listening, limber, and "ready to roll".

This is a fun game used to cultivate teamwork while warming up physically and vocally.

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.

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.

Excellent for cast building to be used early during the rehearsal process.  Divide cast into two teams.  Students mime that they are playing volleyball. Regular volleyball rules apply.  The student "serves" to the other team and calls out the cast member's name, that student can "set" to a fellow team member by calling his/her name or send it back "over the net" to the other side.  If  a student misses a name or calls the wrong name, a point is awarded.  The teacher acts as the referee.  Feel free to "rotate" in and out, "spike", "bump", "set", and "block"!

To build team work and solidify concepts for any subject given in prompts for this "quest".

A trial of memory and improvization, this game allows for creativity and on the spot contribution to complete the alphabet.

To get students to know each other through names and stories.

A great warm up, to learn names of fellow cast members/classmates or to help build cooperation and teamwork.