Warm-ups

Ball Metamorphosis

The players are standing in a circle. An imaginary ball is thrown by the moderator. Each time a player receives the ball and throws it to...

Bippity Bippity Bop

In this slightly macabre warm-up game, players stand in a circle with one person in the middle. The player in the middle walks up to any ...

Blind Stalker

Synonyms Screamers, haunted house, vampyre game Introduction This warm-up builds trust amongst workshop participants and helps break t...

Blinking place change

One (A) is in the middle of a large circle formed by all other players. Now the players are looking for eye contact with each other in a ...

Block of ice

This is a warm-up practice for the beginning of a rehearsal. The players stand quite stiff and immobile like in a block of ice frozen. H...

Call and Reply

Call and Reply All players form a circle. Then they all make a change of pace together with clapping, which sets the basic beat and is ma...

Category Die

This is useful as a warm-up and it is also useful in performance even. The exercise forces you to be spontaneous and it also helps you ...

Category Snap

Video example Improv Warm-Ups: Category Snap

Circle Up

During this warm-up exercise, the arms are stretched diagonally upwards and the legs, which are stretched out a little bit off the ground...

Clap Focus

Synonyms Snap Focus Introduction This warm up is to get people listening, responding fast and reacting without thinking. Everyone gets...

Cross Circle

Synonyms Name Game, Shriner’s Warm-up Introduction This warm up will help us all get moving, listening and learn a few names. Let’s fo...

Digits

Synonyms Shared counting, countdown, synergy Introduction This exercise is designed to get us all in synch. Get into a tight circle. ...

Duck, duck, goose

Duck, duck, goose or duck, duck, gray duck is a traditional children's game often first learned in pre-school or kindergarten then later ...

Emotional Fruit Salad

Video example Improv Warm-Ups : Improv Warm-Ups: Emotional Fruit Salad

Endless snake

The more players, the better: The first player offers his right or left hand. A player comes along and takes this hand and offers his or ...

Falling

Synonyms Group gravity, trust game Introduction This is a trust game that requires careful listening skills and quick reactions. It is...

Flock Dance

Introduction This is a physical warm-up and ice breaker. One person in front, with two people behind her and three behind them, forming ...

Four Corners

Here is another good ice-breaker for the start of the school year or as a funny way to better introduce people with each other. Four Corn...

Free Association

Introduction This warm-up will help us get into the moment for improvisation, and help us feel easier about being silly. Description T...

Genetically modified mouse

The players stand together with the game leader in a circle. This places an invisible mouse on the ground, which now runs under the feet ...

Group Stop

This is listening warm-up. Everyone start milling about the room. Everyone quietly mills about the room. One person will elect to freeze...

Hand snake

With this fast warm-up game, the task is to allow the flat palms of up to three players to touch each other at the same time. At the begi...

Hey and Ho

You take any two objects. First of all, an object is passed on from A to the right partner B in the circle. Following dialogue: A:"That'...

Hide body

Description An excellent exercise to get to know and learn to trust and touch each other. 5 volunteers, 4 of whom must hide the fifth p...

House - residents - flood

This warm-up game is only suitable for a slightly larger group: 13 persons and more. It is also called: House creature flood. Groups of ...

I am a tree

I am a tree is a very popular improv exercise, well suited for beginners. It trains spontaneous offers, scene-building from the body, and...

Increase

The players are in a circle. One of them makes a discreet gesture or movement to his neighbor, if necessary. accompanied by a word or sou...

Jumpers

Everyone into a circle for a silly warm-up to get the blood flowing. Players randomly and unexpectedly jump up in to the air. At some ti...

King of Siam

At The King of Siam one sits or stands in a circle. One player is the King, the others are numbered, the last one is wothout a number, he...

Knights, Horses and Cavaliers

The participants move around the playing field and wait for the words "knights", "horses" or "cavaliers" to be called. If one of the wo...

Last word - first word

Two players can participate in this game A random rule is added. The tricky part is, that in the dialogue between the two, the last w...

Living Scenery

Another funny, silly shortform game. The host asks for a suggestion of a situation or a daily routine at a location. Two players then ac...

Machine

The name of a "crazy" machine, a machine that does not exist, is requested. In quick succession, the players construct the machine by ea...

Molecules

Everybody runs around the room until the game leader shouts a number. Instantly, everybody forms groups with the same number of players...

Names - Go and clap

Another warm-up and name game. The players form a circle and reach out one hand to the center of the circle. One player Z stands in the ...

Nightingale

An exercise to warm up, sing in and keep rhythm. Players are divided into two equal groups. Both groups sing the same song as a choir, on...

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...

Quick Death

A (slightly macabre) exercise for in between times to drive away the tiredness of the players by speed: The players are in a circle. One...

Rebrand things

The players walk around the room and name the things in the room. They should touch the corresponding objects. For example, "wall." "Corn...

Rhythm Exercises

The rhythm exercises include exercises and warm-up games, which contain a rhythmic element. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves In this conc...

Seven Things

Seven Things is a warm up in which players ask each other to name seven things that fall into a made up category. Anybody may start by ca...

Simulclap

Introduction Get into a circle for listening and focus warm-up. Description One player starts off by clapping their hands (a singular ...

Slow-motion Rumble

The players are having a pantomimic brawl in slow motion. The gestures and facial expressions are expansive and often a little exaggerate...

Storytelling with movements

This exercise is played in groups of three. Two players face each other, while a third one stands next to the first player. The first p...

Sword of samurai

Slow motion exercise for 2 or more players. The arms of each player are swords with poisonous points. If a player is hit elsewhere than ...

The monster

Player A stands in the middle of a big circle which all the other players form. A is the monster. He moves with forwards outstretched arm...

Touch Palms

Two players are involved in this exercise. One goes first, the other follows. Again and again, the one in front stops (and of course the ...

Triangle

Each player initially takes two other players as reference persons without revealing his selection. It is now the task of all players to ...

Walking with speed levels

Players are distributed in the room. The task is to walk every which way through the room at increasing speeds. The leader announces "Ste...

What Are You Doing!

Players This exercise is played with two players. Rules Player 1 begins miming some action. Player 2 shouts, "What are you doing?" ...

What is a what?

A warm-up game in which rhyme is played quickly. All players line up in a circle and slowly flip a rhythm with their fingers. Player A ...

Yes, let's

A great warmup for group collaboration and to practice saying yes especially for improv beginners. Everybody walks around the room. One ...