Kick the Can, Marco Someone in the group shouts “Let’s play…” and then names a totally made-up game. Everyone says “Yeah!” before launching into the game as if they know how to do it. After the game, ask everyone to tell you the rules. A brand new game has been invented on the spot! Play[…]
After talking about boundaries, get everyone to hold hands in a circle, then create a giant knot of their bodies. Ask them to undo the knot a different way than how they got into it. This exercise is from IO.
What? Play a two-person scene. Either person can say ‘what?’ in the first part of the scene to draw attention to the last line said. It can be an innocuous line, the ‘what’ is about the reaction to that line. Making something important is a great way to create a game in the scene.
Truthful Scenes Ask two improvisers to start a scene where the first handful of sentences are absolutely true. Not ‘we’re in an improv class’, but sharing views or memories. Give them a setting for the scene and they can do object work in the place if they wish. Variation Get the workshop audience to put[…]
Point of View Post-Its 4-6 players up and sat on chairs in a small semi-circle. Have a bunch of emotions written on post-its or cards. Ask the audience for a job or hobby and turn up one of the emotion cards. For example they might now all be sycophantic carpenters. They don’t need to do[…]
Group Scene Point of View A group play a scene where they all have the same point of view, like they’re all sad at a funeral or they’re all excited at the school sports day. Variations Take away the suggestions and the group find the reality and shared point of view as a group scene.[…]
La Ronde This is a series of scenes where everyone plays the same character for two scenes in a row. All the scenes take place in the same world. Have Kerry and Jeff play a scene, then say ‘next’ and have Kerry leave and Jeff and Sanjay play a scene together, then Sanjay and Ellen,[…]
Junior Psychiatrist Have two improvisers play a scene and a third person watch the scene as if they are a junior psychiatrist. Pause the scene after it has been established and check in with the junior psychiatrist. See what they thought was going on in the scene; obvious facts and names plus any feelings they[…]
Good Morning! Description Two improvisers ‘go to sleep’ on stage. When they have settled, the teacher says “Good morning” and they wake up. There is no dialogue until the teacher tells them they can speak. The actors figure out where they are and what their relationship is with one another. However they first behave on[…]
Car Journey Description Five people on stage in a car set-up. Tell them they are on their way somewhere they don’t normally go (a convention, concert, festival, theme park, etc.). They must be silent for the first 30 seconds of the scene. They cannot stop the car or get out. Ideally they will establish relationship[…]
What You Just Said Description Pair of improvisers on stage. They stand opposite one another; no need to act out a full scene. Each line begins with “What you just said is very important to me because…” and they finish the line. Improvisers should only be reacting off the last line they just heard. Purpose[…]
That Scene Was About Description Play a scene with a suggestion. The next scene is started by one of the actors saying ‘that scene was about’ and summing up the scene before. They then play the scene they just described. For example, there is a scene about a couple hesitating getting off a boat to[…]