Games

185 xxx walk into a bar

Not really improv theater but done by a quite a few troupes, and fun when done well. Get a term, e.g. Elephants. The lines go like this: ...

Actor’s Nightmare

Introduction In this scene one actor will read all her lines from a script, while the other actor must justify those lines and a scene w...

Acts of god

Two to Four players start a neutral scene. Additional players may be on the bench(es). One player is god. God periodically freezes the sc...

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 ...

Anything Fabric

Time: 5 Minutes *Number of Participants: * Preferably for groups of about 10-15 people. *Required Equipment: * A piece of fabric large ...

Ask For

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

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...

Award ceremony

A game for 3 players and more. A player goes on stage and calls a player B to the stage. For player B he defines a character, a quirk/ti...

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...

Bench takeover

The park bench is the ultimate test for any improviser. Two worlds collide here: the pure openness of the person sitting and the creative...

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 musical

This is a musical version of the game Whose line: The audience is asked to write a simple sentence on the notes previously provided. Eit...

Books Parade

This long form can be played two different ways. In both variations the audience would be asked beforehand to bring books of poetry, shor...

Bring your thing

They ask for objects the audience has with them. One of the proposed objects will be put on stage and played on, i. e. The following scen...

Buzz

Actors 2-4 Suggestions location, conflict, characters Premise A scene is built from the given suggestions, but at any point, either fol...

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 ...

Chorus groove

In the chorus groove (also known as Conclusion song), 5 to 7 players/singers are placed side by side on stage. The host asks the audience...

Country saying

A game to practice rhymes and rhythm in the group. All players line up in a circle. Now a country rule (country saying) is recited in a ...

Customer Service

Actors 2 or more Suggestions object, what's wrong with it, and a celebrity who previously owned it Premise One actor serves as a cus...

Dissociation

The player "associates" words one after the other that have "nothing" to do with each other. If a suitable word is associated or if the p...

Drop A Line

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

Dubbed commercial

A person is seated aside from the stage and from the other players on stage. 2 players (or 3 or even more) now play the sellers of a tel...

Duet

Duet 1: Two singers look at each other. Singer A sings his four-line verse. B sings his four-line verse. Meanwhile, A sings his again fo...

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 ...

Expedition

In this game for 4 people there is a moderator and an expert who has has been on an expedition. However, the expert only speaks the lang...

Fairytale Replay

A well known fairytale from the spectators will be used as a guideline. This tale is then played briefly in a neutral scene. Then the fa...

Family Dinner

A game where audience members can be involved. Get an audience member to describe several members of their family. Do a scene about a di...

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 ...

Found Objects

In the long-form Found Objects the player brings everyday objects with them onto the stage. I deals with completly usuual objects but tha...

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...

Genre replay

Genre replay is one of the most popular games at improv theater. First an arbitrary suggestion (e. g. an everyday action) is taken from t...

Gibberish

Gibberish (also gromolo) is a kind of pretend language which consists of a series of imaginative, but meaningless letter and word sequenc...

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 ...

Growing and shrinking

The first player establishes and plays a scene alone. A second player comes in, establishes and plays a completely new scene with the oth...

Guiness Book

Pick an entry at random from the Guinness Book of World Records. Do a scene illustrating how this record was broken.

Headline

Ask for a headline (or get a headline at random from the newspaper). Do a scene that could have lead to that headline.

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...

Horoscope

The moderator asks for a zodiac sign and then reads the current horoscope prediction from a magazine. The players then play a scene in wh...

I am a tree

A very popular exercise, suitable for beginners of improvisation The players stand on the stage/around the room. Player A goes to the mi...

I got a better idea!

I got a better idea! 3 players stand side by side, slightly in a semicircle. The middle one starts to tell a story. Every action, every ...

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...

Irish Drinking Song

Four players stand in a row, singing a song about a subject given by the audience. The song has a typical Irish-style, one line at a tim...

Klapphörnchen

The "Klapphörnchen" is a revue song, which at the end of a show performance shows the best played scenes as sung scenes or the scenes are...

Last sentence

The public is asked to provide a sentence in advance, which later must be incorporated as the last sentence in the scene. It is followe...

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...

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...

Multiple personalities

Silly, funny little shortform game. Played by 3 players. The host asks the audience to hand over three props. Then the host ask for a su...

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...

Newscast

Actors 4 Suggestions characters, scenarios, conflicts as necessary Premise Four typical spots in this scene are the anchor, co-ancho...

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...

Old Job - New Job

Ask for two professions that have nothing to do with one another. Someone in the scene plays a character that is now doing the second job...

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...

Party Quirks

Time: 10 Minutes Number of Participants: Best in groups of 4 or 5 Required Equipment: The only equipment needed are pieces my paper wit...

Pearl string

A game for any number of players, but preferably more than 3 to tell a little story. All players line up in a line. Player 1 takes two...

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...

Picking gifts

The players are in a circle. One begins and picks any object from the air. He holds it in a certain way and presents it to his neighbour ...

Poets with Feeling

Three or four players are involved. The moderator asks the audience to provide a random sentence. Additionally, he lets each of the three...

Pootie Tang

3 players play out a scene. 1 person is Pootie Tang and speaks only in gibberish (a.k.a. Gromolo). The other two players must act as tho...

Potpourri

Any scene with any guideline will be played The catch is: the moderator interrupts repeatedly and demands a decision about the show. Ther...

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...

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...

Rhymes

Improvised plays, songs or scenes can have a special allure and effect when they rhyme. Rhyme means that words connect with similar soun...

Road Trip

Info 10 + Minutes Groups of approximately 10 to 15 people. Enough objects for the entire group except for one participant. Recommended Ag...

Rollback

A scene is alluded to. A third person (player or moderator) is at the edge of the stage and stops at some point. Now, a striking event fr...

rumours

All players in the circle. A quick warm-up game to practice making offers, accepting and enlarging them. Player A asks his neighbour pla...

Serenade

(For as many people as desired) The first sings the chorus as far as possible simply to denote the text , one, maximum two lines. This ...

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...

Superscene

Three to five people can take part in this game. Each of the players is responsible for one of the stories, as its director. He introduce...

Talking animals

The players receive a species of animal from the audience. Then they play a scene in which they both play the part of this animal. (F...

Taxi Drive

Four chairs stand in a square and form a taxi. In the beginning there are three actors sitting in that taxi. Player A is sitting in front...

Telling a story

Form two-person teams - both players tell a story together. The first one starts, like, "Let's take a vacation." The second one always ...

That sounds like a song

It can be played in any scene, with or without suggestions from the audience. When a meaningful sentence is said, the game leader stops ...

The central theme

A real object from the audience is placed on a stage. The object is really the object it is. This object specifies the location of the fi...

The Evil Twin

The moderator provides a relationship between two people or an activity. Two players begin to act out the scene. The scene can be stopped...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The audience is asked for a problem or an Issue, for which the audience would like to have a piece of advice or information. In the follo...

The hitch-hiker

Two players sit next to each other in a car. One drives, the other is a passenger. Then they see a hitch-hiker standing by the side of th...

Thing on Thing

This game requires that some items are already available before the game starts - for example, as part of a "Bring Your Thing"show. But t...

Translator

A player is on the vacation in Gromololand. He complains to a hotel employee about something bad in his hotel room. Because the hotel emp...

Walking Backwards

The "walking backwards into the future" is an exercise, but can also be used as a presentation. One player stands at the front of the st...

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 ...

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...

Worlds worst

A game for quick jokes and short laughs. The Moderator asks the audience for e. g. - a profession (i.e. police officer) - a hobby (i.e. ...

Yes, and because

An exercise for 2 players. The two of them sit shoulder to shoulder on two chairs and play a kind of* one* person, namely an expert who t...

Yes, let's

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