|
100 Questions
|
Pairs nominate A and B. Aim of the game is to avoid making statements. You have to keep on the subject if possible. The first person to give up loses.
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B
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N
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N
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Y
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Y
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N
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Y
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|
2 Circles
|
Pairs become an inner and outer circle, performing short activities and then moving onto new partners.
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B
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N
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N
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Y
|
Y
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N
|
N
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|
Abbababa
|
Vocal warm up moving through all combinations of English alphabet consonants and vowels. Begin with ab abbababa move to ac accacaca etc… Add movements to make it a full body warm-up. Encourage students to take turns creating the movements.
|
B
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Y
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N
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Y
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N
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N
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N
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|
ABC
|
Number of players: 2
Ask for: A letter of the alphabet and one for the scene.
Description: Two players play a scene based on the audience suggestion. They begin and end with the letter provided by the audience. The first player begins the scene with the letter "J" for example. The second player must begin their first line with the next letter of the alphabet "K". The scene ends when the players complete the alphabet and return to "J". It is easy to forget scene structure, so don't.
Options: You can do the alphabet backwards.
Tips and comments: Keep the game active! It is a good idea to keep your lines short and to the point. One word exchanges can be fun for the audience. The letter "X" is the most difficult word you will come across in this game. Most of the words (if you look up "x" in the dictionary) are scientific and "Xerox" is over done, so here is a way you can help each other out. If you are lucky enough to land on "W", find a way to make it easier on your partner by setting up the "X" word during the scene.
|
S
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N
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N
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Y
|
Y
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N
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Y
|
|
Academy Awards
|
Do boring scene, every time outside troupe member blows the whistle, the actor speaking must step out and do a cheesy academy-award winning monologue.
|
A
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N
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N
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Y
|
Y
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N
|
Y
|
|
Action Words
|
Pairs - as the partners move, they alternate words to move the action forward. They must work as a team or they get nowhere - eg - A." We", B. "went," A. "to", B. "the", A. "Zoo."
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B
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N
|
N
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Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
|
Air Raid/ Life Raft/ Survivor
|
Divide into groups of 8-10. Tell group that they are in an air raid shelter after an atom bomb - the shelter is big enough and has enough Oxygen and food for only 6 people. They must get rid of a few members of the group. Each person decides on an occupation, Eg doctor, teacher, movie star, mother etc. Each member must argue as to why they should survive. A group decision must be reached - time limit. Discuss when finished.
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A
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N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Alice in Wonderlan d
|
One person thinks of a famous person (i.e. - Alice In Wonderland). Others ask questions to discover identity.
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S
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Y
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N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Alien Tiger Cow
|
Fun game to warm up and to teach players some teamwork. Everyone in a circle. There are 3 things a player can be: · An alien: hold you index fingers up next to your head, as little antenna's and say 'Bleeb bleeb', bending inwards into the circle; · A cow: bend forward, hold your right hand on your tummy and go 'Moooo' · A tiger: push your right hand forward, imitating a claw and roar. On your sign, every player decides to become one of the three. The idea is for everyone to become the same, which obviously won't be the case, the first time. Re-do this until everyone is in sync but try to avoid artificial planning. Variations Invent your own animals (or things) and let players become jukeboxes, birds, whatever.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Alliteration
|
Number of Players: 3
Ask for: A consonant for each player and one to start the scene.
Description: Three players play a scene based on an audience suggestion. The catch is that every word must begin with the consonant the audience has assigned. So if player A is assigned "K" and they want to say, "Hey, give me back my wallet!", it will be delivered like this: "Kay, kive ke kack ky kallet!" The scene ends when a "tag line" is given and "scene" is called.
Tips and Comments: If you mess up, it's okay because that's part of the fun of Improv. Try and add a few words that actually begin with your consonant.
|
A
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N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Alter-Ego
|
two actor scene getting relationship, the other two are the voices inside their heads. Interplay between voices and actors, funny if theirs contradictions in this game, action-action-action.
|
A
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N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
|
American Musical
|
Actors get three topics from the audience, i.e.. Life hopes, something that bugs them, something they did today, etc. And get a location. Three actors do hammed up scene, with gushy/excited/cheesy build-ups to songs, make sure all the songs have different distinct styles, end scene on the last song. Songs can be either accappella or unaccompanied
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
|
American Sitcom
|
Number of Players: 5 - 1 player to be the child, 1 to play the family pet, 1 to play the neighbour, 1 to play the mother or father and 1 member of the audience to play the other spouse.
Ask For: Get a physical handicap for the child, a trick for the family pet (you can also let the audience choose the pet), an ethnic minority for the neighbour, and a psychological imbalance for the spouse. The audience member does not require an ask for. The final ask for is a moral to your story.
You are now ready to instruct the audience to do the following: Whenever the child names his/her handicap, they are to say "aaaawwwwwww", whenever the family pet performs the assigned trick, the audience is to clap wildly, when ever the ethnic minority enters the room, the audience is to do the Arsinio Hall "wooof, wooof, wooof" chant, when ever the spouse finishes a line, they are to "boo" and when ever the audience member says anything they are to laugh as though it is the funniest thing they have ever heard. Be sure to have the audience practice their responses before you start the game.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
|
Anarchy
|
Divide group into teams of 3-4. Each group invents a game with no rules. Get them to play - not talk about it. Debrief and ask students how they felt about it.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Assertive Game 1
|
Brainstorm with the group the definitions of these words: aggressive, assertive, and non-assertive. The leader is looking for an actual description of how these people behave: eye contact, tone of voice, body language. Leader should ask, "If someone was going to lose or get hurt in a situation, who would it be?" In small groups have people share the types of situations in which they find it hard to be assertive. Choose a situation to role-play from each group. Help the student to find a way to be assertive.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Assertive Game 2
|
Groups of three, nominate A, B and C. Have all members think of an idea that they want to communicate to the other two members of the group, eg - selling them something, convincing them of something. In the first round A is non-assertive, B is aggressive, and C is assertive. A is first to try and communicate. B and C respond with assigned behaviour. Play nine rounds, each with behaviour and each trying to communicate. Have each group share their experience and which role they were most comfortable with.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Assertive Game 3
|
Have everyone close their eyes and imagine they are in a forest. The leader should describe the scene making it as real as possible. Leader says, "You are a meek animal. You meet someone you know (in animal form) who is very aggressive. Imagine what happens when the two animals meet. Now switch roles - you are the aggressive animal and you meet someone who is much weaker. Finally, find yourself in the form of the animal you would really like to be. Imagine you meet someone you love (in animal form). What happens when those animals meet?" Have people take roles of the different animals and act out the scene.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Assertive Game 4
|
Role -play a variety of Impro's to explore the types of behaviour. Eg: a train compartment with all three types in it, 3 tribes each bearing one of the traits, prisoners, guards and liberationist army, school situations.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Attending
|
Groups of three, nominate A, B and C. For first round have A as communicator. B as attentive and C as non-attentive. Whoever is communicator must have in mind something they want to say and as they discuss their subject, the other two act according to their direction/instruction. Swap roles. Discuss feelings raised in each role.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
A-Z
|
scene is performed where each actor's sentence must start with successive letters of the alphabet, starting and ending with the letter chosen by the audience. Say, if the first actor's sentence starts with the letter b, then the other actor's next sentence must start with the letter c. Tips: You'd be surprised at how hard it is for some people to remember their alphabet. Try to keep the scene very tight with short back and forth dialogue; if sentences run-on for too long the other actor is likely to forget what the next letter is. You obviously don't want any scene to drag, and in this game long lines just compound the fact. If you can, try to set-up your partner for his next letter. Also, for hard letters like x, you can fudge things, like using eXactly, also c for k switches work (albeit you'll get boos from the audience, but that's usually the fun of it). I'd say use relationship instead of setting, because if you have a good relationship, characters, and conflict set-up early, A to Z is great and it really flies, even when its bad though it seems to come off ok.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Backwards / Forwards
|
Two actors, get location or relationship, do about a one-minute scene working backwards to a first line, and then do the same scene forward to see if it makes sense.
|
S
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Bar Exam
|
Number of Players: 2 to 4
Ask For: This can vary. It can be an emotion, a tragedy, an object etc.
Description: Player A is the bar tender and player B is a customer. Player B leaves the room while player A is given a suggestion from the audience. Player B enters the bar and through their interaction player B must understand, name, and/or incorporate the ask for into the scene.
Options: This can be repeated for a couple of other players if you want to include more people.
Tips and comments: The customer should come in with a story of some kind to tell the bartender. Remember that bar tenders are usually good listeners and should not drive the scene. The bar tender should, based on the customer's story, interject with comments which will provide clues as to the ask for.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Bartender
|
One actor is the bartender, one is a barfly, and three are patrons. Each patron comes in separately and sings a song to the bartender about a problem s/he has about a noun given by the audience in a musical style given by the audience. The then bartender sings back a solution to the patron. Can also be done as psychiatrist and patient.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Bear in the Woods
|
One person (it is good to start out with this person being the leader) is the bear. The bear is lying on the ground sleeping, The others are woodchoppers. When the bear wakes up and roars - the woodcutters lie on the ground perfectly still. The bear has to try and make the woodcutters laugh - he can't touch them. When one woodcutter laughs they become the bear.
|
S
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Bears
|
Best played in a large space - preferably out doors. Two bears hide. The rest of the group tries to find them.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Become
|
Students get into pairs. A series of different objects/emotions are called out and each pair has to create the object/emotion together. Pairs are then combined to produce groups of 4 and then 8 etc…
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Blind Freeze
|
Troupe members form line with backs turned. Director has audience member mould the first two actors into a shape, the director starts the scene and then calls freeze when he likes, the next actor turns around, tags one of the actors out of the scene immediately, and then starts a new scene by justifying the physical position the previous two actors were in. Game continues until the director feels like ending it (usually on a kicker line).
|
S
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Blind man’s Bluff
|
Similar to tag/chasey, except that the person who is "in" is blindfolded. They have to try and catch people without being able to see.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Blind man’s Numbers
|
Give each person a number. One or two people are chosen as the blind people and stand in the middle, blindfolded. The blind people call out any two numbers and those people must stand up and cross the room and the blind person tries to touch them. Anyone who is touched changes places with the blind person.
|
S
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Blob
|
Participants spread out in an enclosed area and the Blob is chosen. At the leader’s signal, the Blob begins trying to tag another participant. When the Blob succeeds in tagging a participant, that person latches on to the Blob, becoming part of the Blob. The Blob continues to try to tag others, and as they get tagged, they also join the Blob. Eventually, everyone is the Blob, and there is no one left to be tagged. Encourage both groups of participants as they try to avoid or assimilate, and remember that the last person to be tagged by the Blob is not the "winner" and the first person to be tagged is not the "loser". The objectives for the Blob and the non-blobs should prevent the participants from thinking of this. The group will probably ask to play again, and because this is a fairly short game, there should be time to repeat the game. The second time, encourage the Blob to work together to find better ways to tag people, and the non-blobs to discover original ways to avoid the Blob. For extension try blindfolded.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Body Contact
|
Pairs. Leader calls out body parts e.g. head to back of the knee." A has to connect head with B's back of knee or vice versa. Call out "swap" and you have to find a new partner.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Body Snatcher
|
Everyone holds a bag (Mimed). Leader calls out a body part eg. "ear." Group has to mime taking (stealing) other peoples ears and put the ears in the bag. The bag gets heavier as they go and gather more parts. Set time to get as many as possible. Group then takes their various collected parts and forms them into a figure. Each person takes on a distorted shape. People move in the space as poor, demented, misshapen mutants.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Briars and Brambles
|
Divide the class in half. One roup forms a tunnel of brambles. The rest of the class has to crawl through every bramble. Swap roles and repeat. Make it into a race if desired.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Butt Out
|
Pairs. Nominate A and B. Leader gives a topic to argue. Only one person can speak at a time. If one speaker pauses for a second, the other must butt in. A/B must persuade the other to his/her point of view.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Call in Radio Show
|
Expert and talk show host, and funny characters call in and ask questions.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Call my Bluff
|
One person chooses a word from the dictionary and checks that no-one knows its' meaning. Each person writes down what they think could be the meaning. Definitions are placed in a pile. Person who chose the word reads out all the definitions (one of which will be the correct one). Students vote on which definition they think is right. Can be played in teams.
|
S
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Cat and Mouse
|
All players in pairs. One player is cat, one other player is mouse, and all others stay in pairs, arms hooked together. Cat chases mouse; when mouse is caught then mouse becomes cat and vice versa. However, mouse can escape chase by hooking into any pair of other players. At that point the player at the other end of the pair becomes cat and the cat becomes mouse.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Cat and Mouse 2
|
Player stand in lines three to four deep. Quarry escapes by standing in front of, or behind, any of the lines of three/four. When quarry does this the rear member of the line becomes the quarry.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Categories
|
Participants sit in a circle and begin a one-two rhythm (Clap-snap, or slap(legs)-clap). One person says, in rhythm, "I am thinking of ….." whatever the category is, and then says something that fits the category. On the second beat after the first person, the second person says something that fits the category, and so on around the circle. Example:"I-am-thinking-of-kinds-of-fruits" (Clap) "Apple"(Clap) "Orange"(Clap) "Strawberries"(Clap) "Banana"(Clap) "Watermelon"It is okay if saying the category items takes longer than one beat, because of multiple syllables, but the participants are not allowed to pause for more than one beat between the end of the last person’s item and their item. Everyone continues this process until someone gets stuck or repeats an item. When this happens, the participants can either start over with a new category, keeping the person who got stuck in the circle, or the person who got stuck could be "out" and the same category could be repeated until there is only one person left. If everyone stays in, the leader could time the participants to see for how long they can continue.
|
A
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Categories Game
|
Divide the students into equal groups. You will announce an order that you wish them to line up in, first group to do it and sit in a line on the floor wins a point. Use any of these categories: street addresses (highest in the front - lowest in the back), age, shoe size, birthdays, telephone numbers, middle names in alphabetical order, Mother's first name, etc
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Catching A Ball
|
Ball is thrown against a wall or to a partner and hands clapped behind the back - first once, then twice, then three times and so on. Thrower does a 360-degree turn before catching the ball. Ball is thrown against a wall, a name is called and that person must run and judge the bounce so that the ball passes between his/her legs.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Chain Murder
|
Send out two people and one audience member. Fourth person remains and gets place, occupation, and murder weapon from the audience. First troupe member returns, original person must explain the three things to them in gibberish mime, when they get each thing they hi-five, when the murder weapon is gotten, the audience yells, "die", and they do so. Then the three things are explained to the audience member, and then to the last troupe member. Then we find out if the three things have changed from person to person.
|
S
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Chair King
|
One student is "king" and sits on a chair. It is the job of all the other students to give the "king" a reason to leave his chair, i.e. - "your house is one fire." The student who dethrones the "king" is then "king," etc.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Changing Channels
|
Three sets of two actors, director gets three TV show styles and topic from the audience, the three shows must all incorporate the topic, director (or audience) member can change channels and even fast-forward, reverse, slow-motion, tracking, etc. the scene.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Character Circle
|
Get a noun from the audience. Two people start off a scene, at some point the next person in line (or any other troupe member if doing free-form) tags one of the actors out and starts a new scene with the only rule that the actor remains has to stay the same character. Tagging-out continues until someone stops the game, usually at a high point. Best to not leave one person in for more than three turns and it's good to circle back to ideas presented in the earlier scenes.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Character Offer
|
Start off by getting location and wacky character name, that character starts off scene, introduces next character with a wacky name that relates to the current scene, they interact for a bit, then the first person leaves, then the second person, introduces next character, and so forth. The scene usually ends when a prescribed number of actors have entered and left the scene.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Character Stream
|
Get a non-geographical location. whole troupe performs split up into two sides. start with two actors in the scene. host of game eventually tells one actor to leave and brings in one actor from the other side; host continues to do this, rotating from one side to the other, and makes scenes go faster and faster until stopping at a high point. Best if two sides are uneven, so same characters aren't always in the scene together.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
|
Character Walks
|
Intellectual leads with his head. Sailor rolls his shoulders. Athlete pushes out his chest. Horse walker prances with his knees leading. Model leads by pushing her pelvis out. This game explores the dis-co-ordinated forms of walking and how these relate to projected character. Teach students each character and get them to walk around the room as each character.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Charades, 3 Variants
|
Team Charade 1 (American Charade)Group students in small groups. Leader hands out pieces of paper with a word on it, i.e. happy, sad. The group designs a presentation around the word. Other groups have to guess the word. Team Charade 2 (English Charade)Leader gives each group a piece of paper with a word on it e.g. Piety, despair etc. The group then designs a presentation to enact the word. Other groups have to guess what word it is. Team Charade 3 (French Charade)Divide students into two teams and send them into separate parts of the room. Teams write on slips of paper: song titles, films, books, famous people etc. Both groups come into the centre. Send one person for a slip of paper from the other team. That person acts out whatever is written on the piece if paper. Someone should time this. After three minutes time is up and someone else from the other team gets a piece of paper from first team and tries to enact it. The team with the lowest time lapse wins.
|
S
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
|
Charades, Team
|
Two teams, each with a captain each sitting on the same side of the room but in different corners. Ideally there is a double-sided whiteboard but game can still be played using blackboard and bits of paper. Single word or phrase is written on the back of the whiteboard, team scores are kept on the front. One member of each group is called up to read the writing and then communicate it back to their group without speaking, writing or mouthing it. The group to correctly speak it aloud gets a point.
|
B
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Climbing Matterhorn
|
Imagine the world is sideways, the floor is the sheer cliff of the Matterhorn, and the wall is the floor. Two teams race to the top of the Matterhorn by crawling over the bodies of previous climbers in the team, to stand balanced on their shoulders. Then they pull up following team members. The first team to get a player to the top wins.
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Cliché
|
One person goes out, get a cliché from the audience, actor and other actors from the troupe give them hints on guessing the clue, eg. "its raining cats and dogs out there."
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Clumps
|
Players walk around in the space, leader can endow them with different characteristics, physicality’s or personalities. Leader calls out a number and players race to get into groups of that number. Leader can add complexity by then giving a noun which players then have to represent with their group.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Coco
|
Two teams. One is squatting on the ground in a line down the middle of the room, each player facing the opposite direction to their neighbour. One member is the runner. Other team is up and can run either clockwise or anti-clockwise around the room. Runner can only run clockwise but can switch with any of the squatters. Runner is trying to TAG out players of the other team. Squatters cannot breach the middle line, runners can. Great game for demonstrating how a team will always beat individuals. Teams time themselves and swap. See which team can tag the other out the fastest.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Coin Pass
|
Coin is passed from hand to hand among the group moving in the space. One person has to guess: who is faking it? Who has the coin? Which hand is it in?
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Coming Home
|
Ask players to think of someone they know. Then ask them to play how that person would come home from work. Players need to pay attention to
The environment: what does that person's house look like? Is it neat and tidy or is it a mess? Big house or small apartment?
What does he do? Does the character change clothes or showers or has a drink first? Does he eat? If so, what? Microwave dinner, take away, instant noodles or cornflakes?
What mood is that character in?
How was work today?
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Commercia l, Album
|
Players have to come up with a commercial for a new CD. Two players are the announcers talking about the CD giving offers for two players to sing excerpts from the album. Give players a theme for the album. Announcers should be giving offers as music styles. Needs players who are familiar with different music styles
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Complaint Departmen t
|
Number of players: 2
Description: One player will be a customer and the other will have the unenviable job of manning the complaint counter. The customer leaves the stage (to an area that is sound proof) while the player introducing the game asks for an object. When the object is given, the customer enters the scene to return the object (of course he/she doesn't know the object) to the complaint dept. By the end of the scene the customer must name and justify the object.
Tips and Comments: If the customer comes in with an elaborate monologue about why the object was purchased, what he/she did with it, and what doesn't work, the audience will love the fact that the customer appears to be digging themselves in a hole. But a good player (who is manning the complaint dept. counter) can use the information to guide the customer in the right direction. With all guessing games, it may be a good idea to get the audience to snap their fingers when a player is close and to clap when they finally get the suggestion. The scene should end when the customer justifies why they used the object incorrectly.
|
A
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N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Conduct a Gripe
|
Get general gripe topic from the audience, then four sub-topics (or just 4 topics), director then conducts the gripers like an orchestra (faster slower louder softer), bringing people in and out, until all four people are on and a crescendo to a big finish with the director pointing to one actor who yells, "and that's what pisses me off!"
|
A
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N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Countdown
|
Number of Players: 3
Ask for: Location, Occupation
Description: Player A and B start a scene based on the audience suggestion. Player B is off stage and will provide the "tag line" for the scene. The scene is played three times. The first scene will be 1 minute long, the second will be 30 sec., and third scene will be 10 sec.
Tips and Comments: Be very specific with your information. This will help when you perform the short scene because you will be able to pick the major parts of the scene to hit. It is a good idea for the host to call "10 seconds" so the player "tagging the scene will know when to enter. Of course when you perform the 10 sec. scene, it should be obvious to the "out" player.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Counting Words
|
Number of Players: 3
Ask For: 3 Numbers between 1 and 7 and one to start the scene.
Description: The players are assigned numbers between 1 and 7. Let's say that player A is 4, Player B is 6 and player C is 1. The players start a scene based on the audience suggestion. During the scene, each player can only say sentences that have the same number of words as their number. The scene ends with a tag line and scene being called.
Tips and comments: This is a good concentration-game and can be used as a warm up or in rehearsals. The obvious gimmick is to ask questions of player C that would require more than a one-word answer. Don't over do this gimmick as it gets old pretty fast.
|
S
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N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Crime scene
|
Cop interrogating witness. Get from audience location and object not related to that location. Distraught witness re-tells murder they saw committed with that object at the crime scene about two friends of theirs (use improvers real names) and improvers in question that he describes act the scene out as it happens. Then cop corrects him and re-tells the scene differently. Storytellers should make actors do a lot of physical action
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Criteria Circle
|
Participants must make a circle, based on criteria as given by the leader, such as tallest to shortest, which floor participants live on, number of people they live with, alphabetical order of surnames etc…
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Crocodile, Crocodile
|
Like Red Rover, except that the students chant, "Crocodile, crocodile - can we cross the river?" The crocodile responds "Yes, if you are wearing (colour)" if the students are wearing that colour they can cross freely. The rest must run. If caught join the crocodile in the middle and help catch others. Play until there is one student left.
|
B
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Cross- Country
|
Leader puts up warm up exercises eg - jogging, climbing, reaching, stretching, etc into the context of a cross-country race. Leader takes the class through a narrative. "You are taking a short-cut and you are chased by a bull, so you run, climb a tree, balance along a fence etc, etc." Class does the actions as they move around the room.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Crossed- Uncrossed
|
Objects are passed around the circle. Person passing the object says, " I pass the scissors crossed." OR "I pass the scissors uncrossed." Each time they are passed the leader agrees or disagrees with the statement. No indication is given as to what "crossed" or "uncrossed" refers to (it actually refers to the state of the feet or legs of the person who is passing the object - crossed or uncrossed). Group members have to guess and check out their guesses by joining the leaders agree/disagree comments when they think they know the meaning. The game should continue until nearly all the group are correctly calling "agree/disagree" and saying "crossed or uncrossed."
|
S
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Customs Agent
|
One-person leaves, get from audience country that they are coming from, wacky contraband, and mode of transportation. Person comes in and has to work with customs agent/other troupe members in order to guess the three things.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Da-do-run-run
|
Elimination game follows the song, get first name from audience, and keep song going rhyming that name, until someone repeats or can't think up a rhyme.
|
A
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Dating Game
|
Get audience member, three troupe members are the bachelors, imitate either dating game or Love connection style, get traits/occupations for bachelors, audience member is picked at beginning of show and writes their questions ahead of time.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Day in Life Of
|
Get audience member's day (or story from their life) so far, improvers act it out in a funny, exaggerated way.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Death In a Minute
|
2 or 3 players play a 1-minute scene, in which one player must die.
Tell players to take risks. Why not just drop dead after 5 seconds and leave it up to the other player to justify the death.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Deformities
|
Only play in a group with a LOT of trust. Should be played in a light-hearted manner. People must only talk about themselves - and should describe their own 'deformity'. (Long neck, mole on right cheek etc). Give room for feedback at the end of the session.
|
S
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Dingoes and Possums
|
Divide the group into 3's. leave 2 people spare. Of the groups of three, two people form the trunk by standing apart with hands joined, making a circle of their arms. Tree is home base/safe. One person stands inside the tree trunk. The person in the middle is the possum. One person is up, they are the dingo. There is a possum in every tree. There is one possum without a tree. The dingo tries to catch the possum. The possum can escape by getting into another possum's tree and pushing them out to be chased. Dingo can't enter a tree. A caught possum becomes a dingo.
|
S
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Director's Choice
|
Number of actors: 3 and a director
How it works: First the director asks for a location, the three actor's do a short, simple scene at that location. The director then asks for an emotion, and the actor's redo the scene all displaying that emotion. He then asks for movie genre, and the scene is redone in that style. And finally a literary style is asked for and the scene is re-performed as such. Actors are encouraged to change things from the basic scene as they see fit for the new style. Or third possibility is TV style, ask for all three beforehand.
Option: Do starting scene as a fairy tale. Or get first-line and last-line.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Dracula
|
A number of players stand in the middle of the room, eyes closed the others stand by the walls. One of the middle players is tapped on the shoulder, she become the 'killer' or the 'vampire'. The trainer gives a go-sign, and all 'blinded' players start milling around the room. When the killer bumps into someone, she squeezes that persons forearm to 'kill' him. When a victim dies, he utters a scream, opens his eyes and is 'out'. Game is over when all potential victims are dead.
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Economy of Words
|
Three Line Scene- Two players do a scene in which they get a total of three lines. A line is defined the same way as in the three-line game. This game focuses on economy, nonverbal communication, and using the environment in a scene.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Elephant Whale Cow
|
Players stand in a ring around one person. Person in the middle points at one player in the ring and says either elephant whale or cow. Person pointed at becomes the middle part of the animal; people on either side become additional limbs. Person in the middle counts down 3-2-1 and the three must complete the animal within the given time or they are penalised.
|
S
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Emotion Party
|
One person begins, as the host, with a neutral emotion. The first guest knocks or rings the bell (saying "knock-knock" or "ding-dong"), and enters in highly charged emotional state. Emotions that work well with this exercise include, excitement, fear, anger, jealousy, joy, sadness, etc. As soon as the host picks up on the emotion, she "catches" it, and interacts with the guest. The next guest enters with a different emotion, and the host and guest "catch" it. Things get more chaotic as more guests enter, as each new guest causes a different emotion to permeate the party. Once the first guest has entered, the participants can interact with different people until they notice a change in the emotion, and then they must adapt that emotion. The participants should not watch the new guests for the emotional state, rather, they should let the emotion "travel" to them as it will. To make things really tricky, two guests could enter at the same time with different emotions. The participants will be really wired after this game, so plan accordingly to use that energy.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Emotion Roller Coaster
|
Number of actors: 2, and a director
Audience participation: Audience gives a long list of emotions (these can be stretch emotions like French or stupid) and a location.
How it works: Scene starts off basic, but the director will call off emotions from his list and one of the actors changes their emotional being; the other actor plays the "straight-man" Scene usually ends with narcolepsy.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Emotional Baggage
|
Number of players: 4 (3 passengers and a security guard)
Ask for: 3 emotions (1 for each passenger)
Description: This game is similar to emotional waiter but with a unique twist. The player playing the airport security guard leaves the room while the 3 passengers each get an emotion from the audience. The security guard then takes his place at the airport security checkpoint. As each passenger comes through security they must have their bags checked. While the guard is checking the bags, the passengers must interact with the security guard until he understands and names the emotions. The game ends when the emotions are named, a "tag line" is given, and "scene is called"
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Emotional Shoutdown
|
Choose an emotion -fear, joy, sorrow etc. Ask students to identify a time in their lives when they have actually felt this emotion. Explain that you will give four commands: "television", "radio", "theatre" and finally - "let it go!" At the television command, students step forward and say, "I am very happy (sad, afraid). I'm very, very happy. I am very happy." They say this in a normal voice. On the command, "radio" they repeat the text in a louder than normal speaking voice. On "theatre" they repeat the text as if project to the back row of a theatre. On "let it go," they shout out all their thoughts and feeling related to that emotion.
|
B
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Emotional Statues
|
Students move around the room. The leader calls out an emotion, "happy, sad" etc and students must freeze in a statue that represents that emotion.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Emotional Waiter
|
1. Number of Players: 3 or 5 One waiter and two customers. If you want to involve more people in your group you can have couples at each table. Description: The customers are asked to leave the room while the host of the game gets two emotions from the audience. An emotion is assigned to each couple or individual . At this point the customers will enter the "emotional café" an sit down for dinner, drinks, etc. As the waiter serves the table he/she must somehow get the players to endow the emotions and finally name them. The scene ends when the emotions are revealed and "scene" is called. Tips and comments: This is one of our most popular games. If done well, the waiter should do things to get the customers to understand the emotion rather than just giving verbal clues. This is a very physical game.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Emotions Zones
|
Two actors, get location and three emotions, separate the stage into three sections and assign each an emotion, actors have to have that emotion in that zone, and other troupe members can come into the scene.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
End Game 1
|
Sit in a circle. One person holds the ball of string, looks around and says goodbye and a final message to someone else in the group and tosses ball of string to that person, but holds onto end. Person who receives the message and string repeats the process. At the end there is silence until someone cuts the strings crisscrossing the circle to symbolize the end of the group.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
End Game 2
|
Sitting in a circle, clear up any unfinished business. One person leaves as if to go home. Outside the room that person thinks about what else they would like to say and the group thinks of any messages they would like to give that person. Person returns to room to give and receive messages. Repeat as many times as people who want a go.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
|
End Game 3
|
Devise a "throne." Students take turn to sit and share their feelings about the group.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
|
End Game 4
|
Pin a sheet of paper to each students back and give everyone a pen. Each person must write one nice thing on everyone else's sheet of paper.
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Endowmen t - Rebel Without A Clue
|
Number of Players: 3
Ask for: A mode of transportation, an object, and a cause that terrorist might champion.
Description: Have the terrorist leave the stage while the host get the audience suggestion. The two players start the scene as the terrorist comes on stage. The scene ends when the terrorist has named all of the suggestions, a "tag line" is given and scene is called.
Tips and Comments: It is a good idea to give clues in a specific order. In other words, give transportation clues, then give object clues, and finally the cause clues. Remember the terrorist can see what the victims are driving, he knows what is weapon is and why he is hijacking the vehicle so don’t play dumb.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Endowmen t Elevator
|
One person goes out of the room, other person gets item from the audience that they are buying at the mall/department store. Person comes in and they are the elevator operator, game host does not leave the elevator until the operator has guessed the item via stopping at floors and saying what items can be found on those floors. At every floor, a troupe member comes in to interact and give clues and then gets off at the next floor. Good to start off with subtle clues and then work up to real obvious ones.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Endowmen t Expert
|
Expert leaves the room, get his expertise, as an occupation, then object not usually related to that occupation, and then non-geographical location not related. Host interacts with the expert, and another person is the expert's hands and gives clues
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Endowmen t Famous Person Café
|
Three actors go out of the room one at a time; when each one goes out, the audience gives the name of a famous person/character that they are. The scene takes place at a cafe with the three famous people sitting at a table. Each person has to guess who they are based on clues given by the waiter and the other two famous people.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Endowmen t Game - Press Conference
|
One actor is sent out of the room. The audience gives a famous person, a problem, and something weird about the problem to the fronter. The actor comes back in, and gives a press conference, trying to guess who he is and what his problem is based on clues given by the other troupe members in the questions they ask him.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Endowmen t Give The Phrase
|
Number of Players: 3Ask for: A cliché phrase and an occupationDescription: Ask one of the players to leave the room while the audience is asked for the suggestions. The scene begins with the 2 players on stage performing the occupation. The "out" player enters and joins the scene. The object of the game is to communicate the occupation and the cliché to the player who was out of the room. Once the suggestions are communicated, the game ends with a "tag line" and "scene is called.Tips and comments: This game is pretty straightforward. One suggestion would be to get cliché phrases before the game and weed out the phrases that are not cliché. If you have done a lot of Improv, you know that an audience will yell anything. It is only fair to the "out" player to limit the suggestion to phrases that are truly cliché.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Endowmen t Interrogati on
|
Number of Players: 3 (2 cops and 1 criminal)
Ask for: A crime
Description: Have the criminal leave the room while the host gets the crime from the audience. The scene begins when the criminal is brought in to be interrogated by the two officers. Through the course of the interrogation the criminal must be forced to confess his/her crime.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Endowmen t Interview Game
|
One person leaves the room. Group chooses a job to interview player for. When job is decided, the person outside returns for an interview for a job unknown to them. Each question must give hints but not give the game away. Person being interviewed must answer as if in a real interview. When the group thinks the player knows the answer (the job), they can offer him the job. Player must answer, "Yes, I'd like to (whatever the job is)," or "No, I'd rather not take that job."
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Endowmen t Jail- Bird
|
One person goes away, audience gives silly crime that they did, a silly crime and then also usually a famous person. Guard goes out and brings new inmate into the cell where other two actors are two inmates already there, new inmate has to guess crime he did, from clues by the other in-mates and other troupe members who come into the scene. Person should milk it if they know it, saying "you know how tough I am, It took 100 cops to bring me in, I ..." and should always keep using same clue if got one right so far.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Endowmen t Return a Product
|
One improver leaves, and get an object from the audience and something wrong with it that normally wouldn't think would be wrong with it, person comes in returning it but has no clue and must figure out what it is, clerk doesn't help that much, but other improvers come in and help out.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
English Spin Bottle
|
One person asks a question. Spin the bottle. Whoever it lands nearest must answer the question.
|
S
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
|
English Whispers
|
Sitting in a circle. Leader whispers a message into the ear of the person on their left who must then whisper the message to the next person and so on. When the message arrives at the last person they say it out loud and compare it to the original.
|
S
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Entrances and Exits
|
Number of actors: 3-5
Audience participation: The audience gives each actor a word; location.
How it works: Scene starts with two actors on stage the others offstage. Whenever an actor's word is said, that actor must make an entrance if they are off-stage, exit if they are on-stage. Scene ends when all actors are offstage (i.e. when one actor is left on-stage, he says his own word).
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Everyday Olympics
|
Get every-day activity from audience, have two sportscasters, two competitors, and two on-the-field reporters.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Evolution
|
Pre teach students movements to represent a jellyfish, fish, chicken, dinosaur, monkey and a pop star. Students all start the game as jellyfish and evolve upwards to 'pop star' status by playing 'rock, scissors and paper.' They can only play this game with other students who are currently the same species. Each time the game 'rock, scissors, paper,' is played the winner evolves. There should be one of each animal left at the end of the game.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Expert Double Figures*
|
Need 4 players for this game. Get them into 2 pairs. One person from each pair should be the arms of their partners. Get a location and a topic for the scene. And they begin acting out the scene.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Eye to Eye Argument
|
In pairs, decide on a topic to argue about in the roles of parent and child (e.g., curfew, allowance). Argue for a minute or two, trying to maintain eye contact throughout the debate. Partners keep track of the number of times the other breaks eye contact.
|
A
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Fairy Tale Creations
|
Get made-up fairy-tale name, one person tells that fairy tale, and then other actors act it out.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Fairy Tale Newscast
|
One newscasters, set-up crime scene of fairy-tale, reporter out in the field, with fairy-tale, character, then have studio expert.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Family Dinner
|
Get an audience member to come up to the stage. Have them choose actors in the troupe to play different members of their family at the dinner table. Dinner table scene starts with no further information, if an actor does something out of line with how the audience member thinks that family member should act, he buzzes; if an actor does something that the audience member thinks is in-line with how that family member behaves he dings. Buzzing and dinging can be done by having the audience member hitting the heads of two leftover troupe members. Scene doesn't end until audience member approves of reason for every family member leaving the dinner table.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Famous Person
|
One member thinks of a famous person. (For instance Tom Cruise). Tell the group the surname initial of the famous person. The group ask yes/no questions to try to figure out the famous persons occupation. If the group suggests the wrong occupation (are you a singer?) the player must answer, "No," and then give the name of a famous person of the suggested occupation with the same surname initial as the famous person in the players mind. (Eg No, I am not Eric Clapton). If the player can't think of a famous person in said occupation with the same initial, questioner can ask a direct question, like - "Are you dead?" When correct occupation is guessed player must be elusive by saying something like, "Yes, I am an actor but I'm not Charlie Chaplin.") Game continues until the identity of the famous person is guessed.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Farmhouse Choir
|
This game is played by a large group of players. One player is the conductor. All the other players in groups of one to three are given the sound of an animal. Each group of players must make the sound of that animal when cued to do so by the conductor. The conductor then creates a symphony of animal sounds by gesturing to the various groups to be louder, or softer, or to start or stop making the sound of their animal.
|
A
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Fast Food Stan
|
Have 2 players perform a scene, perhaps give them a title or a location, but also give them a subtext for their character. Subtexts might be:
you want to seduce the other,
you are a nerd,
you like to make people laugh,
you want to impress others,
you are a nasty person,
you try to be ordinary,
you are an optimist/pessimist ,
you will never find a girlfriend/boyfriend,
If you are using this in a workshop it might be a good idea to ask the players how one would behave given a certain subtext. Stress that you are looking for Truthfulness .
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Fear in a Hat
|
Played in a circle. In the hat are pieces of paper with "In this class I am afraid that….." "In this class I am worried that….." "My gripe with this class is….." "What I like about this class is….." "What I dislike about this class is…..". The hat is passed around and each person draws a piece of paper. Each person enlarges on the statement on their piece of paper eg "In this class I am afraid that I will be laughed at and so I never say anything." No arguing or comment allowed.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
|
Fight in the Dark
|
Class sits in a circle on the floor. Two volunteers stand in the middle of the circle. A is give a rolled up newspaper to form a baton. Both are blindfolded. A crumpled piece of paper or prop is tossed onto the floor in the circle as treasure. B's aim is to find the treasure. A's aim is to find (and hit) B before B finds the treasure. Try the game blindfolded or not blindfolded. Notice posture and movement in both A and B.
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Film Noir
|
Get relationship, after each line, actor steps out and narrates like in film noir, tells things that other actor is doing/will doing, humour in this game is from forcing other people to do crazy, unexpected stuff. Also done simpler by each person sticking to saying after the other's line, "he said while .... (insert activity)."
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
FirstLine/L ast Line
|
Two-person scene, other players can support. Get a first line of dialogue and a last line of dialogue for the scene, players fill in the rest of the dialogue.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Folded
|
Students have a piece of paper and write one line of a story, before passing the folded paper onto the next person. Story can take the form of: (name) and (name) were in (location) trying to (verb) when suddenly (event) and the result was (conclusion).
|
S
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Foreign Expert
|
Get made-up foreign language, and a topic from the audience, have a host, an interpreter and the expert who speaks in the foreign language and then ask questions of the audience for the expert; can do the experts national anthem at the end.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Forward/ Reverse
|
Number of Players: 2 or 3 with one coach
Ask for: Any one to start the scene
Description: The players will start a scene based on the audience suggestion. At any time the coach can say, "freeze!", at which point he/she may say, "lets take a look at that scene in reverse. " At this point the players will play the scene backwards from the point of "freeze!" The coach can then say "freeze!" lets move forward." At this point the players play the scene moving forward. The scene ends when there is a "tag line" and "scene" is called.
Tips and Comments: This game is similar to remote control. If you are the coach, don't go crazy with freezing the scene and moving forwards and backwards. Let the scene develop for a bit and then freeze it. All Improv games are about scene structure so let the structure develop. As you become more familiar with the game you can jump to the next day, next week, last week etc. If you are playing the scene, try not to get too detailed in your scene structure because you may forget scene points as you move forward and reverse. It is easier to remember major plot points in the scene.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Four Ways To Die
|
Number of actors: 4
Audience Participation: The audience gives a location and four ways a person could die.
How it works: The scene starts (with usually not everyone on stage), and through the course of the action, each actor must die by one of the 4 ways given. No one is assigned any of the 4 ways, the actors figure out who will die by what way as the scene evolves.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Fox and Grapes
|
One player holds object high above partners head. Partner must stretch to try and grab object before it is removed from his/her extended reach. Player with object tantalises partner by lowering it and raising it out of reach. Partner must keep both feet on the ground.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Fruit Salad
|
Students sit in a large circle, with one student in the middle without a chair. Label the students as one of three fruits (e.g., apple, peach, kiwi). The student in the middle calls the name of a fruit, and everyone in the circle with that name must find another chair at the same time as the person in the middle is trying to find a chair. As a variation, the person in the middle may call either two fruit names or "fruit salad," which means everyone must find another seat.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Fx by You
|
Get an audience member and a story-title from the audience. One troupe member tells the story while two other troupe members act it out in mime and the audience member provides the sound effects on microphone.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Gathering
|
Draw a line down the middle of the room. Divide the class into two teams - one on either side of the line. The object is to grab the hand of an opponent and drag them over the line.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Genre Jump
|
Genre Jump is a simple game - but one that takes a little confidence to play. Two players are chosen from the audience and given a task to complete. The only hitch is that two people (the host of the game and a chosen partner) will sit off stage and be the moderators. At any time during the game either of the two moderators will call out a genre (a theme, or type of story). The two players must immediately continue the scene in the style of the called genre. Unlike similar games, the genre called out by the moderators does not have to be a "real" genre. At the beginning of the game, the genres are typically easy - i.e., Western, Soap Opera, children's show, etc. But as the game progresses, the genres will become progressively harder. Expect calls such as Amish, Cajun 70ies cop drama, Shakespearean-rap, etc.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Giant/Pirat es Treasure
|
One student stands, facing the wall, at the front of the room with their "treasure" just behind them. The game then plays out like traditional statues except that the goal is to get the Pirates Treasure not tap the person up the front on their back. The winner becomes the Pirate.
|
S
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Giant/Pirat es Treasure 2
|
One player sits blindfolded on a chair surrounded by coins or small metal objects. Other players must, in turn, creep up on him and steal the objects and return to base. If the pirate hears a sound he points to where it is coming from. If he/she points accurately that player is dead and dies on the spot.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Gibberish
|
Get a sticky situation for two actors to do a scene. Actors start the scene speaking normally, but whenever the director claps, they would start speaking in gibberish, and then when the director claps again, they revert back to normal speak.
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Gospel Tune
|
Tight, rehearsed singing game, where you get three things from audience member and save their soul based on those things through song (like last movie seen, favourite movie actor, and last thing bought costing over 100 dollars).
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Grandmoth er’s Statues
|
One player stands with face to the wall. Others creep up on him/her and try to touch his/her back. At intervals, player at wall suddenly turns around and anyone he/she sees moving is sent back to start.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Gunfighter
|
Passing a gun (hand) between outstretched hands of partner before s/he can clap them shut.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Gunfighter Phonics
|
Participants line up in the middle of the room, leader faces them on the other side. Leader makes two distinct sounds eg. "fat" and "fake", on the first sound participants must respond by shooting the leader with imaginary guns and saying another sound eg. "toaster" before the leader shoots them. On the second sound they must respond with a different sound and action eg. "washer" - having a bath. If they make a mistake they must step back. If they get it right the leader takes a step back. Anyone who steps back makes another pre-taught sound eg. "gazoonks".
|
S
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Half life
|
Two actors on, one off get first line/last line from audience and a location. Actors do the first scene in a minute, with third actor coming in about 3/4 the way through. Scene is then done in 30 seconds, 15 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Harlequino' s Excuses
|
Get into pairs - nominate A and B. Nominate a place/scenario e.g. "a walk in the park." A takes in the role of master and walks around the room in a huge, exaggerated style, describing what he/she is doing. Eg - "I'm walking in the park picking flowers and the sky is ...". B walks behind, imitating A and being as rude as possible. A swings around and catches B in the act and B must give a plausible excuse for his/her actions. Eg - "I was picking a flower for you..." A and B can change roles.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Harold
|
Usually 6 to 8 performers. Get a theme or a noun from the audience. The players usually first performs a brainstorming game like a word association, monologues, an invocation, or any other pre-planned group game. Two actors come out and start a two-person scene based on the theme and/or what's been brainstormed in the opening game. This scene can be supported by the other players via tag-outs, cut-to's, minor characters, inanimate objects, and sound effects - all support should help to clarify the scene/game of the two actors. Eventually someone in the troupe sweeps the scene and starts a new two-person scene. This scene again is eventually swept and a third scene is started. When the third scene is swept, the group then usually goes into a group scene based on the theme and/or what has been established in the scenes. The first two-person scene is then brought back (advisable to have it in a new time and/or place), then the second scene is brought back, and then the third again. A second group game is then usually performed. Finally, one last scene or series of scenes is performed that ties the three scenes and the theme of the Harold together
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Have You Ever?
|
Warm-up game designed to encourage listening, speaking and movement. Participants sit in a circle on chairs. One person stands in the middle and asks a question starting with the form- “Have you ever…?”. eg. “Have you ever eaten chicken?” “Have you ever kissed a girl” etc… if this is true for any of the participants they must stand up and find a new chair. The person in the middle tries to steal someone else’s chair, leaving a new person in the middle to ask the next question
Note: Change the forms and tense of the questions –
Will you ever…?
Tonight will you…?
|
S
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
He Said - She Said
|
Players refer to each other as 'he' and 'she', and endow each other with the next action to take. This can be quite funny, if you endow your partner to do crazy or not-so-nice thing to you - or to themselves.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Hey So Cha
|
Game is played sitting in a circle on the ground. Each word in the phrase must be said in order. Each word has a associated movement. Hey- Left or right hand across the chest, So- Left or right hand across forehead, Cha- Left or right arm extended out in front. Starting person says Hey and the direction his hand is pointing indicates who goes next. Person too slow or unable to coordinate appropriate movements is removed and aids by distracting remaining participants
|
S
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
HUH
|
Group forms a circle, A stands in the middle. A makes eye contact with someone. Group focuses on A without warning A jumps into sumo stance and shouts "HUH!" The group must sense the moment and jump and "HUH" as quickly as possible if not simultaneously.
|
S
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Human Rope
|
Group makes a line, holding hands. The head of the chain turns on the spot slowly. The rest of the group must keep their hands held and wound around the head of the coil. When the group is tightly "wound up" the leader issues the command to unravel slowly.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Hunting the Whatsit
|
The player that is on stage becomes a hunter. She is kind of an Elmer Fudd of hunting, because she starts to talk out loud about what it is that she is hunting. "it is a lovely day for hunting deer". The next player in line hops up on stage as a deer, and kills the hunter. The player that was endowed and entered the stage becomes the hunter, and the hunter heads off stage. The hunters can look for anything that they want: winged rhinoceros, happy limping Scotsman, aggressive washing machines, etc. It is up to the player that is called on-stage as the prey to sneak up on the hunter and vanquish them in character.
|
S
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
I Am /I Hate /I Like
|
Each student faces the class one at a time. He/she says, My name is…" and I hate…..". Have the students do this three or four times, beginning fairly close to the group and receding to the back of the classroom.
|
S
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
|
I Should Have Said
|
Number of Players: 2 and 1 coach Ask for: You can use virtually any ask for. Description: To players will play a scene based on an audience suggestion. At any time during the scene the coach can clap his/her hands. When the coach claps, the player who delivered the last line must go back and say what they "should have said". For example, if player A says "I just got bit by a dog!" (CLAP) "a snake!" (CLAP), "an old woman with false teeth!" If the coach does not clap then the scene continues. The scene ends there is a "tag line" and scene is called. Tips and Comments: If you are the coach don't get "clap" happy. If you clap after every other word, the players will not have a chance to let the scene develop. This will make them mad and chances are, they know where you live.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Instant Mottoes
|
Each student makes up a motto to represent the group. Pair up, compromise on motto. If advanced enough continue to add to group size until the whole group is compromising on the motto.
|
S
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Interrogati on Boris
|
2 players play an interrogation scene. One is the interrogator; the other is a suspect. The interrogator randomly throws unconnected elements to the suspect, who needs to incorporate these and get himself into (even more) trouble.
And then we have Boris, who is a nasty, huge, but invisible thug assisting the interrogator. Every time the interrogator does not like the suspect's answers (and also when the suspect does not incriminate himself enough), the interrogator calls on Boris to torture the suspect, prodding him to confess or incriminate him even further.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Interpretat ions
|
Get a story from someone in the audience. present this situation three different times, rotating the actors playing the different parts and interpreting the situation differently. Can forgo with audience member story (for simplicity) and do three-person scene and then rotate actors.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Interview and Report
|
Have students’ pair up with someone who they don't know very well. Assign one partner as "A" and the other as "B". Each student is given 3 minutes to interview their partner. Encourage them to try and discover and remember as many details as possible. Have each student introduce their partner and give a short report on what they have learned about them.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Jeopardy
|
Have audience write down on pieces of paper five related words that form categories. Alex Trebek-like host brings 3 contestants/characters on, they introduce themselves, host reads five things, characters buzz in, their buzzer must relate to their character, answer the question in the form of a question in a way that relates to their characters.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Jump Styles
|
Get about six for each of the following categories: TV genre, movie genre, theatre genre, and emotions: do a scene in a given location and director changes genre constantly.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Knee Tap
|
Pairs, nominate A and B. They stand facing each other in a sumo-wrestling stance. Object is to hit your partner on the back of the knees without allowing them to hit yours. When partner covers the back of their knees with their hands you can't hit them. Person who gets three hits first is the winner.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Knees on Blue
|
A body part and a colour are called out, and the students have three seconds to get that body part onto an object of that colour.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Knife and Fork
|
Students get into pairs. A series of different objects/emotions are called out and each pair has to create the object/emotion together.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Knights and Arabs
|
Divide class into half. Each half occupies separate corners of the room. There are 3 commands and 3 actions. 1. Camels - one person is piggybacked by a partner. 2. Horses - One person is on all fours and the other sits astride their back. 3. Desert Sands - Everyone lies face down on the floor with hands over their heads. The object is to get to the other group's territory. You can only do this by doing the 3 actions the leader calls out.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Knots
|
The group gets together in a cluster by holding each other’s hand in random to make human hand-knots. Then students try to untangle themselves from the knot without letting go the hands they are holding.
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Leper Tag
|
Person who is up is the head leper and they have to hop - when part of you is hit you have to disfigure it and keep going. Eventually, all end up mutant on the floor.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Liar
|
Students stand in a circle around one student who performs a simple action. A student calls out "what are you doing?" to the student in the middle, who must promptly lie. Student is called a liar an replaced by the questioner, who acts out the lie.
|
S
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Lifts eg. Raft
|
Two players stand back to back. Lifter places his/her arms under the armpits of the lifted. Lifter places the small of his/her back under partners buttocks and bends at the hip joints and straightens the knees so that the partner is lifted to lie along the lifter's straightened back. Lifted closes their eyes. Supporting player gently rises and falls using their knees (bending) to give the feeling of a raft being carried to sea by the tide.
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Limerick
|
Troupe members stand in a line, host gets name of person in audience and hobby, troupe members do continuous limericks, each taking one line, until one person is eliminated by the host for whatever reason, and then a new limerick topic is taken, limericks go A-A-B-B-A, like "There once was a man from Nantucket, whose xxxx was so long he could xxxx it, he'd do it all day, but then he would say, If my ear was a xxxxx I'd xxxx it."
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Lines from Hat
|
Number of actors: 2
Audience Participation: During an intermission or before the show, the audience write lines of dialogue on pieces of paper and puts them into a hat. When scene stars a location is given.
How it works: The two actors do a simple scene, but must pull lines intermittently from the hat, read them immediately and incorporate them into the scene. Wackiness ensues.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Listen Twice
|
Groups of three, nominate A, B and C. A and C stand on either side of B. A and C talk continually on a set topic each, B listens to both at the same time. A and C interject their narratives with questions to B. B has to answer all the questions as quickly as possible.
|
A
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
|
Lost Partner Cherie/Cha rlie
|
A 3 to ?? people activity. Nominate a participant as Cherie’s boyfriend and all others as Cherie’s wacky family members. Start the scene with the boyfriend visiting Cherie at her home but only her family is there. The family members are asking all sorts of questions about the boyfriend and the boyfriend is trying to find out where Cherie went. However, the family members can only give out hints of Cherie’s whereabouts.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
MacGyver
|
Like the show, two actors (MacGyver and little Jimmy) must save a life-threatening situation or catastrophe, but only have three-objects told to the actors by the audience.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Machine
|
A machine that does not exist is called for and the players create the machine by each adding an essential part. There is no discussion amongst the players before starting. The first player starts with a repetitive activity and an associated noise. The next players add to the machine with some activity that fits into the previous player's activity. This continues until a machine is created. The machine is sped up and slowed down. Certain players can be asked to malfunction, and the whole machine must respond. There is no leader in the creation of the machine. It is important that all the players reflect the changes in each part of the machine.
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
|
Madrigal
|
Three singers, one gets a tabloid headline, one gets something you mother used to always tell you, and third gets something from billboard, bumper sticker, or something on product label, make sure tabloid headline has a famous person's name in it. Director leads singers on an eight count, and they sing their saying in eight, straight once through, when it gets back to the first person, they switch their last word in their saying with another word in someone else's saying, consecutive people keep messing up until director finds one funny enough and then all three sing that in that person's melody (all three people should have very distinctly, different melodies) and then very slowly, with one person punctuating the last word, make sure singers and director give dirty looks when singers are messing up.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Magazine panel
|
Get magazine titles, each improver comes up with character that works for that magazine, introduces themselves, then director gets questions from audience members to ask of each person on that panel, or general topic for each person to talk about, special issues, or articles coming up about a topic, closing words, etc.
|
A
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
|
Marionette s
|
Have students practise moving like human marionettes, first as if controlled by strings from elbows, wrists, fingers, and then from knees, ankles, and toes. Finally, add strings for heads, necks, and shoulders. Once students have practised the movement, have them form small groups and choose a children’s story to perform. Have them try speaking in the same broken rhythm in which they move. Students may perform the story for the class and maybe for a much younger class
|
B
|
N
|
N
|
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
|
Marriage guidance
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Players line up in two teams. They face each other, each player has a pillow. Leader will call out numbers- each number has an instruction attached. 1 -hit members of other team with pillow. 2 - insult members of other team. 3- compliment members of other team. 4 - fall to the ground in a faint. Leader calls numbers out at random.
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N
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N
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N
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N
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N
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N
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N
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Matthew, Mark (Big Booty)
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Players sit in a circle and number off, "Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, one, two, three etc" game is governed by a rhythmic sequence. All players hit left knee with left hand, hit right knee with right hand, snap fingers of left hand, snap fingers of right hand. It is a game of verbal tag. Always begin with the highest number (who will be sitting next to Matthew) -eg - in a group of ten, four apostles , six numbers, start with six. Six begins by saying "six to three." (or whichever number he chooses). Before the next rhythmic sequence is completed three must pass the tag to someone else "three to Mark," for instance. The object of the game is to get to heaven. Any player who fails to pass the tag in the rhythmic sequence loses his/her place and moves to the lowest place. Each player now moves up a place and assumes a new number.
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S
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Y
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Y
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N
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N
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Y
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N
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Memory
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Tray of objects is shown for a few moments. Tray of objects is then removed. Players must list as many as they remember.
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S
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N
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Y
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Y
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N
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N
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N
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Mine Stuit- Walking in Space
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A French drama game. Students stand at end of the room. The leader calls out, "The room is full of (noun)" i.e.: smoke, honey, birds, chocolate." The students then move from their end of the room to the other miming that they are moving through whatever they have been told the room is full of.
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N
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Y
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N
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Y
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N
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N
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N
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Minor Characters
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Start off with two actors and get location/story-title - two actors start scene - another minor character comes in - when he exits - actually when anybody exits the scene, the scene follows them, try to have a coherent story-line and wrap things up with re-current characters at the end.
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A
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N
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N
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Y
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Y
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N
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Y
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Mirrors
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One of the players in the pair begins to gradually move. The other player mirrors the movements of the other player. Initially one player is leading the other and then the lead switches. Eventually there is no way to tell which player is leading the exercise the focus is being shared rather than taken by one player or the other. The object is not to confuse the other player, but to make the reality of the mirror the priority.
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N
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Y
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Y
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N
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N
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Y
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N
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Monarch
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The monarch sits proudly on stage and is persistently approached by all of the other players in the workshop. The players approach the monarch making strong character choices and making offers to please the monarch. Offers such as "a box of chocolates for your royalness" or "a new necklace for my monarch" are common. The role of the monarch is to accept the offer and decide whether the offer was worthy of that player sitting beside the monarch in an exclusive place in her court. Other players are constantly coming forward in an attempt to gain that exclusive spot by offering better and better goodies for the monarch. An ideal monarch will not base her responses on the goodies themselves, but how well they are presented by the player. If a player offers the monarch a rock, but does it with a strong and committed character the monarch will place them at her side. Only one player may be in the monarch's favour at any one time. Like all good royalty no commoner may touch the monarch (this keeps the monarch from getting a 10 minute massage instead of accepting new offers).
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B
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N
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N
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Y
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Y
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N
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N
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Move on the Spot
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Each student chooses a place in the room that is theirs. All walk in the space until leader says "stop" - on stop all run to their own places. Give different instructions, i.e.: say hello to everyone as you pass, look down as you walk, run around, hop around etc.
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N
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Y
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Y
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Y
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N
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N
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N
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Movie Critics
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Get a name of a movie, two movie reviewer characters, introduce themselves and the movie, but not the first clip, actors perform the first clip, then hosts set-up the next clip for the actors, then the reviewers give their thumbs up or down (or other thing, preferably, up or down or amount of something, like three avocados), then preview next week's movie (actors do a tableau) and say good-bye.
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A
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N
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N
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Y
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Y
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N
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Y
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Mr Subliminal
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Get occupation for the two actors, one subconscious gets something to be fixated with, the other gets childhood trauma, two actors are the thoughts for the other two actors but the thoughts are fixated on the two topics, escalates to the point where two thoughts rank on each other and get into fight and have to be separated by the actual two people.
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A
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N
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N
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Y
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Y
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N
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Y
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Mr Wolfe
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Mr Wolf faces the wall. The other students are at the opposite end of the room and call to him, "What's the time Mr Wolfe?" He turns and answers, "One O'clock," "Four O'clock," etc - the students can step as many times as he tell them the time is (One O'clock - one step). At some point he unexpectedly says, "dinner time" and turns and chases the students back to the opposite wall. Any student who he catches becomes Mr Wolfe.
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S
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Y
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Y
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Y
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N
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N
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N
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Murder in the Marketplac e
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Whole group is enrolled as either shoppers or shopkeepers. Shopkeepers set up space in the room as stalls. One person is designated secretly as the murderer. Murderer kills people by whispering “death” to them. Victims die and become police officers, survivors must try to guess who the murderer is.
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A
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N
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N
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Y
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Y
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N
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N
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Murder, Wink
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A warm up for, “Murder in the Marketplace”. Participants are seated in a circle. One person is sent out of the room and plays the role of the detective. Remaining participants close their eyes and instructor selects one of them to be the murderer. Detective comes in and stands in the middle of the circle. Murderer kills people by winking at them. Victims count three silently before dying. Detective has three guesses to guess who the murderer is.
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N
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Y
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Y
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N
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Y
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N
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N
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