Improvisation Activities
HAND ANIMALS: A first character game. For first-time drama students.
RAINFOREST LESSONS: A small collection of lessons and lesson variations about the rainforest. For Pre-Kindergarten and up.
NO, YOU CAN'T TAKE ME!: A fun game that requires critical thinking skills. For Elementary students.
THE LION KING'S COURT: A role-playing game about friendship and animals. (Nothing to do with the Disney film.) For Elementary students.
AROUND THE WORLD IN THIRTY MINUTES: An imaginary journey that teaches geography and cultures. For Elementary students.
MIRROR MIRROR: A collection of mirroring exercises. For all ages.
PUPPETS IN THE DRAMA CLASSROOM: A collection of puppet-making and puppetry projects.
THE JEFFREY GAME: A movement game of building on one another's ideas. For older Elementary through adult.
MUSICAL FREEZE IMPROVS: An improvisation game of creative movement. For all students.
NEWS PLAYS: Supports Social Studies, History, or Current Events curricula. Involves improvisation, group planning, and performance. For older Elementary students.
OREGON TRAIL PROPAGANDA: Supports a Social Studies unit about the Oregon Trail. Examines the nature of propaganda, as well as the nature of advertising in today's world. For older Elementary students.
SOCIAL ROLES: A pantomime guessing game that teaches the idea of social roles within any society, and supports a Social Studies curriculum in world cultures. For older Elementary students.
GIBBERISH SENTENCES: A pantomime game that explores ways to communicate without words. Can be used as a primer to more elaborate Theatre Games, or to support a Social Studies curriculum about immigrants. For older Elementary and up.
THE DISCOVERY OF FIRE: An improvised scene about early humans. For older Elementary and up.
RITUALS: Students create their own magical rituals while exploring the importance of ritual to early (and modern) cultures. For older Elementary and up.
PAPER MASKS: A lesson using masks to teach body language. Can be related to a Social Studies unit on Greek Theatre. For older Elementary and up.
EDWENA'S GAMES: A collection of concentration, warm-up and improvisation games from a friend.
THREE WORDS: A pantomime and improvisation exercise. For older Theatre students.
STORY STORY: A fun improvisation, storytelling and pantomime game. For Middle School and up.
I AM WALKING: A game of cooperation and communication. For Middle School and up.
JOB INTERVIEW: A wacky concentration game that makes you think on your feet. For older Theatre students.
CIRCLE OF CHARACTERS: A complex and challenging game of characters and observation. For older Theatre students.
CONCEPT CHARADES: A challenging game of improvisation and creativity . For Advanced Middle School and up.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?: An exercise for helping young actors more fully inhabit their characters. For Middle School and up.
IMPROVS AND WARMUPS: A collection of warmup exercises and improvisation games collected from various places. For older Theatre students.