Beginners Improv Exercises

Here’s a list of our favourite improv exercises for people who are doing a beginners improv course with Hoopla.

Hoopla is based in London and is the UK’s biggest improv school and UK’s 1st improv theatre.

Our next beginners improv course start next month.

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Setting the Environment

• We have an atmosphere of safety, trust and support.
• You are not by yourself, we’re playing together as a team and supporting each other.
• You are allowed to make mistakes, they often lead to the best bit in improv.
• You can say the first thing that comes to you, you don’t have to edit yourself, as long as you are coming from a place of fun, love and respect for your fellow improviser.
• You don’t have to be clever or funny or make up jokes, the humour comes naturally from the situation.
• Listen.
• Yes And.
• Commit.

Warm Ups

Any two of these warm ups at the start of a beginners workshop.

Creatures of the Deep

Everyone stood in the circle. The teacher does an impression of a creature of the deep to the person next to them. They copy what they see to the person next to them. Everyone copies what they just saw, not the original, so they gradually change as they go around the circle. The teacher sends out loads of creatures (squid, octopus, shark, star fish and more) into the circle and they keep going around until they change and merge and underwater fun is had. More at Creatures of the Deep.

Danish Clapping

Fun clapping game we learnt from Chris Mead. Detail at Danish Clapping.

Eastenders

Similar to Wild West above, but with Eastenders themed shout outs. Eastenders is a British soap opera based in the East End of London, but you don’t have to have seen the TV show to play the game. Shout at outs include ” ave it” to pass around the circle, “get out of my pub” to pass across the circle”, “you’re not my mother” followed by everyone shouting “oh yes I am” to have everyone swap places in the circle, and “OI!” to reverse direction. More about the game at Eastenders.

Grandmother’s Footsteps

An old children’s game that we use to get people playing together. One person is Grandmother or Grandfather, stood with their back to the class. Everyone else has to sneak up and try and touch them on the shoulder. The Grandparent can turn around whenever they want and if they catch anyone moving that person goes back to the beginning and starts sneaking up again. The first person to touch Grandmother is the winner. We repeat with variations where the people sneaking up are pirates, zombies or cheeky 1950s cockneys, to encourage more fun in a game.

Meet & Greet Walkabout

Everyone walks around meeting and greeting each other in different ways. For instance best friends, super heroes, suspicious neighbours, old school buddies, ex boyfriends, parents. Breaks the ice and gets people used to trying out different characters without thinking about it too much. More at Meet & Greet.

1,2,3

Surprisingly fun game for something so simple. Two people face each other. They count to three, changing who starts the count each time. For instance:

Brian – 1
Sarah – 2
Brian – 3
Sarah – 1
Brian – 2
Sarah – 3

We then repeat where instead of saying 2 they clap their hands, and then also adding in instead of saying 3 they jump in the air:

Brian – 1
Sarah – Clap
Brian – Jumps
Sarah – 1
Brian – Clap
Sarah – Jumps

Triangles

We orginally got this from Mick Barnfather (a clown teacher in London), and it seems to be used by loads of people. Everyone in the room thinks of two other people, but doesn’t tell them. When the teacher shouts go everyone tries to stay in an equilateral triangle with their two people, so the whole group is moving around and maybe even finds equilibrium. More at Triangles.

Volcano

Everyone walking around the room. The teacher shouts out something and counts to 5 and everyone has to physically form that thing with each other before the teacher gets to 5. For instance “Volcano, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! Microwave over, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!”. Used to get everyone moving around and having fun and also accepting and building on each other’s ideas. Learnt from Marc Rowland at Montreal Improv. More at Volcano.

What’s on your stupid T-shirt

We love this warm up because it’s so daft and so simple. There’s a chant of ‘what’s on your stupid T-shirt,’ then in a circle, players endow someone next to them by describing what’s on their imaginary T-shirt. The player who owns that T-shirt then has to caption it. Simple as! Puns are fun, but the best ones are the bonkers ones that make no sense at all. More at T-Shirt.

Wild West

The group stands in a circle. The person starting swings their arm and shouts “YE-HAH” in a Western accent, passing it to the next person. This goes around the circle. To change direction, a player can put their arms above their head in the shape of a barn, and shouts “HIGH-BARN”. If a player shouts “BANDITS” everyone in the circle runs around and swaps places while firing guns in the air. If someone says “there’s a snake in my boot” it’s a race to put your hand up and shout “I’ve got it”. More rules can be introduced throughout the game. Used to get everyone playing, breaking the ice, and to get everyone paying attention to the present moment. More at Wild West.

Yipee

Everyone runs around the room, they run up to each other and jump up in the air simultaneously and shout “YIPEE!” They then run and find someone else and do the same, and keep going with lots of jumping pairs around the room and people constantly swapping partners.

Next step, they either both jump, or both not jump. Next step, if they both jump they stick together and form a unit until eventually everyone is in one big group shouting YIPEE and jumping in the air simultaneously. Learnt from Kevin Tomlinson. Used to get everyone moving and having fun. More at Yipee.

Listening Exercises

Any two of these listening exercises early on in a beginners workshop.

1 Minute Life Stories

In pairs. One person says their life story in one minute. The other person listens and doesn’t interrupt. At the end of the minute the listener repeats back as much as they remember. Used to get to know each other and also show active listening. More at 1 Minute Life Story.

Story Swap

One person is telling an improvised story about a holiday. When the teacher claps their hands and shouts swap the other person takes over telling the story exactly where they left off, and then they continue swapping throughout the story. Trains improvisers to listen, yes and, and not plan too far ahead. More at Story Swap.

Syncronised Clapping

Everyone stood in a circle. Two people next to each other turn and face and clap at the same time. One turns to the next person, and they also clap at the same time. This continues around the circle. If people clap twice it changes the direction, and people can also clap across the circle to someone. Gets everyone listening and in the present moment. There is something in it. It’s so simple and yet over thinking makes it at first difficult. Ommmm.

Word at a Time Stories

Two improvisers tell a story a word at a time, with a different improviser saying the next word. Very moment by moment and helps improvisers to stay present. As a variation improvisers can shout “Again” whenever they want to re-start with a new story, which stops people getting stuck and keeps them in the flow of it. We think this was originally invented by Keith Johnstone but now is widely used everywhere. More at Word at a Time.

Wise Wise Wise

The same as above but with a large group stood in a circle trying to make up wise sayings and proverbs a word at a time. When they think one has got to the end of a saying the group says “wise wise wise” and bows.

Yes And Exercises

Any two of these Yes And exercises early on in a beginners workshop.

Machine

Good for physical Yes Anding. Half the class on stage stood along the back wall. The teacher gets suggestions for machines (tractor, typewriter, combine harvester etc) and the improvisers make those machines with their bodies as one team, without talking about it. The parts of the machine have repeating sound and movement. Gets improvisers used to looking at other people’s offers and adding to them (yes and) in a collaborative way. Learnt from Charna Halpern with IO and John Cremer at The Maydays.

Shared Holiday

Talking about a shared holiday in pairs and starting every new sentence with ‘Yes And’. This really gets the players on the same page in a fun and inventive low-pressure way. We find it a good bonding exercise too and often students have big smiles on their faces conjuring up these memories.

Story Conductor

Team of five improviser stood in an arc, and one improviser in front of them (Story Conductor). Whoever the Story Conductor points to starts telling the story and when they point to someone else the other person takes over. Trains improvisers to listen, yes and, and play as a team. This seems to get played by everyone but er think was invented by IO, could be wrong about that though.

That’s Right Bob

Two improvisers are on a TV shopping channel selling a product to the audience. Each line that they say starts with “That’s Right Bob” to help them listen and “yes and” what’s been said before.

Underscore

Two people improvise a scene with no words, physical only, while they are underscored by a film movie soundtrack. They are directed to physically yes and, being in agreement about the physical environment and activity and adding to it. First learnt this from Charna Halpern at IO.

Yeah Yeah Yeah

One person starts telling a story. The other says “Yeah yeah yeah” while nodding enthusiastically with their whole body and takes over telling the story, and then they keep swapping over as it goes, saying “yeah yeah yeah” each time. There’s also a fun variation where it starts with one saying “do you remember that time….” and then they are two friends remembering a shared time. We got this from Maria Peters so thank you Maria.

Yes And

Play a scene or conversation where every line starts with the words Yes And. More at Yes And.

Yes Based Conversations

People in pairs have simple conversations where they use the word yes lots and say yes to statements that pop up, and try to give each offers the other person would like to do. Originally learnt from Heather at The Maydays. For instance:

Gunther: Hey, let’s go to the theme park on Saturday.
Heidi: Yes, let’s make a picnic to go with us.
Gunther: Yes great idea, let’s take a picnic and eat it on the roller coaster.
Heidi: Yes I love extreme eating.

You can also repeat it where anything the other person says they then make it happen there and then, for instance snapping to theme park mentioned above. Also a variation is to physical act out anything that gets mentioned.

Being Obvious Exercises

Character Bench

Five actors sat in a row. They are all the same character type, for instance they all went to school together or they all were in a space station together. Teacher asks them questions which they answer, and they all agree with the first answer rather than distract from it. Coach them to say honest, real, obvious answers rather than attempting to make jokes that destroy the reality of the characters. More at Character Bench.

Piece of Cheese

Everyone in a circle. One person hops out and says “I’m a piece of cheese” and becomes that piece of cheese. One by one other improvisers come out and become obvious things to go with that offer, until one overall united picture is formed. Then it’s repeated with different starting objects. For instance “I’m a wheel”, “I’m a unicycle frame”, “I’m a unicyclist”, “I’m the circus they are in”.  

Spontaneity Exercises

Action and Justify

One improviser does any physical action, their partner justifies what they are doing, they both agree with the established reality. For instance:

Igor: Waves arms around head wildly.
Maria: Gosh the flies out here in the wilderness are deadly.
Igor: I agree, we need to get to a bug spray shop immediately.

8 Things

Someone is given a category of things to say 8 of. They say 8 things in that category as quickly as they can, with their partner shouting encouragement for each one and a round of applause at the end. It’s important that everyone enthusiastically supports every suggestion, this helps the group trust each other that ever offer will be supported. They are encouraged to say the first things that come to them, without worrying if it’s right or wrong. For instance:

Brian – Hi everyone I’m Brian
Everyone – Hi Brian!
Teacher – 8 types of holiday
Brian – Skiing!
Everyone – ONE!
Brian – Beach!
Everyone – TWO!
Brian – Safari!
Everyone – THREE!
Brian – Naked skinny dippinng holiday!
Everyone – FOUR!
Brian – Cheese museum holiday!
Everyone – FIVE!
Brian – Weston super mare!
Everyone – SIX!
Brian – Staycation!
Everyone – SEVEN!
Brian – Mountain climbing!
Everyone – EIGHT! Those were 8 things! (dance and applause).

Group Mind Exercises

Stop, Shuffle, Walk, Drop

Everyone walking around the room. If the teacher says stop they stop, drop they touch the floor, walk they walk, and shuffle they shuffle along. Then the teacher stops saying anything and the group can shout it out when they want. Then there are no shout outs at all and the group just does magically the same thing, adjusting from walk to shuffle as they go by everyone sensing what the group wants. Teaches everyone to be connected to the group and sense what the group needs. We got this one from Sophie Pumphrey so thank you Sophie.

Scenes Exercises

Three Line Scenes

A nice way to get into doing scenes for the first time. People go pair by pair and improvise scenes with three lines in total. Either actor says the first line, then there is a response, then a response to that. Whatever is said is then wildly applauded, to help people get used to improvising in front of an audience.

Later in the course we can add in variations to three line scenes:
– establishing where you are
– establishing character
– establishing relationship
– bringing in emotion and reactions

But we tend to work on one thing at a time.

More at Three Line Scenes.

Additional Scene Exercises

After that there are some other great scenes exercises to choose from including:

Just for Fun

These games are great for people new to improvising on stage in front of the workshop group, to help build up confidence while having fun.

Late for Work

One person leaves the room. While they are out the audience suggests why they were late for work, how they got here, and what their job is. When the person comes back they are apologising to their boss for being late while trying to guess why they were late, how they got there, and what their job is. They are helped out by four improvisers playing their friendly colleagues who are miming actions behind the boss.  We like this game early in our beginners courses as it gets people on stage in front of an audience having fun, and also gets people physically yes anding each other. More at Late for Work.

Movie Director

A made-up movie director is interviewed about their new movie, at any point they hand over to 2-3 improvisers who improvised scenes inspired by the interview. It regularly switches from interview to scenes. More at Movie Director.

Pan Left

A fun game of swapping channels on an imaginary TV set. Two or three actors on back line, two others stood in front, all facing the audience. The two closest to the audience are the TV channel we are watching. If we say Pan Left they all move around one place so that we have a new TV channel at the front. More at Pan Left.

Pillars

Two people are up playing a scene, with two audience members either side. The role of the audience members is simply to provide one word when tapped on the shoulder. While in the scene the players will conveniently ‘forget’ their words at intervals and then tap the audience (or the pillar) for a word to finish the sentence. The audience can say helpful words or if the word that pops into their head is weird or left-field that’s part of the fun. The player then has to incorporate and justify this peculiar offer. More at Pillars.

Word at a time expert

Three players stand next to each other shoulder to shoulder to play one entire person (or in this case an expert in something), who speaks one word at at time. Then another player plays the interviewer. All you need from the audience is something for someone to be an expert in (like rollerskating fish, or dancing plants) and you’re away! The interviewer treats the game as if we’ve just zoned in on a TV channel all about that expertise and proceeds to interview our expert, who given that it’s a word at a time answer, often makes sense in the funniest and weirdest of ways. Getting them to read an extract from their imaginary autobiography always goes down well. More at Word at a Time Expert.

End Chat

We end with a positive chat and celebrate what people enjoyed.

Other Resources

Here’s some other resources that are great for improv exercises:

Improv Encyclopaedia

Resource Centre

Books

Blog

Hoopla Improv Home

Our next Beginners Improv Courses start next month in London.

If you’re doing our beginners course and want to do more after the course the next step is our Level 2 Performance Improv Course which also starts next month.

If you want to see improv in action come see a show at Hoopla’s improv comedy club in London.

If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter containing helpful improv resources, casting calls for new shows and news about the improv scene please subscribe. You can also follow us on facebook, twitter and instagram.