IMPROV GAMES
FREEZE
Have two students begin an improvised scene of some kind of action that requires teamwork (washing a car, making cookies, etc). After a minute or so, or as soon as they've gotten "into" the routine, the instructor will clap hands or otherwise signal them to come to a complete freeze. Either choose someone or ask for a volunteer to take the place of one of the two actors. When in place, the new actor will begin a completely new and different action that evolves from the frozen pose. [For instance, waxing a car could evolve into petting a dog]
HELLO!
Pairs. Each pair plays the following dialogue. They must perform it with player one being angry/scared/upset/happy/nervous with player 2. Then parent/child, happy/unhappy, has just woken up to a phone call/has a headache, is always happy/isn't, doesn't want to talk to 2, is the principal/is the student.
Hello.
Hi. How are you?
Fine thanks. What have you been up to?
Not much, just enjoying the sunshine. How about you?
Not a lot. I'd better go. See you later.
Okay, see you soon.
FREE WORD ASSOCIATION
Going around in a circle each person says the thing that first comes into their mind when they hear what the previous person said. The words should be said in a steady beat. If the person disrupts the beat they are out. Last person standing wins.
EXPERT
Three people hook arms and become an “Expert”. Each person can only say one word at a time and the team works together to create sentences. Audience members ask questions which the expert answers: “What are you an expert of?” “How long have you been studying __________?” etc. Answers can be anything from factual to outrageous but “I don’t know” and “No” are not okay answers.
This game is
like a dubbed foreign film. It is played with four people. Two people act, and
two other people do the dialogue. The people doing the acting must react to the
dialogue they are given, and the people doing the dialogue must be willing to
take up cues from the people acting.
PARTY QUIRKS
Three performers (party guests) are given a random quirk, and the fourth performer is the party's host, who must identify the others' quirks as the guests arrive and interact at the party. If they correctly guess a person's quirk, that person leaves the party. The game ends when all quirks are guessed or when the host cannot guess the quirks.
HAND'S THROUGH
An absurd impro
exercise. Person A stands behind person B and puts her arms underneath B's arms
so that they protrude in front. At the same time, B clasps his hands behind his
own back. Now any scene is improvised but A moves her arms as though they were
the arms of person B. You could, for example, ask B to give some kind of
lecture, but A would provide all the gestures! Or, you could have two
"hands-through" pairs facing each other as though they were meeting
each other. Of course, in theory, A can do anything she likes to B - scratching
his head, stroking his chin, waving furiously, drinking a glass of water, and
so on.
MAKE FRIENDS/ARGUE
In pairs: walk around the room, making friends. Now when the leader tells you, find something to argue about - then make friends again. Keep swapping between making friends and having an argument. Try to continue the conversation, whatever happens.
One person leaves the room, while everyone else decides on a job. When they return all interview her/him for the job. She/he tries to guess what the job is. e.g. for cook: "Do you like beating?" "Do you like rolling?"
