Mind Meld Description The goal is for two people to say things together until they reach the same word. It begins by one person saying “one,” the second person saying “two,” and then both people counting to three together. They then say anything at all – a person, place, idea, concept, phrase: anything. Then we[…]
Mimic Description Everyone stands in a circle and one person says something. It can be a movie quote, song lyric or something from real life. The next person in the circle observes the person saying the quote and then mimics exactly what they heard and how it was said to the next person in circle.[…]
Genre Cauldron Description Players gather round a cauldron. As they call out genres of film/plays/TV they throw tropes from that style into the cauldron. Example If the genre is “Horror Movie” they could throw into the cauldron ‘Jump scares, high school jock, Phone disconnected / no coverage, red herring suspects, abandoned place, revenge, shadows, lights[…]
Character Study Description Students chose a random stranger who is very different to them, in gender/build/age etc. They create a backstory for that person. They go about their day as that character, focusing on their life, physicality and voice. Characters can be hot seated, by asking a range of questions about their hopes, dreams, fears,[…]
Beyoncé Description A game from Hoopla teacher James Witt: I get my students to line up in Rolodex formation and do short scenes with varying restrictions. First of all, we play “Who, Where, What” three line scenes. If the players fail to name both characters in the scene then the other players in the Rolodex[…]
Shared Holiday Description In pairs players talk about a shared holiday they went on. Each sentence starts with “Yes And”. Example A: “Remember when we went snorkelling in Ibiza?” B: “Yes, and we saw that enormous fish!” A: “Yes, and it started eating your flipper” B: “Yes, and we got back on the boat just[…]
Week in Detail Description A good warm up that you can do in the pub before a show! Split up into pairs. Each tells the other person their whole week but in immense detail. Did you have to take the plastic wrap off the top off your listerine mouthwash on Tuesday morning? Tell them. Then[…]
Word at a Time Expert Description 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[…]
Oracle Description Oracle involves four people, set behind each other. One at the front sitting on the floor, one behind sat on a chair, the one behind that standing and the last one stood on a chair. That way we can see all their faces. Oracle is a brilliant low stakes word at a time[…]
Royal Status Game Description This is a Keith Johnstone classic in which a high-status king/queen is alone on stage and servants come and tend to him/her. If they annoy the Royal person in any way, he/she clicks their fingers and the servant dies. Teaching Purpose This game forces people to play boldly. Often people think they[…]
Plak! Description This is best played with a small group (6 max). We stand close together. Our aim is to come up with a slogan that you might see on a fridge magnet or car window sticker. One person says a word: for example, “Badgers”. Anyone can go next: “please”. And then anyone again: “apologise”. If you think we’ve[…]
What’s Going On? Description A musical improv warm up from Phil Lunn. It’s loosely based on the song “What’s Up” by 4 Non-Blondes, which is better known by the yelled tagline “What’s Going On?”. Stand in a circle. Someone chooses a location, for example “vampire castle”. Each person in turn sings a rhyming couplet that[…]