Games

"3 free" - Three sentences free

Often there is too much talking in improv scenes and showing too little, this is a nice game & a nice exercise to train this: Each p...

3 X different

Two people face each other. Round 1 They mutually count repeatedly "one", "two", "three". Automatically the start with "one" changes: ...

Accept

The most important rule of improvisation is: accept offers of players. Rejecting automatically stops, disrupts, or impedes every improvis...

Action and Reaction

The principle of action and reaction means that an actor who is in dialogue and/or in another (pantomime) interaction with another actor ...

Action emotion detail

A player tells a story. Three other players give the narrator a sign (touch, sound, gesture) if they want to hear more action, more emoti...

Alliteration

A free scene is played. However, one asks the audience for a letter before the game starts. All players must now start each word with thi...

Alphabet Game

This game is also known as ABC Game Rules Two Players perform a scene in which each line begins with the next sequential letter of the ...

Animatronics Jamboree

Players Typically 6-10 Type Gimmick Rules One player from each team is sent out of the room. (This game can be played with one team,...

Ask For

Ask Fors are concepts, facts or things which the improv player or the moderator ascertains or receives from the audience, before beginnin...

Attitude

In improvisational theater attitude can have several meanings. An attitude, a personal opinion, or a feeling about something: a personal...

Audience

The audience has several tasks and functions in improvisation theatre. conventional theatre In conventional (staged) theatre, the audie...

Authenticity

Authenticity related to people means that the action of a person is not determined by external factors, but is due to the person himself/...

Avoid a letter

One of the players has the task to avoid a certain, predefined letter when speaking on stage. If he/she nevertheless pronounces it, he wi...

Backwards Interview

This game is based on a fictional interview. The twist is that you start with the last sentence, and end with the first sentence; thereby...

Bang

A warmup for concentration. All players position themselves in a circle. In circle will now be counted upwards, player 1 says "1", playe...

Bippity Bippity Bop

In this — at times slightly macabre — warm-up game, players stand in a circle with one person in the middle. The player in the middle wal...

Blind Lead

These are different pair exercises in which one player closes his eyes and is led through the room in different ways. The aim is to fully...

Blindline

Players 3+ Type Scene Rules Players leave the room while the Host collects lines of dialogue. These lines are written on small slips...

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 ...

Blocking

Blocking is one of the most common Failures that can happen to improvisers. Blocking means that one player' s Game Offer is not accepted ...

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...

Boris

Scene for 3 actors. There is a commissioner who has to solve a crime. There is a secretary who gives hidden clues and a defendant who ha...

Bunny Bunny

A rhythmical warm-up game in a circle, the more you take part, the more fun. The lower limit is five players. The players are in a circl...

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...

Cancel

During an appearance, the presenter may cancel the current scene, if she has totally failed, and is completely out of control. The bar mu...

Category Snap

Video example Improv Warm-Ups: Category Snap

Chain Murder Death

aka Murder Death Kill, Chain Death, Telephone Murder Actors 2-3, one patsy Suggestions location, occupation, murder weapon Premise Thi...

Character exercise (character switch)

All go through the room, each with a certain character. Whenever you meet, you speak two sentences together, and the character is slowly ...

Circle of claps - Clapping circles

Clapping circles describe various warm-up games and rhythmic exercises where the participants stand in a circle and a signal - mostly a c...

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...

Clapping

The clapping of a player not involved on the current scene, or of the moderator, is the common way to signal the currently active players...

Conceptual circle

Different terms of a family of concepts,such as vegetables, sports, city names are exchanged crisscross form from player to player in a c...

Counting together

The players are standing in a close circle with their eyes closed or all of them are looking at the ground. Now the group counts up to 21...

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...

Cut and paste

The players play a normal scene, based on the suggestion of the audience. At any time, the moderator can call "Cut" to remove ("cut out")...

Digits

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

Dr. Know-It-All

Dr. Know-it-all is an amazingly intelligent man, who will be interviewed on a special topic, and is played simultaneously by three player...

Drop A Line

Actors 2-4 Suggestions squibs with lines of dialogue, quotes, phrases, etc. Also location, setting, characters, etc., as necessary Pr...

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 ...

Dutch Square

In the game Dutch Square there are four players on the stage where a scene is always played by only two together. These two stand in fron...

Emotional Fruit Salad

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

Emotional replay

A short scene is played by two to three players with a pretence of an everyday plot (or something else). This is then repeated two or th...

Emotional Workplace

Three actors are playing at working places given by the audience. Each player gets a related feeling. Example: Player A has sadness as ...

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 ...

Fail

Fail happens at the improv theater, when one has made mistakes, which has led to, that the scene has been a failure or the scenes have be...

Falling

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

F.I.S.H.

Players 2+ Description Ask for a short word. Players act a scene in which each line of dialogue starts with successive letters of the ...

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 ...

Focus

Focus refers to the attention of the audience (and the actors, too) on certain people on the stage. If there are two people, then the att...

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...

From the viewpoint of

A replay game, with 3 players. One starts with a neutral scene. When these end, they will be reviewed from the point of view of one of th...

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 ...

Gentle manipulation - dressage

A nice exercise to listen to and get into the game with each other. Player A leaves the room, the other players define an activity or ac...

Gordian knot

The players form a close circle. They all close their eyes and then stretch their arms forward. Now everyone tries to grab a different ha...

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...

Hat off

This game is particularly suitable for theater sports matches as there is a winning and losing team. Prerequisite is a hat from the props...

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'...

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 ...

Ignoring

Similar to blocking, though here other people's offers are not directly blocked, but simply not paid attention to. This can happen throug...

Interruption

The interruption of a scene means (as opposed to a cut) that the actor from the current scene only inserts a brief pause where their moti...

Job Center

A player leaves the room. The public is asked to name an extraordinary profession. The player is invited back in, sits behind his desk an...

Jonathan

A warm-up game to get to know the players' names and for quick reaction. The players stand in a circle . Player A is "Jonathan". - “Jo...

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...

Marriage Guidance

A game for three players. One player is the therapist, the other players are the couple for treatment. The first couple is sent out and t...

Molecules

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

Mousetraps

The stage will be prepared with mousetraps. There may well be a whole lot, such that it will be difficult to walk on the stage without st...

Multi-headed Expert

At least three players form a character, the multi-headed expert. To achieve this they stand next to each other and put their arms around...

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 ...

noise ball

The players are in a circle. They throw themselves an imaginary ball. The thrower makes a sound with each throw. The catcher repeats this...

Offer

An offer is an activity or a comment of a player, which refers to a teammate or is directed at him, and requires a gestural/mimed or verb...

One for all

An improv game for 3 (or more) players. *First of all, a normal free improv scene is played. It is important that in this scene there i...

Orlando Alliteration

A free scene is played. However, the audience assigns a letter to each player before the game begins. Players must now begin each word wi...

Pan Right - Pan Left

Pan Right / Pan Left Players: 4 – 8 (Can be played with any number of players, but should be played with two evenly sized teams in shows)...

Pecking Order

An exercise i.e. a game for three players. The players form a hierarchy (A has the highest status, B the middle, C the lowest). It's gove...

People Watching

This is best explained by an example involving players A, B, and C. A waits for B and C to leave before asking for a suggestion. A ask...

Press Conference

One player A leaves the room / venue. The host asks the audience for a famous person or character and an announcement this character has ...

Prisoner walk

All players walk in a circle one after the other, like prisoners in a prison yard. They walk in a rhythmic step. If someone claps their h...

Questions

Questions can have multiple meanings in improvisational theatre. Ask for As a moderator I can ask the audience for guidelines. It may b...

Questions Only

In this exercise the player's dialogue takes place only in a form of a question. Nevertheless the fundamental information is given and it...

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...

Reclamation

One player goes outside. The public chooses an object that he must return to a store because it is broken, he doesn't like it or somethin...

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...

Role reversal

Role reversal is a game for two or three players At the interjection, players must exchange roles among one another. Player A takes the p...

Roller Coaster

Before the scene begins, the audience is asked for feelings or genres. The emcee makes sure that there are enough positive and negative f...

Round of the prisoners

All players walk one behind the other in a circle, like convicts in the prison yard. They go into a rhythmic cadence. If anyone in the ...

Scene with a wall

There are four players involved in this game, representing two persons. In the middle of the stage there is a wall. Two players will alw...

Simulclap

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

Sit, Stand, Lay

Actors 3 Suggestions location, conflict, characters as necessary Premise Within the provided framework of the location and conflict,...

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...

Stage Directions

Players 3+ Rules Players perform an ordinary scene based on an audience suggestion. A player outside of the scene will occasionally in...

Status Battle

A status battle is when two players fight as part of their playing to the higher or lower status. Status fights must be played finely and...

Steal the Hat

Deux joueurs ou plus sont sur scène et développent une scène simple. Chaque joueur porte un chapeau. L'objectif des joueurs est de voler ...

Step by step

On the floor 9 cards are distributed in 3 x 3 rows at the same distance. Two players place themselves on each one of the notes. Principle...

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 ...

Terrorist

One player leaves. Ask for a mode of transportation, an object, and a desire. The returning player is a terrorist who must be manipulated...

The Conscience

Two players start a normal scene. Whenever it fits in the further course of the scene, two other players speak now the conscience of the ...

The Excuse

One of the Improv-players must leave the room for a short time. In the meantime, the audience  decides on a reason why the player wa...

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...

The Prophet

One player leaves the room. This will later be the prophet, who must guess the prophecy which is made up by the audience. There will be t...

The strict Boss

Three actors sit side-by-side on three chairs. The boss sits in the middle, his subordinates sit on the left and the right. The boss is n...

Three Rules

The moderator asks for three personal rules for the players in the scene to observe. For example, that they have only one arm, may not...

Three Way Dubbing

Synonyms Cross dubbing Introduction In this scene there will be three characters, and each of the character’s voices will be supplied ...

Throwing light

This exercise is for more than 4 players. Two players choose a topic of conversation and the other players have to guess the topic. The ...

Toaster

4 to 6 players are sitting on the stage, spread out well. The game master now whistles or claps his hands at different intervals. At eac...

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 ...

Traffic light

In this exercise the players can train perception, walking, encounter, status, posture and character. Game idea: The typical and well-kn...

Triangle

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

Trizophrenia

A game for four players. However, only two people at a time play it on the stage. One of the two is a trizophren. That means he has mult...

Trust

A scene will not succeed, if an actor tries to assert his own ideas. It is important with an clear head to step on the stage and to trust...

Vocal Chain

This exercice is suitable for a large group. The players stand in a circle. The game master sends two vowels into the circle. Initially ...

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...

Whose line

The famous improv TV show "Whose line is it anyway" was named after this game. Before the games starts (maybe during a break) the audien...

Word replay

First, as with all replay games, a free scene is played. Make sure that the players make a lot of speeches and long sentences. In the fir...

Yes, let's

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