These fun Drama games are perfect for your drama and theater group. These have been tried and tested many times over with success.
When beginning drama or theatre groups, you will likely need to be able to break the ice or get people to trust each other and develop confidence. These games are a tried and true way to get students or players to work closely with one another and to develop basic acting skills.
Theater games also help the ensemble to use their creative imagination which is fundamental to character development and overall understanding of the play or musical theater production.
The following games and activities can be used on the first day and be utilized again for follow up sessions in future classes or rehearsal times.
Drama Games To Use
Chains or Group Knots
All players stand in a circle. Everyone places their right arm in the middle of the circle and grabs hold of another hand. Make sure they do not hold the hand of the person next to them.
Everyone then places their left arm in the circle and they grab a random hand. All players are then asked to try and unknot themselves by stepping over or under arms and bodies. With patience, most groups should succeed.
Trust Falls
In groups of three, one person will stand in the middle of the other two. The outside two will hold their arms up to ‘catch’ the falling person. The middle person will place their feet together and firmly planted on the ground.
They will close their eyes and allow themselves to fall gently into the arms of the outside players. Each outside person should gently help the middle person by gently guiding them back into the the middle. Emphasize no pushing, but gentle movements. Make sure all players have a turn in both positions.
Space Jump
Purpose: Encourages actors to move the action forward rather than block it with obstacles which are usually in the ‘no’ catergory.
Have all students standing in a circle. One person stands in the middle performing an action such as mowing the lawn. Another member of the group joins in with him mowing the lawn.
They will then make a verbal and physical offer; “hey let’s fly to the moon!” They both act flying to the moon. Another person from the circle will call out freeze! The two freeze in place. He or she will tap one of the two in the middle and they trade places.
The new person will forward on the story by using the frozen image into a completely different scenario. “You need to lift that barbell up higher.” They both continue the story for about two more rounds.
Yes And…
A perfect way to begin action ands and movements. Have actors stand in the middle of the circle. One person begins by making an offer such as; “Let’s go shopping for a fishing rod.” The other person will forward the scene by continuing and making an offer such as; “Yes and why don’t we ring my uncle to come and help us fish afterwards?”
The other person will move the scene forward by saying, “Yes and while we’re there, let’s make him a cup of tea!” Meanwhile they are both acting out the scene as they go.
This is a great way to get students to understand not to put obstacles in their way.
It’s also a great way of letting them understand that they need to make sure the scene and action needs to move forward and not be stagnant.
One Word At A Time
Have the group in a circle. Ask two volunteers to demonstrate. Two people will stand next to each other and will represent one person.
Have the rest of the class offer a location and what they are doing. Someone could say they are in Africa riding a pink unicorn. Offers and ideas can be as wacky as you like.
Each player says one word and then the other player says one word listening and trying to forward the conversation onwards.
Often times the players do not know where the story will lead to, but that is all part of the fun. If players are comfortable enough, have them hold arms and move with actions as they go.
Liar Liar
This is an old favorite. Have three players out of four tell a story which is truthful. One of the three players has to tell a lie.
Once presented one at a time to the audience, the audience can then decide who was telling the truth and who was telling the lie.
This games is great for getting players to notice body language and facial micro-expressions and hopefully they make connections to their portrayal of characters in future productions.
If you are a parent who wants to get their child into theatre please check out my blog post here.
Why Readers Theater is a good start for Literacy progams and for students who want to get into theater.
Space Jump
Space jump should have about four players. The first player begins an everyday activity in the middle of the circle such as painting the roof. Someone watching the scene calls out FREEZE!
The first player freezes their acting position. The person who yells out FREEZE, walks into the circle and brings a new scene based on the first person’s frozen stance or tableaux.
Instead of mowing the lawn, the new player could suggest that they are both ice skating together. They both act out the scene until the third player yells out FREEZE!
He or she steps into the scene and continues with a new offer. The fourth player continues as in the same way as the first the third.
The leader should yell out, FREEZE and BACKWARDS! Each scene is acted in reverse order, scene-by-scene. The last person to leave the scene, will be the person who began the entire game.
Sneak up on granny
Sneak up on Granny is a fun game where the over-all aim is in developing a players focus. One person stands in the middle facing the other players.
The rest of the group should stand on one end of the room or on an outdoor court area facing her/him. Granny turns her back to the group of people periodically and quickly turns back to face the group.
The object of the game is for players to take steps towards granny and tap her shoulder without her catching them in the act.
Players are caught by not freezing or by moving any part of their body. If caught, they are asked to go back and start again. If a player manages to sneak up on granny and tag her on the shoulder without getting caught, they get to be Granny for the next round.
Family Portrait
Divide the class into groups of 4 of 5. You can have each group posing at the same time or most of the group sitting watching each group as they perform/pose.
Each group is given a title for a picture that they must pose, which should revolve around a family portrait pose. For example a family of Dog Breeders. Another portrait could have a family of Undertakers or a family of Duck Hunters.
Each group has 15 seconds to form a family portrait based on the theme. The leader will count down from 15 and say, “Pose!” Each person must take on a specific character, position and pose. The leader walks around the group and asks each person a range of questions in relation to their occupation and to the rest of the group.
Each player must answer using their creative imagination. This game helps players understand the significance of performing in a team in character.
Exaggeration circle
If you have a circle of 12 or more this would be a perfect exercise for encouraging physical confidence. The leader will ask the players to count 3 people to their right.
Each of the players in the circle should keep perfectly still. However the observers will mimic any movement no matter how tiny of the person they’re observing.
For instance, if a person scratches their nose or blinks excessively, the person observing them should also do the same. This can get quite hilarious because movements can be vastly exaggerated.
This game starts off quiet and can turn into a lot of laughter.
Mirror exercises
This game encourages focus and connection using physicality. Divide your group in groups of two. Have one half of the group stand in a line facing a partner from the other group.
Players raise their arms to the mirror where their bodies, hands and faces should mirror each other, but not touching. It is important for players to keep eye contact.
One player starts by leading slow, flowing movements and the other mirror their movements. Let both players become leaders and the followers. You can use some melodic music to enhance this exercise.
Actor switch
Two or three actors begin a scene together using ideas from the audience or from themselves. During the scene, a member of the audience will call out SWITCH!
That person who called out switch, will tap a ‘chosen actor’ on stage and swap places. All actors should be listening carefully to each other before and during the switch so they know how to forward the scene.
The objective of this game is for students to keep their focus at all times and be aware of others and their role in a scene.
Mood scene
This is a fun drama game for a large group. Someone is hosting a party. The house guests will begin the scene talking to herself in her chosen mood. Chosen moods could be; overtly happy, sarcastic, anxious, irritated, or even depressed.
The first guest should knock on the door with the host welcoming them in. That guest acts with her chosen mood throughout the conversation.
The host will quickly change from her original mood and take on the same mood as her guest. When the third guest arrives, all guests will interact with the mood that he or she brings to the party. After a while each person will leave in reverse order taking their moods with them.
They each must make an excuse to leave the party…”Hey great party, but it’s late!” The game will end with the host taking on her original mood and she or he needs to find an ending.
Running Tails
Each person has a piece of long thing material hanging from their back like an animal tail. On the word “Go!” each person is to run around and try and steal each as many tails from other players as possible. The winner is the player with the most tails.
The second part is where people are in pairs and the back person has a tail in their back hanging out. The back person holds onto the waist of the person in front of them.
On account of ‘Go,’ each pair tries to grab as many tails from other pairs’ within a 2 minute timeframe. The pair with the most tails in their leaders hands are the winners.
The third part of the game is where four people are in a row holding each other at the waist with a leader at the front. Each team of four will have a back person with the tail hanging out.
The objective is for each team to grab as many tails from each other’s backsides as they can. Again the winning team is the team who grabs the most tails.
The fourth part of the game is where you divide all of the group into two long teams. With one leader and one person at the back with the tail hanging from their backside.
It’s the same premise as the other games, where one team tries desperately to grab the tail from the other team. The winner is the team who grabs the tail from the other team. This is a very noisy, but fun game to play.
Theater Game Drama Resource
A great book in which many theatre directors have utilized within their programs. Many ideas have been taken from from Viola Spolin. Her book Improvisation for the Theater is a staple in most directors, coaches, team leaders and teachers bookshelves. It is truly one of the best books on theater games out there. Great for children and adults alike.
If you are interested in Characterisation for students, check out my post on hotseating for students here.
Fun Drama games for kids, students and adults are a must especially if you are wanting to break down emotional barriers and increase confidence. There are some great resources out there. I hope I have offered some great ones here.
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