· Web viewPlay Your Part! Drama Activities Reader. Warm-Up and Improvisation Exercises for...

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Play Your Part! Drama Activities Reader Warm-Up and Improvisation Exercises for Drama and English Classrooms 1

Transcript of   · Web viewPlay Your Part! Drama Activities Reader. Warm-Up and Improvisation Exercises for...

Play Your Part!Drama Activities Reader

Warm-Up and Improvisation Exercises for Drama and English Classrooms

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WARM-UP EXERCISES

Blind Walk

Grouping: partnersMaterials: 1 blindfold for each set of partners (optional)Time: 10 minutesPurpose: trust, working together

Divide the class into partners (with an uneven number, you can have a group of three). Tell partners to decide who will lead first and who will follow. The follower is blindfolded (or closes her eyes); the leader holds the partner by the hand and the elbow. When you say “Start,” the leader leads the follower around the space and gives simple directions, such as “step down, step up, move to the right,” etc. to help the follower avoid tripping or falling. After 3-5 minutes, shout “Switch!” and the follower becomes the leader. When everyone has finished the exercise, bring the group back together and have them discuss what it was like to lead/follow, which was more difficult, could they trust their partners, etc.

Trust Circle

Grouping: Groups of 8-10 Materials: noneTime: 15 minutesPurpose: trust, group awareness

Divide the class into groups. One student will stand in the center of the group with his arms crossed over his chest with his feet rooted to one spot. Group members will stand with their hands in front of them, ready to catch the student in the middle. When you say “go” the student in the middle will let himself gently fall to one side, keeping his feet rooted in the same spot. The group member he falls against will gently push him toward the other side of the circle. Again, the group member he falls against will push him in another direction. The exercise continues in this way until you say, “Switch,” and another group member will stand in the center of the circle. If possible, keep playing until each group member has had a chance to be in the center (give each person about one minute). NOTE: If anyone is intentionally pushing or falling too hard, they destroy the trust and should be removed from the circle.

The Bomb

Grouping: an entire class together Materials needed: a piece of paper with a “B” printed on it, a towelTime: 5 minutesPurpose: trust, group awareness

Announce to students that there is a bomb in the room (to avoid possible panic, make sure they know you are “acting”), and tell them that it is their job to find that bomb and

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deactivate It. Tell them that the bomb is very sensitive to sound and will explode if there is too much noise, and explain that the bomb can only be deactivated by being wrapped inside of a towel. Show them the paper with the “B” on it and tell them that it is the bomb and show them the towel that can deactivate the bomb. Send students out of the room, and hide the bomb and the towel (avoid hiding it inside of anything, although you could place it under or behind something—and explain these parameters to the students). After you have hidden it, let them come silently into the room to find the bomb. If someone finds it, they will have to show the other students they have found it without making any noise and work together to make sure it gets wrapped in a towel. If anyone makes a noise, even bumping a table or walking too loudly, make a huge noise like the bomb is exploding and have students try again. A fun variation is to give them a time limit to find the bomb.

Elephant/Rabbit/Airplane

Grouping: an entire class together or two groups of about 15 studentsMaterials needed: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: concentration, group awareness

Arrange students in a circle. Explain to them that, as a group of three, they can make an elephant, rabbit, or airplane. To make an elephant, the student in the middle puts his arm out like a trunk and the students on either side of him make big round ears. To make a rabbit, the student in the middle makes a tail with two hands behind him and wiggles his nose. The students on either side of him put one hand up in the air to make long ears. To make an airplane, the student in the middle puts to arms on top of each other out in front of him, and the students on either side put an arm out to the side to make wings. You stand in the middle, and turn to a random student and say, for example, “Elephant!” and start counting quickly to 10. That student has to make a trunk and the students next to him have to make ears before you reach 10. If one of the students does not make the trunk or ears in time, he has to leave the circle. Keep playing until you have eliminated most of the students. With some groups, you might have to count more slowly to make it easier or count only to five to make it more difficult. You (or your students) can also think of other animals or objects to create.

Observation Game

Grouping: an entire class togetherMaterials: a tray of about 20 objects, a towel to cover the tray, pen and paper for each student, stopwatchTime: 10 minutesPurpose: concentration

Arrange students in a circle. Place a covered tray of objects in the center of the circle. Explain to students that they are to stare at the tray of objects for two minutes, trying to memorize what is on the tray. Uncover the objects. After two minutes, cover up the objects again, and give students about three minutes to write down as many objects as they remember. Have

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students switch papers, and then reveal what the objects are. Have them check each others’ lists to avoid cheating. Optional: Give a prize to the one who names the most objects.

Find your partner!

Grouping: PartnersMaterials: small cards with animal names or a short text written on it (Each card is part of a matching set.)Time: 10 minutesPurpose: concentration, working together

Give each student in the class a card and tell them to spread out throughout the room. When you say “Go!” each student starts making the sound of the animal named on her card. Her job is to listen for the other student making the same animal sound. When the partners find each other, they stand together. The game stops when all “animals” have found each other. Variation: You can also play this game with short pieces of text that match in some way (a question and an answer, quotes from a particular movie/character, etc.).

Pass the Movement and Sound

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: body and vocal awareness

Arrange the class in a circle and join the circle yourself. Explain that you are going to “pass” a movement and a sound to the person on your right. That person will repeat your sound and movement and then alter the movement and/or sound slightly and pass it on. This will continue until the movement and sound return to you. Note: Stand to the left of a less inhibited student who is likely to not be embarrassed about imitating you and then making his/her own sound and movement.

Story Circle

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: creativity, group awareness

Arrange the class so that they are sitting in a circle, and sit in the circle with them. Start telling a story. After about 15 seconds, stop speaking, and turn to the person on your right. It is her job to continue the story. After about 15 seconds she will pass the story to the person on her right. The story will either end when it comes back to you, or when it comes to a logical conclusion. You might want to repeat this exercise more than once, as students generally get more creative after the first round.

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Name Repetition

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 15 minutesPurpose: icebreaker, concentration, group awareness

This is a good game to do on your first day of class. Arrange the class so that they are standing in a circle, and stand in the circle with them. Turn to the person on your left, look into his eyes, and say your name. His job is to repeat your name, and then say his name while making eye contact. You will repeat his name, and then he will turn to the person on his left and repeat the process. Your conversation will sound like this:

Kristina: KristinaBrian: Kristina. Brian.Kristina: Brian. (Then Brian turns to the person on his left, and it continues…)

It is fun to make a game out of this. Give students a time limit or make them start over if someone makes a mistake with the format (for example, by forgetting to repeat your name before saying her own name). It adds motivation and excitement to the exercise.

Move your ass!

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: a chair for everyoneTime: 15-20 minutesPurpose: icebreaker, trust

Depending on the age/prudishness of your group, you can call this game “Move your bum” instead. Stand in the middle of the circle and explain that you are going to share something you have never done before (for example, snowboarding), and that those who HAVE done that activity, must stand up and find a new chair. Then you say something such as “Move your ass if you have ever gone snowboarding.” Everyone who HAS gone snowboarding before must stand up and run to a new seat, and you will sit down. Since you have taken one of the chairs, there will now be someone without a chair. Now he will have to think of something he has never done. You can make suggestions, such as movies they have not seen, places they have not been, or things they have never tried. You might want to put some boundaries around what they are allowed to say because you might end up finding out more than you wanted to know about your students! This game is a wonderful icebreaker and works very well even with students who speak very little English.

Charades

Grouping: a whole class together or two large groupsMaterials: small papers with items for students to guessTime: 20-30 minutesPurpose: body language

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You can play this traditional game in a number of different ways, and it works very well for students with limited English-speaking abilities. The rules are that one person acts out a word or concept, and the class has to guess what it is. You can either make the cards with the words/concepts beforehand or let your students come up with words related to a certain theme, movies, songs, etc. With younger/beginning English groups sometimes it works best to choose a certain theme such as “professions.” If you are playing for points, it can help to divide your class into teams, so that it is easier to determine who has earned the point.

Yarn Web

Grouping: A whole class togetherMaterials: A large spool of yarn/string/ribbonTime: 15 minutesPurpose: trust, group awareness, icebreaker

This exercise is best if it is done in the first few days of a course. Tell your students to think of something that scares them. Make sure that the class is an emotionally safe environment, as some students might share things that are personal, such as “I am afraid of my father dying.” Holding the ball of yarn in your hand, share something you are afraid of, saying, “I am afraid of heights.” Then hold the end of the ball of yarn in your hand, and you’re your other hand, throw the ball to someone else. He will repeat the process. Before he throws the yarn, remind him to hold on to a piece of it when he throws the ball. The idea is that you will end up with a web of yarn at the end with everyone connected. After everyone has shared, as the class to look at the web, and get them to talk about what it symbolizes.

Playing Catch

Grouping: partners (If you have an uneven number, you can have a group of three.)Materials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: body language, working together

Divide the class into partners (this is usually preferable to letting them choose their partners because they are more likely to work with someone with whom they would not usually work). Have them decide who is “A” and who is “B.” The A people will stand in a horizontal line on one side of the room. The B people will stand across from their partners. Tell the A’s that they have an imaginary basketball in their hands, and when you say “go,” they will throw the ball to their partner. Let them throw the basketball back and forth for about 30 seconds and then shout out, “tennis ball!” Repeat this process, changing the type of ball about every 15-30 seconds (do not forget about bowling balls, little bouncy balls, beach balls, etc.). The more different types of balls you use the more creative they have to be.

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Handshakes

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: body language, characterisation

Explain to your class that they are going to walk around shaking hands and greeting each other and that you will periodically change the circumstances. Give them a few minutes to walk around greeting each other and shaking hands, then shout out, “Now continue shaking hands and greeting each other as if the other person stole money from you.” Give them a minute or two to continue. Then change the circumstances again, using such situations as “you are colleagues competing for a promotion, you don’t speak the same language, you have a crush on each other” etc.

Can you hear me?

Grouping: 5-10 students with the others serving as an active audienceMaterials: One line of text for each studentTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: vocal projection

This is a good exercise to do after you have taught students how to project their voices and articulate their words. If your class takes place in a small room (such as a regular classroom), it is best to take your class outside. Give each student a different line of text. Explain to them that it is their objective to make the audience understand every word. Choose 5-10 students to stand at the back of the stage in a horizontal line (or at least 15 meters away from the audience). One at a time the students will deliver their lines. If the audience members cannot hear and/or understand the person speaking, they will make a gesture showing that the person needs to be louder (establish a gesture with them beforehand). The person will repeat the line until it is understood by everyone. NOTE: The reason that students go on stage in groups is that it makes them feel less intimidated, and it is more efficient to have less transition time between students.

Go

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: concentration, group awareness

Arrange the class in a standing circle. One person (A) will start by pointing at someone else across the circle (B). B will say “Go.” Then A will start walking toward B and take B’s spot in the circle. As A is walking, B will point at someone else (C). C will say “Go.” B will start walking toward C, and it will continue in this way until more or less everyone has had a chance to point and move. NOTE: It sounds like a simple exercise, but it takes a great deal of

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concentration because the tendency will be to point and say “Go” at the same time. You can raise the stakes by making the ones who do something incorrectly leave the circle.

Bippity Bippity Bop

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: concentration

Arrange the class in a standing circle. Stand in the middle. You will point to a person and say, “Bippity Bippity Bop!” as fast as possible. The person you point to must say “Bop!” before you finish saying “Bippity Bippity Bop.” If she does not, she must take your place in the center. The person in the center should switch from person to person as quickly as possible to keep people on their toes. The person in the center can also point to someone and just say, “Bop,” in which case the person pointed to should not say anything. If she does say “Bop” back then she has to come into the center of the circle.

Environments

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 5-10 minutesPurpose: body language

Tell the class to just start walking around the room. After a minute, shout out, “Now you are walking through peanut butter!” Give them 15-30 seconds to try this. Then shout out another environment, such as “Now you are walking on the moon!” The possibilities are endless: water, jell-0, nails, hot lava, etc.

Silent Line

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: group awareness, concentration

Arrange the class in a horizontal line facing you. Tell them that WITHOUT TALKING they are to arrange themselves in a line from oldest to youngest. After they have done this, check with them to see how accurate they are (with students who are the same age, you will have to ask about months in which they were born). Continue this exercise by asking them to arrange themselves in a line from tallest to shortest, those who most like sports to those who least like sports, etc.—but always without talking!

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Don’t Laugh!

Grouping: pairsMaterials: noneTime: 5-15 minutesPurpose: concentration, creativity

Divide the class into pairs. One student, A, must try to make his partner, B, laugh. Partner B tries not to laugh. If B laughs, they switch, and B tries to make A laugh. NOTE: You can also choose two volunteers to try this in front of the class, or you can make two teams, in which one team tries to make the other team laugh.

Name Alliteration

Grouping: a whole class or two large groupsMaterials: noneTime: 20 minutesPurpose: icebreaker, concentration, group awareness

Arrange the class in a circle. Tell each student to think of something they like that starts with the same letter as their first names. Start with yourself by saying, for example, “My name is Kristina and I like kangaroos.” The person on your left will have to repeat what you say and then add her own sentence as follows: “Her name is Kristina and she likes kangaroos. My name is Margaret and I like melon.” This continues until you have gone around the whole circle.

Shakespearean Insults

Grouping: partnersMaterials: a copy of Shakespearean Insults (http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/shake_rule.html)Time: 5-10 minutesPurpose: introduction to Shakespeare, language awareness, creativity

Give each student a copy of the Shakespearean insults list, which can be found on the website listed above. Divide the class into pairs.

Leading Centers

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: none Time: 10 minutesPurpose: body language, characterisation

Demonstrate to the class how leading with a particular part of the body tells a lot about who that person is. Show the class what it looks like if you lead with your head, as if there is a string attached to your forehead, pulling you forward. Then show them what It looks like to

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lead with your chest, your hips, your knees, etc. and ask them what kinds of personality traits they associate with the different leading centers. Have everyone stand up and start walking around the space. Ask them to pay attention to where they lead from. Then tell them to try leading from their heads, then from their chests, and so on. If they are developing a character for a scene or play, tell them to figure out where this character leads from.

Human Knot

Grouping: groups of 8-10 peopleMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: group awareness, trust

Have each group make a standing circle and instruct them to take the hands of two different people in the group. After everyone has joined hands, their task is to untangle the knot of arms without releasing each other’s hands. If they untangle correctly, they will end up in a circle. NOTE: You might want to have them do this more than once.

Visualization

Grouping: individualMaterials: instrumental musicTime: 15 minutesPurpose: concentration, characterisation, relaxation

If it is appropriate for your classroom, have everyone lie on the floor. Otherwise, they can sit in chairs. Tell students to close their eyes. Turn on the music. Tell them that you are going to take them through an imaginary journey as the characters they are creating for a scene or play. Take them through a visualization in which they imagine their characters in the home they live in. Ask them such questions as: Is it a comfortable space? Who else lives with you? Is it cluttered or neat? Where do you sleep? Make sure to give some time between each so that they can really visualize it. The possibilities as to what you can ask them to visualize are endless. Allow the visualization to go on for 5-10 minutes, depending on the concentration-level of your class. When they are finished, give them a moment to come back to the present situation and then allow them to describe what they visualized to a partner or to write about it. NOTE: You can also use this visualization technique to stimulate their creativity in other ways, using such prompts as: Imagine you are in a snowstorm, Imagine you are lost in an unknown place, etc.

Becoming an Animal

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: characterisation, body language

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If your students are working on developing characters, tell them to imagine that their characters are animals and ask them what kind of animals their characters would be. Give them a couple of minutes to decide what kind of animals they are, then ask them to get on the floor and become those animals. Have them move around the space for 5-10 minutes relating to each other as the animal-version of their characters. Tell them they can only use animal sounds and gestures to communicate with each other. NOTE: You can follow this exercise up by having them get into their scene groups and rehearsing their scenes as the animals; in other words, they use the text from the scene, but they keep the body language and vocal quality of the animal.

Variation: You can also simply assign an animal to each person (or let them choose) and have them relate to each other as those animals. It helps to give this variation a theme, such as jungle animals, zoo animals, farm animals, etc.

Human Mirror

Grouping: partnersMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: working together, body awareness, concentration

Divide the class into partners. Tell them to face each other, standing up. Tell them to decide who is A and who is B. Partner A leads B in a series of slow, sustained movements; B mirrors A. After 3-5 minutes, tell them to switch leaders.

Who’s the leader?

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: group awareness, concentration

Arrange the class in a standing circle. Choose a volunteer to leave the room. After the volunteer leaves, designate a leader. The group mirrors what the leader does. After the group has started moving together, bring the volunteer back inside. Give her three chances to guess who the leader is. NOTE: Advise the group not to look at the leader, and advise the leader to do slow, sustained movements to make it less obvious who is leading.

Tongue Twisters

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: none (optional: a list of tongue twisters for each student)Time: 10 minutesPurpose: voice articulation

Before students have to perform a scene or in a play, tongue twisters can be a great way to warm up. You can also use them to teach your students about how to articulate their words.

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Tell students to try to visualize what is being said in the tongue twister, as this usually greatly improves their ability to say the tongue twister. This is also good acting: they should be visualizing what they are saying as their characters in plays/scenes as well to make their words more real. Here are several popular tongue twisters:

Red leather, yellow leather, good blood, bad blood To the tip of the tongue to the top of the teeth Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers She sells seashells by the seashore. Rubber baby buggy bumpers Toy boat (Say this 10 times fast!) How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? As much

wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Check the internet as well; you will find thousands more tongue twisters!

Hokey Pokey

Grouping: a whole class together Materials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: body awareness, releasing inhibitions

Arrange the class in a standing circle. This is a childhood game/song, which is perfect for easing nerves before a performance and warming up the body, or for students who are just learning the names of body parts in English. You can find the tune online. You sing and do the motion at the same time. This is how it goes (movements are in parentheses):

You put your right foot in. (Put right foot in circle.)You put your right foot out. (Put right foot out of circle.)You put your right foot in and you shake it all about. (Put right foot in circle and shake it.)You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself about. (Turn in a circle, preferably wiggling hips.)That’s what it’s all about. (Clap to the words.)

Then you repeat the song a number of times using different body parts, usually ending with “You put your whole self in.”

Drawing the Alphabet

Grouping: individualMaterials: noneTime: 5-10 minutesPurpose: body awareness

Tell students to stand up and pretend they have an imaginary pen attached to their foreheads. Tell them to use this pen to write the alphabet. After they have done so, tell them

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that the pen is now attached to their chins and to write the alphabet with their chins. Repeat this process using other body parts, such as the chest, the belly, the pelvis, the knees, and a foot. When finished, their bodies will be quite warmed up!

Keyword Throw

Grouping: partnersMaterials: text for a scene/monologue for each studentTime: 15 minutesPurpose: language awareness, characterisation

This exercise works best when students have memorized their lines for a scene, monologue or play. It is extremely effective in getting students to put more life into their lines and make a physical connection with what they are saying. If possible, pair students up with their scene partners. First have students underline keywords in their lines. Tell them to focus primarily on nouns and verbs. After they have done so, tell them to stand about 3 meters away from their partners and start speaking the lines for their scene. Whenever the one speaking says a keyword, he throws an imaginary tennis ball at his partner. His partner should react as if he were being hit. This exercise should continue until the scene is completed. Tell students not to get too caught up on which words they underlined. They should throw balls whenever they feel like they want to emphasize a word. NOTE: This exercise also works if students are learning monologues. They can still partner up and deliver their monologues to each other while throwing balls.

Only the Vowels/Only the Consonants

Grouping: a whole class together Materials: A Shakespearean text (Suggestion: Hamlet’s “Speak the speech, I pray…” monologue)Time: 10-15 minutesPurpose: language/vocal awareness

This exercise will help students become conscious of how they resonate and articulate their voices, as well as give them insight into the emotional qualities of language. Distribute your chosen text to everyone. Read it aloud once. Then have everyone read it together. Next, tell students they are to read the speech leaving out the consonants. Demonstrate how this sounds (they will likely laugh!). “Speak the speech, I pray” will become “eee uh eee ai ay.” After they have done so in unison with you, tell them that they will now omit the vowels. This is very difficult (“spk th spch prr…”), so make sure to tell them just to do the best they can and follow along with you. NOTE: You can of course use non-Shakespearean texts, such as poems. If students are working on scenes/monologues with difficult language they can try this exercise with their own lines as well.

I have to go!/I want you to stay!

Grouping: partnersMaterials: none

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Time: 5-10 minutesPurpose: understanding of character objectives/obstacles/tactics

This exercise is intended to teach students about character objectives. Remind students that a character always wants something when she is onstage and that does not necessarily matter if the character achieves that objective. It is the struggle that makes drama interesting. Divide students into partners. Partner A’s objective is to leave the room, and Partner B’s objective is to get A to stay. Partner A’s text is “I have to go!” and partner B’s text is “I want you to stay!” These are the only lines they can say during this exercise, and they are not allowed to touch each other. Tell them to try many different tactics to achieve their objective, they can beg, reason, flirt, manipulate, intimidate, etc. After about two minutes, stop them, and ask how many of them achieved their objectives. Then have them switch roles.

VARIATION: In pairs, they are only allowed to say those words. One can say “yes,” the other “no.” They must try to experience the frustration at being denied what they want, but still try to persuade the other person using simply those words. How can you change the way you say it?

Make a Machine

Grouping: as many students as possible with an audienceMaterials: noneTime: 5 minutesPurpose: body awareness, group awareness

Announce to the class that they are to create a machine together, one person at a time. One volunteer starts by making a repetitive motion and sound. After about 15 seconds, another volunteer joins the first volunteer, making her own repetitive motion and sound that works together with the first sound/motion. Volunteers can continue adding to the machine. Ideally, the actors will look like a human factory, with their sounds and movements coordinating rhythmically with each other.

The Emotion Meter

Grouping: partnersMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: emotional awareness

Tell the class that you have an emotion meter that can control the emotional intensity of the class, 10 being the most emotional and 1 being the least emotional. Divide the class into partners. Tell them that they are two friends who are telling each other about what they did the previous weekend. Partner A starts (tell them that they can use actual circumstances or that they can make up what they did in the weekend). Announce that the emotion meter is at a 3, and that A should start telling his story with that level of emotional intensity. Give A about 30 seconds to start talking and then announce that the emotion meter has gone up to

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an 8. This means that A should start telling his story with much greater intensity. Let the meter stay at an 8 for about 30 seconds, and then continue announcing changes in the emotion meter. After about 5 minutes, have the partners switch so that B is telling her story. NOTE: You can also use the emotion meter with improvisations in front of the class or when students are rehearsing scenes/plays to add freshness or of course, greater emotional intensity, to a scene/play.

Emotional Areas

Grouping: individualMaterials: about 30 different papers with emotions printed on themTime: 5-10 minutesPurpose: emotional awareness, body and voice awareness

Spread the papers with emotions out on the floor throughout the room and tell each student to stand next to an emotion. When you say “Go!” each student is to fully take on that emotion, such as anger, fear, happiness, etc. They can talk, yell, use their bodies, and interact with the person/people in the emotional areas next to them, as long as they are fully using the emotion of their areas. After about 15 seconds, shout “Switch!” Each student moves to a new emotional area. Let students switch about 10 times.

Limitations

Grouping: individualMaterials: noneTime: 5-10 minutesPurpose: body awareness

Tell students to start walking around. After about 30 seconds, announce that they can now only walk on one leg, and tell them to keep walking (or rather, hopping). After 15-30 seconds, tell them that they now have to walk as if they have a bowling ball tied to one leg. Then, after every 15-30 seconds, shout out a new limitation, such as they have to jump as they move, they cannot stop humming, their arms have a life of their own, etc.

Buzz/Fizz

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: concentration

Arrange the class in a standing circle. You will start by turning to your right and saying, “Buzz.” The person on your right turns to the person on his right and says “Buzz.” The game continues in this way until someone decides to turn back to the person on her left and say, “Fizz,” thereby changing the direction of the game. Then the game continues to the left, until someone decides to turn to his right and say, “Buzz.” The faster it goes and the more often students change the direction of the game the more confusing (and more fun) it becomes. If

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someone says the wrong word, such as fuzz or biz, or if someone says the word while turned the wrong direction, he is eliminated from the game.

Getting through the Alphabet

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: concentration

Arrange the class in a sitting circle. The object of this game is to get through the alphabet from A to Z as a group. The only rule is that if two students say a letter at the same time, the group has to start over with A. NOTE: An easier version of this game is to choose a particular word that the class has to spell together.

VARIATION: Counting to 20 Together

They all stand around the room and they must count to twenty as a group. There should be no pattern formed, a different person should say each number. If two people speak at the same time, go back to zero! It may go very quickly or it may take ages, but the sense of achievement when they do it is worth the wait!

Using an Object

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: 2-3 objects small enough to be passed easily from person to personTime: 10 minutesPurpose: creativity

Arrange the class in a sitting or standing circle. Show everyone the object in your hand (such as a ball, whiteboard eraser, spoon, etc.). Mime using the object as if it is something else. For example, you can pretend that the ball is a giant hamburger you are eating. Then pass the object to the person next to you, who has to use the object as something else other than its intended purpose.

Scream and You’re Out!

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 5-10 minutesPurpose: concentration, group awareness

Arrange the class in a standing circle. Everyone puts their heads down. When you say, “Go!” everyone looks up at someone else in the circle. If anyone makes eye contact with another person, both people scream and are out of the game. Repeat the game with the remaining people until you only have two people left.

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Who’s the Killer?

Grouping: a whole class together Materials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: concentration, trust

Tell students to clear backpacks, chairs, desks and all other objects out of the way so that you have an open space with few obstacles. Tell the class that there is a killer on the loose. Announce that everyone will close their eyes and then you will tap someone on the head. That person is the killer. She can open her eyes. Everyone else keeps their eyes closed and starts moving around the space. The killer murders her victims by tapping them on the shoulder. If someone gets tapped on the shoulder, he dies a loud, dramatic death (then tell them to move to the side of the room so that they do not get stepped on). After 3 or 4 people have been killed, tell students to open their eyes. Give them 3 chances to guess who the killer is. If no one guesses, have them close their eyes again and continue the game. After several more people have been killed, give them another 3 chances to guess. Stop the game if someone guesses correctly. You can repeat the game several times.

Tug-o-War

Grouping: Two large groups (Divide the class half.) Materials: noneTime: 5-10 minutes

Divide the class in half. Have each group line up behind one another, facing the other group. Tell them that they are going to play tug-o-war, but without a rope. When you say, “Go!” they start playing. Tell them to watch the body language of the other players to determine who is winning. Help them by encouraging team members who look like they are not “pulling their weight.” After several minutes, stop them and announce who is the winner. You might want to repeat this several times, possibly changing the groupings, such as boys against girls, older students against younger students, etc.

The Blob

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 5-10 minutesPurpose: group awareness

This game starts out as a regular game of Tag. Choose someone to be “It.” Once the one who is It tags someone, they join arms and are It together. This continues, and It becomes a larger and larger blob of people. The blob tries to tag everyone in the class. Tell them before they start to work together and be creative as a blob in order to tag people. Even if the blob cannot move as fast as an individual person, it can corner people, surround people, etc.

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VARIATION: Have a group, starting with three and increasing the number gradually, stand close together in a blob. They should then start to move slowly together, swaying, dipping, working as an organic form.

Pass the Mask

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: facial expression

Arrange the class in a sitting circle. Starting with yourself, make a strong facial expression and hold your face frozen for a few seconds. Then “peel” the mask off your face and pass it to the person next to you. After she keeps it on her face for a few seconds, she changes the mask to a new expression, and then passes her new mask on. The next person repeats this process and it continues until a mask comes back to you.

Telephone

Grouping: two large groups (Divide the class in half.)Materials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: vocal articulation, concentration, working together

Divide the class in half and arrange them in seated horizontal lines facing each other. Whisper a sentence into the first person’s ear in each line. She repeats the line in a whisper to the person next to her. If the person does not understand what she is saying, she can say, “Operator?” Then the person repeats what she said. This game works best if you make it a competition between the two teams in which the team who gets the message to the other side with the fewest mistakes wins.

Change your Attire

Grouping: partnersMaterials: noneTime: 5-10 minutesPurpose: concentration

Divide the class into partners. Have them stare at each other for about 30 seconds, then tell them to turn around and change one thing about their appearance, such as taking off a shoe, messing up their hair, or untucking their shirt. Then they turn around and try to guess what their partners changed. Repeat the process several times. You can even have them switch partners a few times and try the exercise with a new partner.

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Zip, Zap, Pow!

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: concentration, voice and body awareness

Arrange the class in a standing circle. You have a ball of energy, which you can “zip” to the person next to you, “zap” across the circle or “pow” back to the person who sent the energy to you in the first place. Get them to really feel the energy and use their voices and bodies to reflect the energy and words.

Ping Pong Loosening Game

Grouping: individualMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: mime and visualization

Tell students to imagine that a table tennis/ping pong ball has been dropped into their heads. Tell them: “Think of yourself as a pin ball machine, get the ball moving, what sort of movement would you have to make? Keep it moving, work it down into the bottom of your head, drop into your shoulders, down and arm, into your finger, get it back up your arm, into your shoulders again, into the other arm, down that arm and up again, into the chest, waist, pelvis, down into each leg and foot, up and into the other. Work it all the way back up the body and then tell them to get it into their heads. Get it really moving and on three project the ball as hard and fast as you can at the person opposite you in the circle!”

1, 2, 3…

Grouping: individualMaterials: noneTime: 5-10 minutesPurpose: concentration, body awareness

All students walk through the room randomly. Tell them to avoid walking in circles, but try to explore the space there is a little. Assign tasks to the numbers:1 = jump2 = crouch3 = 180 turn

You call out the number, and the students immediately do the task assigned to that number. Continue calling numbers until all students follow the directions properly and everybody is sufficiently warmed up.

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Hospital Tag

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: physical expression, being aware of other actors

This is a game of tag. The person who is “it” tags somebody else. The moment that another person is tagged, the part of the body that was touched in the process of tagging becomes extremely painful. If you are tagged on the knee, it is now impossible to walk on two legs or bend your leg without being in excruciating pain. Every other student in the room also feels this pain and acts it out as well. Remember: excruciating pain! The tagging continues and the centre of pain changes every time somebody else is tagged.

Guess the Emotion

Grouping: groups of 4-5Materials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: emotional awareness, body language

Divide up the students into groups of 4-5. In turns they all stand in a line and the audience gives them an emotion. They stand with their backs to the audience and then on the count of three all turn around and face the audience with that emotion. Think body language as well as facial expression. Then when everyone has done it, the groups go off separately and decide on an emotion. They then have to come up with how to convey that emotion. In turns, they then have to stand in a line and when they turn around we have to guess what the emotion they are trying to show is.

Walking Emotions/Characteristics

Grouping: individualMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: emotional awareness, body language

All students walk around the room randomly. Call out an emotion (e.g. happy, sad, in thought, nervous, scared, surprised, in love, bored, confused, tired, angry.) and all students have to walk with that emotion and show it in their body language. Try out several emotions. You can start with “easy” emotions such as happy or sad and then gradually make it more difficult. Make sure they think about their whole body, how fast would they walk, etc. Have them switch between them quickly – you can also assign numbers different emotions to get them to change between quickly.

Take on different characteristics (e.g. arrogant, cool, shy, geek, jock, slut, etc.) Ask students: “How does this change things? Combine the emotions and the characteristics. How is a sad slut different to a sad jock?”

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Tell students to take on a random emotion, walk around the room and greet people they meet. “What sort of emotions are you drawn towards? How do the conflicting emotions create tension and opportunity for humor?”

Walking Around as Different Characters

Grouping: individualMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: characterisation, body language

Have students walk around randomly, using all of the space available. Tell them to walk like giants, dwarves, the queen, a baby, a pensioner, sleeping beauty, different celebrities, family members, friends, their own characters from their plays. Switch between them, you can add in the emotion and characteristics from before.

Get Attention/Lose Attention

Grouping: two large groups (Divide the class in half.)Materials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: observation, awareness of stage presence

The class is divided into two groups, and the groups stand at opposite sides of the classroom. The assignment for one half of the class is: get as much attention as you can during one minute. The other half of the class is the audience. After one minute, discuss with audience: who caught your attention and why?

The groups switch roles. The other half of the class is now “performing” and have the same task: get as much attention as you can. After one minute discuss with the audience. The next assignment is to try and not draw any attention at all for one minute. After one minute discuss with audience. Who still drew you attention and why? Who did you “forget”? Explain about stage presence and that you can influence who or what the audience sees.

Come up to the Line

Grouping: A whole class togetherMaterials: a roll of masking tapeTime: 15 minutesPurpose: trust, group awareness

Move desks, chairs and other obstacles out of the way, and make a line across the floor with masking tape. Divide the class randomly in half and tell one half to stand on one side of the room, and the other half to stand on the other (not on the line). Then say such statements as, “Come up to the line if you have ever been to Paris,” or “Come up to the line if you would like to be a parent someday.” The possibilities are endless. Depending on the maturity and

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level of trust in your class, you can make more challenging statements, such as “Come up to the line if you have ever been teased at school.” The point of this exercise is to make students realize that they are more alike than they think and that it is a safe place to be open. Make sure you give students the option not to respond to a particular statement if they prefer.

The Wall

Grouping: About 15 students at a timeMaterials: None (You need a large space like a gym or a drama room.), a CD of drumming or other atmospheric music, CD player (optional)Time: 30 minutesPurpose: group awareness, trust

This is a very intense exercise. It is meant for groups who are comfortable doing drama exercises and among whom there is already a bond. Participants will lie on their bellies in a horizontal line at one end of the space. Tell them to close their eyes and explain that they are now clinging to the side of a wall. Their object is to make it to the top of the wall without falling off (the top of the wall is the other side of the room). It is important that you set the mood as well as possible; tell students the wind is blowing wildly, etc. If you have music, start the music and tell them to start climbing. Stop when everyone has made it to the “top.” Then repeat the exercise, but tell them that this time they are a team. If one of them doesn’t make it to the top, they will all fall, so that they must make it to top together. Tell them to be aware of the people next to them, and that if they feel either of those people falling behind to help that person. Make sure to give students time to discuss their experience with this exercise when they are finished.

Take Control of the Room

Grouping: individualMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: stage presence, group awareness, concentration

Everyone walks around the room at random. One person must then take control of the space by doing something that indicates how the other actors should respond. The rest of the group must pick up on the leader’s actions and improvise to fit the scene. For example, someone leading a protest, the others would fall in behind, join in the chorus, or a rock star, would need a band and an audience, or at a funeral, a dead person, at a wedding, a couple and witnesses etc… Everyone must find a role before the scene is changed.

Convince Me!

Grouping: partnersMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: creativity, body language, facial expression, vocal emotion

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Divide the class into partners. The partners start on opposite sides of the room. Tell them the following: “You must lie to the other person, but say it in such a way that they believe you. If they believe you they will take a step forwards. If not, they will step backwards. The aim of the game is to try and meet in the middle!”

Walking and Stopping Together

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: group awareness, concentration

Everyone walks around the room freely – not in a circle or one direction! They must focus and be aware of the group around them, slow down and then stop walking together as a unit. This is pretty difficult so start by counting them down. Reduce this and then stop and leave them to do it alone. There should be no talking or signals! They should also start walking together as a group—this is more difficult. Repeat until they are focused and working as a group.

Jumping Jacks

Grouping: 3 actorsMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: body awareness, comic timing

Three people stand in a line facing the audience. This line may be parallel or perpendicular to the audience. Try both and see how the results vary. This starts very simply and can be made more complex by adding different actions. Firstly, you should limit them to only jumping. They may jump whenever and however they want, but they should try to be aware of the rest of their group members (without looking at them) and work as a team. Experiment with timing to produce comedy and tragedy. To develop it you can add in 180˚ turns, falling to the floor, freeze etc.

IMPROVISATION EXERCISES

Dr. Know-It-All

Grouping: 3-5 students perform at a time; the remainder of the class serves as an active audience.Materials: 3 chairsTime: 5-15 minutesPurpose: concentration, creativity

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Choose 3-5 students to sit in a horizontal line facing the class. Tell the class that this group of students as a whole represents one person named Dr. Know-It-All, who, of course, knows everything. The class can ask Dr. Know-It-All questions, such as “Why is the sky blue?” The students will come up with an answer by improvising together, but the rule is that each student can only add one word to the sentence, starting with the student on the right (stage right). For example, an answer to the question might be answered as follows: The.sky.is.blue.because.we.make.jokes.about.our.parents. The students who represent Dr. Know-It-All will just let the answer come to a “logical” conclusion. Clearly, the answer does not have to make sense. The point is that the students are working together to form an answer that makes sense grammatically. It is an excellent game for students who speak very little English. NOTE: To avoid students in the audience asking inane questions such as “Are you ugly/gay, etc.” you can have them all write questions on a piece of paper, and then you can read them aloud; this also ensures that everyone is involved.

Fairy Tale Snapshots

Grouping: groups of 4-5 students Materials: Slips of paper with the titles of familiar fairy tales listed on them (one for each group)Time: 30 minutesPurpose: body language and stage picture awareness

Divide the class into groups of 4-5 students, and give each group the name of a fairy tale. The group will come up with 4-5 snapshots that tell the story of their fairy tale. The group creates a snapshot by posing in an image that shows a particular aspect of their story. Tell them to try to involve everyone in each snapshot, even if some group members are playing inanimate objects. Give each group 15 minutes to plan and practice their snapshots, then have them perform their snapshot series to the class. Let the class guess which fairy tale they are showing.

Gibberish Interviews

Grouping: groups of 3 students (You can either divide the whole class into groups of three or you can have one group perform with the rest of the class serving as an active audience.)Materials: 3 chairsTime: 5-10 minutesPurpose: vocal expression and body language awareness

Gibberish means “nonsense language.” Tell students that one participant comes from Gibberland and speaks only gibberish, one participant is a translator, and the third participant is the interviewer. The interviewer will ask the person from Gibberland a question, the translator will translate it, and the person from Gibberland will answer; the translator will in turn translate the question into English. If you have an audience, the students in the audience can also ask questions.

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Hitchhiker

Grouping: 6 students with an audience Materials: 6 chairsTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: emotional expression

Arrange 6 chairs into a car format (6 in the front, 6 in the back). One person will be the driver and the others will be passengers. Ask the audience for an emotion, such as “angry.” Everyone in the car suddenly becomes very angry (depending on your group, it may help to give them a specific situation, such as “You are a family driving to Disneyland.”). After about two minutes, ask the audience for a new emotion and a volunteer. The volunteer will come up to the stage and hitchhike, using the suggested emotion, such as “excited.” The driver will “pull over” and pick up the hitchhiker. Everyone in the car will rotate one place, and the driver will sit down in the audience. Once the hitchhiker sits down, everyone in the car will take on the new emotion, keeping the other circumstances the same. Keep the game going as long as participants and audience are engaged.

VARIATION: On the Bus

Set the class room up as a bus, with one seat up front for the bus driver and seats for the passengers. The bus driver must drive the bus and pick up passengers. Every passenger that gets onto the bus has a different characteristic/tick/issue/etc. For example they are pregnant, or have hiccups, or a broken leg! The driver and the rest of the passengers on the bus must then imitate that characteristic/issue. The driver must then drive the bus and pick up the next passenger. If the driver suddenly has a broken leg, they must find a way round this! The passengers should interact and stay in character at all times.

The Queen

Grouping: 2-3 actorsMaterials: one chairTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: creativity

One person is the queen and must sit on the throne. It is everyone else’s job to entertain the queen. This should preferably be done individually but if they need to do it in pairs to start with they can. They can also use other members of the audience as part of their act if they wish. The idea is to keep the queen entertained as long as possible! As soon as she is bored she will clap and the other actor(s) must fall dead upon the spot (then clear the area for the next performer!)

Character Hobby

Grouping: partnersMaterials: noneTime: 15 minutes

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Purpose: characterisation

Divide the students in their scene groups. Tell them to think of a hobby for their characters and answer the following questions about it: Why is that hobby appropriate? What role does it play in their lives? Students discuss their hobbies, in character, with their partners.

Freeze Improvisation

Grouping: 2 participants with an active audienceMaterials: noneTime: 15 minutesPurpose: body language, creativity, working together

Choose two volunteers to come on stage. Ask the audience for a suggestion about what they are doing, such as “weeding the garden.” The two actors start a scene in which they are weeding the garden. After a minute or two, someone in the audience can shout “freeze!” The actors freeze in the exact position they are in; they should not relax. The person who shouted “freeze” comes up to the stage and taps one of the actors on the shoulder. That actor returns to the audience, and the new actor takes his exact position. Then you ask the audience, “What are they doing?” Someone might say, “Walking on the moon!” The actors immediately start a scene in which they are walking on the moon. Continue this exercise as long as actors and audience stay engaged. It is generally a good idea to tell the ones who shout “freeze” to replace the actor who has been on stage longer. NOTE: Before starting the game, you might want to remind your students that part of improvisation is accepting the circumstances that are given; sometimes you get students refusing to do the activity that is suggested. Make sure you are the one who ultimately decides what they are doing; you will get multiple suggestions and often ones that are intended to embarrass the actors.

Who am I?

Grouping: a whole class togetherMaterials: noneTime: 10-20 minutesPurpose: concentration, body and vocal awareness

Choose a person to go out of the room. While that person is out of the room share with the rest of the class who that person is (choose a celebrity who everyone is familiar with, such as an actor, singer, political figure or character from a movie/book). Establish a setting, such as a party, shopping center, or hospital. Tell the person to come back in the room. Everyone will treat her as the celebrity, and it is her job to figure out who she is.

Status Card Game

Grouping: about 8 students with the rest serving as an audienceMaterials: a deck of playing cardsTime: 15 minutesPurpose: characterisation, concentration

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Before class choose 8 playing cards with different values; suit (spades, hearts etc.) does not matter. Make sure to have a range of values, such as 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, jack, king, and ace. Give each student a card, and tell them they CANNOT look at the value. Each actor places the card facing outwards on his forehead. During the exercise, he will hold it in place with his hand. Then tell the actors that they are first-year secondary school students at a party (you can change the circumstances each time you play). Tell the students that their card values represent their status in the group. They do not know their own status, but it will become clear to them by how others treat them. Let them improvise for about 5 minutes while the rest of the class watches. Then tell them—without looking at the value on their cards—to try to place themselves in a line from lowest to highest. Usually they are very close to the correct order. Then let them look at their values. This game leads to an interesting discussion about status in society and as characters in plays—that we do not determine our own status; it is often determined by others/by the situation in which we find ourselves. NOTE: It can be fun to add a joker to the group of cards. Let them figure out during the improvisation how they want to handle the “joker” in the group.

VARIATION (if you do not have cards): Give everyone a number from one to ten, without them seeing them. The numbers represent statuses. 1 is low, like a vagrant and 10 is high, like a king or queen. Walk around the room and treat people according to their numbers. They have to try and work out what number they have. You cannot ask or be told. Line up in order at the end and see where you think you fit. Did you get it right? How did affect how you walked/acted? What number do you think your character would be?

What’s my problem?

Grouping: groups of about 5 students—They will take turns performing for each other.Materials: none (optional: a table)Time: 30 minutesPurpose: concentration, body language, acting/reacting

Divide the class into groups of 5. Explain that one person will have a “problem” and the others work in a hotel (you can change the setting as you see fit). Designate one person to be the “problem” person and send that person out of the room. Tell the others in the group what the problem is (or they can make it up themselves). Possible problems are: the person is a serial killer, the person has body odor, the person has horns growing out of their head, and the person speaks an unknown language. The other group members work in a hotel, and this person comes to check in. Based on how the hotel workers treat the person, he has to figure out what his problem is. Let the groups discuss how they will do the improvisation for a few minutes, and then let the groups perform for each other.

Bus Stop

Grouping: a whole class together (or half the class at a time) Materials: a bench or two chairsTime: 5-10 minutesPurpose: group awareness, getting comfortable with improv

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Set up two chairs or a bench on stage and announce to the class that it is a bus stop. Tell them they are all students getting ready to go to their first day of secondary school on the bus and that they should establish a character for themselves. They may enter the stage one at a time or in small groups. Tell them to make sure they react when a new person enters the stage. NOTE: This is an excellent exercise to do in the first week of class; it is a low-pressure way to get reluctant students on stage.

Gender Bender

Grouping: two large groups (half the class at a time)—Each group should all girls, all boys or be more or less equally divided between boys and girls.Materials: none Time: 10 minutesPurpose: body and voice awareness, releasing inhibitions

Tell the class that in this improvisation they will be playing the opposite gender. Give them a circumstance where gender differences are often quite pronounced, such as a school dance, a football game, a locker room, a shopping mall, etc. You can either let the girls perform first (as boys, of course) and then the boys (as girls)—or vice versa—or you can let a mixed-gender group perform (as long as the boys play girls and the girls play boys). It usually works best to start by dividing the genders, and then perhaps afterwards doing a mixed-gender group, so that the girls can observe the boys acting like girls and vice versa. This improvisation is usually quite hilarious. NOTE: You will undoubtedly see a lot of stereotyping. Follow the improvisations up with a discussion where you hear from the boys whether the girls played realistic boys and vice versa. It will give them a chance to defend their own genders.

Genres

Grouping: 3-5 students with the rest of the class serving as an audienceMaterials: noneTime: 15-20 minutesPurpose: releasing inhibitions, creativity

Choose 3 to 5 students and give them a situation, such as going on a camping trip. Explain to the class that this group will perform the scene in a particular movie genre (action, horror, musical, opera, comedy, children’s etc.). Have the class shout out possible genres, and choose one in which the actors will begin the scene. Let them perform the scene for about two minutes, then shout “Freeze!” Ask the audience for a new genre, and choose one. Tell the actors to continue the scene, but now in the new genre. This can have a hilarious effect when they switch from drama to opera, for example.

Lip Sync

Grouping: 4 students with the rest of the class serving as an audienceMaterials: none

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Time: 10-15 minutesPurpose: working together

Choose 4 actors and put them in pairs. One actor in each pair, A, is the voice and the other actor, B, is the body. The two voices stand on either side of the stage. Give the actors a situation, such as a couple that is breaking up with each other. The two bodies act out the movements while their voices speak the lines. Let the scene continue for about 5 minutes or until it comes to a natural end; then choose 4 new actors.

Plot/Theme/Character/Setting

Grouping: groups of 3-5Materials: a paper with a list of possible characters, possible settings and possible themes (“Crime doesn’t pay” for example)Time: 45 minutes or longerPurpose: understanding the elements of drama, working together

Divide the class into groups of 3-5 students. Give each group the paper with theme/character/setting ideas. Tell them to choose a theme, a setting and characters for each group member. Based on this information, they are to come up with a plot for a short play they will perform for the class. You can either make this an informal exercise in which you just give them 15 minutes to plan their play, or you can turn this into a more formal activity in which they actually write a script and perform it after several class sessions. Depending on your class, you can give them more freedom as to their characters, themes, and setting.

Mime Scenes

Grouping: 2-3 actorsMaterials: noneTime: 20 minutesPurpose: body language, facial expressions

Mime should involve no sound so students have to focus on their physicality and facial expressions to tell the story. The more precise and vivid these are the clearer the situation will come across.

Get students to prepare a short 60 second scene showing their scenario as clearly as possible.

- AT THE DENTISTS HAVING A TOOTH REMOVED- AN ARGUMENT AT THE CINEMA- A HAUNTED HOUSE- FEELING SICK ON A ROLLERCOASTER- A DUEL- AN INCIDENT AT A BUS STOP- A STRANGE DOCTOR

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- A HYPNOSIS DEMONSTRATION GONE WRONG- A TERRIBLE BLIND DATE- A BURGLARY GONE WRONG- AT THE HAIRDRESSERS AND YOU HATE THE HAIRCUT- LOST IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY

Hot Seat

Grouping: one person at a time in front of the class Materials: a chairTime: 5-30 minutesPurpose: characterisation

This is an excellent exercise to do if you have assigned your class roles in scenes or plays. One student at a time sits in a chair on stage as her character. The audience interviews her for several minutes. Then have a new character take her place to be interviewed. NOTE: Do not try to have every student be interviewed in this way in one class period. You can either spend about 10 minutes a day having characters be interviewed, or you can also divide the class into groups of about 10 in which they take turns interviewing each other.

The Letter

Grouping: groups of 7-8 studentsMaterials: A paper for each student with a letter description (see below), a table or chairTime: 20 minutesPurpose: body language/facial expressions, acting/reacting

This exercise is intended to help students understand that how important reacting and body language are to good acting. Before class, come up with 8-10 descriptions of letters that a person could receive. For example “You receive a letter announcing your acceptance to the university you most wanted to attend” or “You receive a letter in which your boyfriend/girlfriend breaks up with you.” Make about half of the letters good news and half of them bad news. Since you will have numerous groups of about 8 students, you only have to come up with 8 different descriptions. The same types of letters can be used in each group. First model what students are to do by putting a folded piece of paper on stage on a chair or table. Then enter the stage, open the letter and show students by your reaction what kind of letter you received. Then ask them to make guesses about the contents of your letter. Divide the class into groups and distribute a letter description to each group member, telling them to keep their descriptions secrete. Give them a few minutes to plan their performance. Then have them perform their letter reactions for each other, just have you have done in front of the class.

Park Bench

Grouping: partnersMaterials: two chairs or a benchTime: 20-30 minutes

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Purpose: characterisation

Divide the class into partners. You can either have them play the characters they are developing for a scene or play, or you can assign them particular characters (or let them come up with their own), such as a policeman, an escapee from a mental institution, a ballerina, etc. The partners will enter the stage as their characters and sit down on the park bench, interacting with each other as their characters would. You can either have the partners perform for the whole class or, depending on how much time you have, divide the class in half and have them perform for their group.

A to Z Scene

Grouping: 2-4 actorsMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: working together, concentration

Choose 2-4 volunteers. Give them a situation, such as shopping in a grocery store. Their job is to improvise a scene, but the lines in the scene have to start with letters in the alphabet, starting from A and going to Z. The scene might sound a bit like this:

Actor 1: About time you show up to work!Actor 2: Back off, man!Actor 3: Calm down, you two!Actor 4: Does anyone know where I can find the cheese in this store?

NOTE: Tell them not to worry too much if two people start speaking at the same time; it is most important to keep the scene going. If they forget where they are in the alphabet, just shout out what letter they are on and to continue.

Who am I?

Grouping: A whole class togetherMaterials: none, optional: a card with the name of a famous person for each studentTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: characterisation, body and voice awareness

Each student will be assigned (or choose) a famous person to portray. Give them a particular circumstance, such as a cocktail party. Tell them to enter the stage one at a time and interact with each other as their famous person. After the improvisation comes to a natural conclusion, have the class try to guess who everyone has portrayed.

Music Improvisation

Grouping: groups of 3-6 peopleMaterials: 3 different instrumental pieces of musicTime: 45-60 minutes

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Purpose: creativity

Play about 1 minute of each piece of music. After each piece, have students write down what emotions and/or images the music conjures up. Then divide the students into groups of 3-6. Have them discuss their responses to the music and decide as a group on a piece of music to inspire an improvisation. Tell them to come up with a plot, setting and characters, and then to rehearse their improvisation. After 15 minutes, have them perform their improvisation for the class, with the music as accompaniment.

Choreograph a Dance

Grouping: groups of 4-5 peopleMaterials: dance musicTime: 30 minutesPurpose: body awareness, working together

Divide the class into groups of 4-5. Each group will work together to choreograph a short dance routine consisting of about 5 movements that can be repeated. First play the music for the class (choose something with a simple beat!), and then give them 15 minutes to choreograph their dance. When they are finished rehearsing, have the groups perform their dances for the class. NOTE: Some students will likely tell you that they do not know any dance moves or cannot dance. Assure them that they can use any kind of movements, as long as they are moving together. Tell them to have fun and make it silly, which will take the pressure off.

Trapped in an Elevator

Grouping: 5-10 actors at a time Materials: none (optional: 4 chairs to define an elevator space)Time: 15 minutesPurpose: emotional awareness

Choose 5-10 volunteers. Give them a setting with an elevator, such as an office building or parking garage. Tell them that they are to enter an elevator one at a time (or with one or two other actors). Let them establish the situation for about one minute, then announce that the elevator is stuck. Give them about 5 minutes to act out this scenario. Then announce that the elevator is working again and let them leave the elevator. You can repeat this with more groups of actors, depending on how long you wish to play.

Be my valentine!

Grouping: groups of about 6Materials: a piece of paper for every student, preferably pink and heart-shapedTime: 45 minutesPurpose: creativity, acting/reacting

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Announce to your students that it is Valentine’s Day and that they are all 11 years old. Give each student a piece of paper on which to write a valentine’s card to someone else. Tell them to make their valentines generic enough that they could be given to a boy or a girl. After about 5 minutes, collect the valentines and then redistribute them to other students. Choose about 6 volunteers to go onstage first. These volunteers will portray a group of 11 year-old friends who all just received valentines, which they will share with their friends during the improvisation. Tell students to decide who this valentine is from, whether or not they are happy to receive it, etc. End the improvisation when everyone has shared their valentine, then choose a new group of volunteers to perform.

Opposite Desires

Grouping: two actors with an audienceMaterials: noneTime: 10 minutesPurpose: understanding of character objectives/obstacles/tactics

This is an improvisation activity to challenge students to going deeper into their characters’ circumstances and avoid the temptation simply to make the audience laugh. Choose two volunteers and tell them what their relationship is, such as boyfriend/girlfriend, sisters, father/son, etc. Then send one of the actors out of the room, and tell the remaining actor what her objective is in the coming scene, such as, “You want to tell your boyfriend you are pregnant.” Then send her out of the room, and bring the other actor out of the room. Tell him what his objective is, such as, “You want to break up with your girlfriend.” Then have them perform the scene. Tell them to pursue their objectives in the scene, but warn them that they might have to change how they go about it or perhaps even change their objectives based on the information they receive from the other character. Give them at least 5 minutes to perform. Then choose two new volunteers and give them a new situation. Make sure that the characters’ objectives conflict with each other.

Three-Minute Circus

Grouping: groups of 4-6 peopleMaterials: noneTime: 30 minutesPurpose: creativity, working together, releasing inhibitions

Divide the class into groups and announce that each of them have five minutes to develop a three-minute circus with at least three different amazing acts. Of course what you are asking them to do is quite absurd, but that should be the fun of it. It is intended to get them think quickly and just accept the crazy creative challenges of theatre. Suggest animal stunts, clown acts, acrobatics, fire eating, etc. and remind them that if they can convince the audience it will be amazing, it will be! After five minutes, have the groups perform their circuses for each other.

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Human Scenery

Grouping: about 6 people with an audienceMaterials: noneTime: 15 minutesPurpose: body language, creativity

Choose six volunteers and tell them that two of them will be human actors in the scene and the remaining volunteers will create the set. If for, example, the scene takes place in a forest, the “set” actors might become trees or rocks; if the scene takes place in a living room, they can become tables, chairs and sofas. Make sure to tell the human actors that they can not actually put their weight on the “set pieces” so that they do not hurt their fellow actors. Let them perform a scene, and then choose a new group of volunteers to be human actors and set pieces.

Natural Disaster Scenario

Grouping: groups of 4-6 peopleMaterials: noneTime: 45 minutesPurpose: emotional awareness

Divide the class into groups of 4-6 people and assign each group a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, avalanche, volcano eruption, etc. (or they may come up with their own natural disaster). Each group is to design a scenario in which the natural disaster occurs. Tell them to start by establishing the setting and character relationships. The scene should start before the natural disaster occurs so that the audience can see how they change/react when it occurs. Give each group about ten minutes to plan their scenario; then let them perform them for each other.

Open Scene

Grouping: partnersMaterials: a copy of the open scene for each student (See Appendix B.)Time: 30 minutesPurpose: understanding of character objectives and subtext

This is an excellent way to teach students about subtext, or the thoughts behind what a character says. Remind students that people do not always say exactly what they are thinking. An open scene is a short dialogue with undefined circumstances. In other words, the lines are so vague that they could be interpreted numerous ways. Choose a volunteer to perform the dialogue in front of the class. First tell the volunteer what the circumstances are, such as “there are two friends; one of them loaned his friend his car and now wants it back. The other friend crashed the car and is trying to get up the nerve to tell his friend.” Do not tell the audience the circumstances; just perform the open with the volunteer, using only the lines written on the paper. After performing the scene, as the audience what they think the circumstances are. Then divide the class into partners and give each student a copy of

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the open scene. Give them five minutes to establish their own relationship and circumstances with the scene. Then have the partners perform their scene for the class. NOTE: It might get a bit tedious to have every set of partners perform the scene in front of the whole class. You could have them perform in smaller groups or just ask for volunteers to perform their scenes.

Create a New Ending

Grouping: 2-5 peopleMaterials: noneTime: 30-45 minutesPurpose: characterisation, creativity

This activity can be used with a scene students are working on or another existing story, such as a fairy tale or a movie. Divide students up either into their scene partners or into small groups. They are to come up with a new ending for their scene, or if they are not working on a scene they can come up with a new ending to a fairy tale, movie, or other story. Give students 10-15 minutes to develop and rehearse their new ending, then have them perform it for the class.

Commercials

Grouping: 2-4 peopleMaterials: about 10 random objectsTime: 20 minutesPurpose: creativity

Divide the class into groups and give each of them an object. Tell them to come up with a commercial for the object and mention that they can either use the object for its intended purpose or use it as something else. Give them a few minutes to rehearse their commercial and then have them perform the commercials for the class.

School Conference

Grouping: 4-8 peopleMaterials: 4-8 chairsTime: 30 minutesPurpose: characterisation, understanding of character objectives

Divide the class into groups of 4-8. Each group will do an improvisation of a school conference. As a group they need to come up with a reason for the conference and a character for each person. For example, the scenario could be that the student is bullying other students, and the characters are: the student, the parents, a teacher, the school principal, and school psychologist. The group objective in the improvisation is to decide how to solve this problem. Give groups 5-10 minutes to develop their idea, and then have them perform their improvisations. NOTE: Since it is done in a big group with all actors sitting down, this is a low-pressure improvisation and is a good way to get shy students on stage.

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Support Group

Grouping: about 10 people with an audienceMaterials: a chair for each actorTime: 15 minutesPurpose: emotional awareness

Make a semi-circle of chairs onstage and choose 10 volunteers. Tell them that this is a support group. Choose one volunteer to be the support group moderator, and ask the audience for ideas for what this support group is about. You can either encourage the improvisation to be comic, with such topics as people who love raisins too much, or make it more serious, focusing on grief or alcoholism. Then let the actors perform the improvisation. NOTE: Make sure to encourage respect during this improvisation. The tendency is usually to make the support group funny, which is not a problem, as long as it is not making fun of people dealing with grief, alcoholism or other serious issues. Only deal with real issues if you think your students can handle doing serious improvisations.

A Visit to the Shrink

Grouping: partnersMaterials: two chairsTime: 15-30 minutesPurpose: characterisation, emotional awareness

This exercise works well when students are developing characters for scenes/plays. Divide the class into partners (NOT into their scene partners), and tell them that they will take turns being each others’ shrink. First partner A is the shrink and B portrays her scene character. B visits the shrink to discuss the problems the character is dealing with in the scene/play. After 10 minutes, have them switch roles. NOTE: You can have them simply do this activity in partners without an audience, or you can have them perform the improvisation for a small group. Alternatively, you can ask for a few volunteers to do their shrink improvisation in front of the whole class. It will likely get tedious if you have everyone perform their improvisations, however.

Questions Improvisation

Grouping: 2-4 people with an audienceMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: concentration, creativity

Choose 2-4 volunteers and give them a setting, such as a shoe store. The actors do an improvisation in this setting; the only rule is that they can only ask questions. The improvisation will end if someone makes a statement, even one as simple as “no.” Let several different groups of volunteers try the improvisation. NOTE: You can also turn this

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improvisation into a game by eliminating an actor if he says a line that is not a question, replacing him with a different actor.

Limitations Improvisation

Grouping: 3-5 actorsMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: body awareness, creativity

Choose 3-5 volunteers and give them a scenario, such as a group of business people working on a project. Give them a limitation as well, such as: they can only walk on all fours. Then have them do an improvisation, using the scenario and the limitation. After about five minutes, end the improvisation, then choose a new group of volunteers and give them a new scenario and limitation.

Slow Motion Scene

Grouping: 2-5 actorsMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: body and voice awareness

Choose 2-5 volunteers and give them a scenario. Tell them they are to perform the scene in slow motion. This is a good exercise to help students become more aware of how well they articulate their words and how they use their bodies. After about five minutes, end the improvisation, then choose a new group of volunteers and give them a scenario.

Birthday Party with Different Emotions

Grouping: a whole class together or half the class at a timeMaterials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: emotional awareness

There is a host and guests. The guests enter the room one at a time with different emotions and introduce themselves to the host. The host must work out the emotion of each guest. The guests should improvise with each other when they are not talking to the host; tell students to try to think of a reason why they have the emotions they do.

2nd Day at Work

Grouping: Materials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: body language, acting/reacting

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The set up is that yesterday you came to work and tried to teach a class who were an absolute nightmare. So you have decided to show them what for today. You enter the room in whatever way you like, say/do something and then realize that you are in the wrong room! Horror of horrors! You make your excuses and then make to leave, but go to the wrong door, which is locked. Again, you make you excuses, head for the right door and make a speedy exit.

Can’t Say No

Grouping: 3-5 actors Materials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: creativity

This is a good exercise to teach students about how to accept the circumstances of a scene, or in other words, to say “Yes!” Choose 3-5 volunteers and give them a scenario to perform. The only rule is that no one can say no. They cannot shake their heads or say no in a different language either. If someone does this, she has to leave the scene. After about five minutes, choose a new group of volunteers.

VARIATION: In the Doctor’s Waiting Room

There are a number of people waiting to see the doctor. Everyone should have an illness and a story to go with it. They should then discuss this with each other. The rule is that they must not say “no.” The task is to get their fellow patients to say no and to avoid saying it themselves, while keeping to a vaguely credible story. The winner is the last one standing/sitting!

School Dance

Grouping: the whole class together (or half the class at a time)Materials: dance musicTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: releasing inhibitions

Tell the students they are all in their first year of secondary school and they are getting ready to go to their first school dance. Choose a few students to be teachers. Then start the music and tell students they can enter the dance at their own pace. Remind them to be aware of what else is going on the scene so that they work together, rather than starting many different scenes simultaneously. This is a low-pressure improvisation to get everyone involved; you can also try it with half of your class watching while the other half performs the improvisation.

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Parents and Children

Grouping: 3-5 actorsMaterials: noneTime: an entire class periodPurpose: understanding of character objectives

This is a good exercise for students to practice working with conflicting objectives. Divide the class into groups of 3-5. Give the groups about 10 minutes to plan their scenario. Tell them to decide amongst themselves who will play parents and who will play children/teenagers, as well as what the children want from their parents and what the parents want from their children. For example, the parents can request that the older son stay home on Saturday night to watch the younger son, while the older son wants to borrow the car to go out on a date on Saturday night, and the younger son wants his parents to take him to a football game. Then have groups perform for each other. You could divide them into two performance groups if it will take too long for everyone to perform for each other.

Opening Line of Dialogue

Grouping: 2-5 actors Materials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: creativity

Choose 2-5 volunteers and give them an opening line of dialogue for their scene, such as “Where did these footsteps come from?” You can also have a member of the audience shout out (or write down) possible opening lines (if they write them down, you can pick one yourself, thereby weeding out inappropriate lines). Any one of the actors can start the scene with this line. Let the scene continue for about five minutes, and then choose a new group of volunteers.

First Day of Primary School

Grouping: a whole class together (or half the class at a time)Materials: NoneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: releasing inhibitions

Tell students that it is the first day of primary school. Choose a student to be the teacher. Tell students they can enter the scene one at a time, as partners, or in small groups, and tell them to decide if they are children or parents. Remind them to work together in the improvisation, being aware of other things that are happening in the scene.

The Dating Game

Grouping: 5 actorsMaterials: 4 chairs

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Time: 15 minutesPurpose: characterisation, creativity

This improvisation is based on the American TV show The Dating Game. Choose 3 boys as the three bachelors, and one girl as the contestant who chooses which boy she wants to date. Then choose a game show host who runs the show. Arrange the stage with three chairs for the boys on one side and a chair for the contestant on the other side. They should pretend that they cannot see each other. The contestant comes up with three questions to ask each bachelor. After the bachelors have answered her questions, she chooses which bachelor she wants to date, and then they meet each other. NOTE: You can also of course reverse it, with 3 bachelorettes ad a boy who chooses. If you have a mature class, you can get creative gender-wise as well.

Who’s Telling the Truth?

Grouping: 5-6 actorsMaterials: noneTime: 15 minutesPurpose: characterisation, concentration

Choose 5-6 volunteers. Announce to the class that a crime has been committed in the small town of Somewhereville (or whatever name you come up with). Describe what the crime is, such as an elderly man was found dead in a cornfield. Choose 4-5 townspeople and a detective. Send the detective out of the room, and decide with the class how the crime was committed and which of the four townspeople did it (make sure all of the townspeople come up with specific characters for themselves). Bring the detective back in and let the townspeople introduce themselves. The detective then interviews each of the townspeople and tries to decide which one of them committed the crime.

Give a Speech

Grouping: groups of 10Materials: a set of cards with speech topics, a timer for each group Time: 20-30 minutesPurpose: creativity

Divide the class into groups of ten and tell each group to sit in a circle. Give each group a timer and a set of cards (each group can have the same set of cards consisting of about 30 short speech topics, such as explain how solar energy works, describe the benefits of speed dating, explain how to pick a lock, share your favorite childhood memory, explain the rules of basketball). Of course many students will receive topics that they know nothing about, but they will still have to give two-minute speeches on the topic. Their job is to give a convincing and entertaining speech, regardless of the topic. NOTE: If your students have strong enough egos, you can have them rate each other’s speeches on a scale of 1-10 via secret ballot. At the end of the round, the person with the highest ratings in his group wins a prize.

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Talk Show

Grouping: 4-7 actorsMaterials: enough chairs for all actors but oneTime: 20 minutesPurpose: characterisation, creativity

Choose 4-7 volunteers. One of them is a talk show host, and the others are guests on the talk show. Give them a topic (or ask for one from the class), such as “parents who fall in love with their children’s boyfriends/girlfriends.” Then have the guests decide which characters they are going to play. The Talk Show Host will lead the improvisation, interviewing guests and intervening if there is a major conflict. After about 10 minutes, choose a new group of volunteers and a new topic.

Gibberish Families

Grouping: groups of about 6 studentsMaterials: a table and 6 chairsTime: 45-60 minutesPurpose: body and voice awareness

Make groups of about 6 students, and tell them that they are a family. The setting is a holiday dinner, such as Christmas or Thanksgiving. They will be performing this scenario, but instead of speaking English, they are to speak gibberish, or nonsense language. The purpose is to use body language and vocal intonation to make the scenario clear. Give the groups 10 minutes to decide on which characters they will play and what the conflict is in their scene. Then have the groups perform for each other.

Birthday Party with Different Treatments

Grouping: groups of 5Materials: noneTime: 10-15 minutesPurpose: body language, facial expression

Choose a group of 5 volunteers. They should decide individually one person that they love, one person that they hate, one person they think is smelly and one person they feel neutrally towards. They should then begin to interact with each other, remembering to treat each other according to the way they feel about the other person. They will do the same. You may well end up with star crossed lovers, a love triangle or someone loving somebody that thinks they smell! Remember they should be trying to create convincing dialogue as well. If you thought someone was smelly in real life, you could not just avoid them, you would have to make your excuses for leaving their company.

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The Emotional Elevator

Grouping: 4-5 actorsMaterials: noneTime: 15 minutesPurpose: emotional awareness, working together

A group of four or five should choose an emotion. When the elevator is at a low level the emotion is very small and subtle. As the lift gets higher, so the emotion should get bigger and louder. The group must guess the emotion at the end – which should be pretty simple. Aim for subtle changes as the lift gets higher, rather than one big jump from quiet to loud.

Go and Rehearse

Grouping: scene groups/partnersMaterials: scene/play scriptsTime: 30 minutesPurpose: characterisation, scene development

The following three exercises are intended to help students rehears their scenes effectively:

Do a quick fire round of the scene with no acting, just lines.

When you go back to acting try to keep it interesting by experimenting with the style and genre you are using. Experiment with opera, melodrama, comedy, tragedy, etc.

Do a run through of your movements: “on this line I move here, on that line you move there, etc.” (you can use the script for this).

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