Improv Exercises
Here you can find a collection of exercises for improv theatre. These exercises are intended to train specific aspects and skills in a targeted manner. The transition from exercises to games is fluid. What is still an exercise for one, the other brings as a game on stage. Please do not take over the individual exercises blindly, but think about the goals and intentions of each exercise.
Categories
Experience
Energy
Competences
4 Sentence Story
Players stand in a circle or a line to tell short stories. Each player contributes exactly one sentence. The four sentences follow this m...
5 Sentence Story
Simple storytelling in 5 steps, playable in pairs or small groups: Character and place — introduce a person and where they are Second c...
Active Post
A mix of charades and telephone. For 5 players: The facilitator shows Player 1 a compound word (e.g. 'anthill'). Player 1 must act it ou...
Association Circle
All players form a circle. One says a word to their neighbor. That neighbor associates a new word and passes it on, and so on around the ...
Association Circle with Recall
In the first phase, several rounds of free association go around the circle (as in the basic Association Circle). In the second phase, e...
Association Walk
Everyone walks through the room. One player suddenly stops with a loud stomp and points at someone. Everyone freezes. The stomper says a...
Ball Metamorphosis
Players stand in a circle throwing an imaginary ball to each other. Before each throw, the ball changes character — it might be heavy, sl...
Bench takeover
3 players, several chairs on the stage represent the bench. 1 player sits on the bench, the other two try to persuade Player 1 to leave ...
Bench Takeover
Three players and several chairs representing a bench. One sits on the bench while the other two must convince them to leave through a pl...
Betty Plum
Also known as Hologram. A group of players collectively build a fictional person by contributing characteristics one at a time. If a sugg...
Boing Wush Zwong
Each player invents three comic words with matching gestures. They walk around introducing themselves with their new name. Once everyone ...
Country Sayings
A rhyming exercise for the group. Players stand in a circle. Going clockwise, each player contributes one word to build a country saying ...
Disrupting
Two players perform a scene. Two others deliberately disrupt it with seemingly inappropriate offers — entering with absurd characters, ma...
Dissociation
Players stand in a circle. Each must respond to the previous word with something that has nothing to do with it. If a logical association...
Fantasy Story with Questions
A quiet exercise for two. Player A lies relaxed with closed eyes and tells a story (no prompt needed). Player B sits nearby and periodica...
Finding the Child Within
Players form pairs. One tells a story using only questions: 'Shall we go to the park?' 'Shall we feed the ducks?' The other responds onl...
Fortunately Unfortunately
Players tell a story sentence by sentence, alternating between fortunately and unfortunately. Player 1: 'Once upon a time there was a pi...
Gibberish Circle
All players form a circle. One of them steps into the center and explains through some gestures something in gibberish. After the player ...
Gibberish Circle
All players form a circle. One steps into the center and explains something using gestures and gibberish (nonsense language). After retur...
Hologram
Players stand in a circle. Together they build a plausible picture of a fictional person by contributing traits one at a time: name, age,...
I Am a Tree
A popular exercise perfect for beginners. Players stand around the stage area. One enters, strikes a pose, and declares what they are: 'I...
I Have a Better Idea
Three players stand in a semicircle. The middle one tells a story. The other two enthusiastically agree with 'Yes yes yes!' to every acti...
It Is Tuesday
Two players meet. One says something mundane like 'It is Tuesday.' This simple statement becomes the foundation — both players build on i...
Jeopardy
Like the TV show: one player gives an answer first, and the other must come up with the matching question. Player A: 'Forty-two.' Player...
Leading and Following
One player walks through the room installing imaginary obstacles — a thorn bush, a chasm, a low ceiling. They show pantomimically what ea...
Machine
The audience suggests a crazy machine that does not exist. Players build it one by one — each becoming a moving part with a repeated soun...
Mismatched Assertion
Two players establish a normal scene. A third player, who has been facing away with ears covered, enters and says a completely random sen...
New Choice
Rules Players perform a scene based on an audience suggestion. At any point during the scene, the Host may blow a whistle and call for a...
Noun-Adjective Association
Two groups form facing lines. The first person says a noun and goes to the back of the opposite line. The person across associates an adj...
Once Upon a Time Model
Players stand in a circle and build a story following this model: Once upon a time... (introduce character and setting) Every day... (e...
Online Association Game
Player A says a word. Player B associates a word and says it aloud. Player C writes their association to A's original word in the chat. P...
Pair Association
Four or more players form a circle. Two step into the center. The circle counts down: 'Three, two, one!' Both center players simultaneous...
Paperclip Game
A great exercise for recognizing patterns and heightening offers. Players stand in a line. One steps forward and describes a mundane obje...
Pearl String
All players line up. Player 1 steps forward, goes to the far right, and says a sentence that could start a story. Player 2 steps forward,...
Peculiar neighbor
The players stand in a circle. In turn, each one respectively turns to his neighbor and says anything unusual/absurd /incredible that wil...
Peculiar Neighbor
Players stand in a circle. Each person turns to their neighbor and points out something unusual, absurd, or impossible about them. The ne...
Picking Gifts
Players stand in a circle. One begins by plucking an imaginary object from the air. They hold it in a specific way and present it as a gi...
Redefining Objects Through Pantomime
A real object (a shoe, ball, or hat) must be redefined through pantomime so that its new meaning becomes quickly recognizable — all witho...
Rhyme Circle
One player in the circle says a word and points at another. That player must say a rhyming word and point at the next person, who rhymes ...
Rhyme Circle 2
Rhyme scheme AABB: One player speaks a line, the next rhymes with it, the third starts a new rhyme, the fourth completes it. The stanza ...
Robot
Players pair up. Player A sculpts Player B into a statue, then 'switches on' the robot with a button press. B becomes a robot performing...
Shifted Question Circle
Players stand in a circle. One enters the center and faces each person in turn, receiving a simple question from each. But the answer to ...
Singing Circle
With musical accompaniment, players stand in a circle. One sings a line, the next must rhyme with it. The third starts a new rhyme, the f...
Singing Circle with Chorus
Four singers each contribute one line to a verse. The fifth player summarizes the theme in a two or four-line chorus. After a short paus...
Song Association
One player steps into the center and starts singing a well-known song. Before running out of lyrics, another player replaces them with a ...
Sound Shower
One player stands in the center with closed eyes. The other players stand or move around them, making all kinds of sounds — wind, animals...
Tell a Story Together
Two players tell a story together. The first begins: 'Let us go on vacation.' The second starts their sentence with YES: 'Yes, let us go ...
Thank You
Player A takes a pose on stage. Player B enters and takes a complementary pose that gives A's position meaning. A says 'Thank you', exits...
The Holy Grail
All players stand in a wide circle. One person enters the center with a specific character (voice, accent, posture) and approaches someon...
Thunderdome
Players form a circle. Two stand in the center facing each other. Someone from the circle gives a category (e.g. vegetables). The circle ...
Verbal Hunt
The facilitator fires rapid questions that players must answer using the association principle — as fast as possible. The questions shou...
What Are You Doing
Two players on stage. A asks B: 'What are you doing?' B names an activity: 'I am harvesting potatoes.' A then does exactly that. A asks ...
Word Swing
Two players face each other, swinging their arms forward and back in sync. After three swings, on the fourth upswing, both simultaneously...
Yes But
Players form pairs and have a dialogue. A makes a suggestion, B finds a reason not to do it, starting with 'Yes, but...' Then switch: re...
Yes Exactly And Because
Two players sit shoulder to shoulder on chairs, playing one person — an expert or inventor. They are being interviewed about their specia...