Expert Interview Description One improviser plays the part of a television host and two more play experts. The audience suggests their field of expertise (asking for an animal then a sport is great; ants who play tennis). Ask the experts to agree with and back each other up. The host can ask anything; remind them[…]

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Family Dinner Description Four people up on stage. One of the audience is given a bell and a buzzer. The improvisers enact a family dinner and the audience member dings when they are accurate to their own family dinners and buzzes when they are wrong. The improvisers change their lines/choices accordingly.   Subscribe to Our[…]

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First and Last Line Description Two people stand at either side of the stage. One is given the first line of a made up story and the other is given the last line. The lines should have a few specifics in them and should be totally unrelated. The job of the rest of the class[…]

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Stand on the Line Description One person indicates that one corner represents one thing and the opposite corner another; i.e. “Over here is Lord of the Rings, over here is Harry Potter”. People then stand relative to what’s true for them. If you liked LOTR but not Harry Potter, you’d move to the first corner.[…]

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Sound Ball  A circle game. One person energetically pushes an imaginary sphere across the circle, making an abstract sound. The receiver echoes the sound and then creates a new sound as they pass it to someone else. It continues as such. Additional Tips for Playing Energy and eye contact are key here. The sounds can[…]

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Sevens Description A circle game in which numbers 1-7 are passed around the circle; each is accompanied by a tap on one of your own shoulders. Which shoulder you tap determines what direction the count goes in. The number seven is different: you must raise two hands pointing in different directions, the top hand determines[…]

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arms up

Rubber Chicken/Crazy Eights Description Everyone stands in a As one, everyone takes one foot off the floor and shakes it eight times, chanting the numbers out loud (one, two, three, four…). Switch and do the same with the other foot. Switch to one hand. Switch to the other hand. Immediately repeat but now only up[…]

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Long form mime object work

Pointing List Description Everyone starts walking around the room, and points at something and name what it is out loud. Next, point and say  anything the object isn’t. Then point at an object and say nothing. The next thing you point at will be titled as the first thing you saw, so you are always[…]

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Flatmates Just Do Nothing Description This is an AMAZING exercise for helping people play longer scenes for the first time and to be obvious, play things real in a scene, and let themselves discover things moment by moment in the scene without the overwhelming pressure to be clever or funny on every line. The teacher[…]

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Good, Bad, Worst Advice Description An audience member asks a panel of psychiatrists about a personal problem. They answer one a time with one person offering good advice, the second offering bad advice and the third offering the worst advice possible.   Subscribe to Our Newsletter If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter[…]

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Great, Next Character Description Ask half the class to stand at one side of the stage. One by one get them to stand on stage and ask them to play any character. After a short while shout “Great! Next character!” giving them a run of a few. To help them stretch their character range, you[…]

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I Know Description Play a scene with two people where every line starts with “I know”. It’s a very effective yes-and variant from Craig Cackowski and makes students form clear decisions and stops them putting pressure on their scene partner to define stuff.   Subscribe to Our Newsletter If you would like to receive our[…]

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