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: ...

"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...

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 ...

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...

Advance and Expand

Introduction This exercise focuses on raising the stakes and exploration of the environment. Please set up a scene. Description The pl...

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...

Anette, the nice one

Anette, the nice one, is an incredibly friendly person who goes for a walk with her pet. Again and again she meets people who have little...

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,...

apartment building

The form apartment building all the scenes within a house play in different apartments. In these three to four storylines, stories with s...

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...

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...

Bang

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

Before or after

In this game, the audience directs indirectly by making decisions. 2 or more players play a free starting scene. After the scene the au...

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 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...

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...

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...

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 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

Chairs

Chairs are usually the only real prop, which is present from the outset or at the edge of the stage and actually used when needed for gam...

Character

The character in improv theater is the represented fictional being that does not exist in reality. This being can be a human or animal or...

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 ...

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...

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...

Clothes

A theatre group can agree to wear items of clothing of one color or several colors during an appearance For example, it is common (also f...

Color Change

Three colours are given to the audience e.g. - red - yellow and - blue. Now they are asked to invent locations matching the colors, s...

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...

Conducted Story

Introduction Let’s get four or five players in a line and one person to conduct a story. Description The goal of the conducted story i...

Conflict

It is often the conflict that makes a scene interesting. For example, when the room is set up and the routines are established, thus th...

Countdown

Actors any number Suggestions variable, often a location, conflict, possibly characters/quirks, or none Premise With or without suggest...

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...

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 ...

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...

Curtain

Since improvised theatre usually does not require props and the end of the scene is determined by the moderator or the players, the curta...

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. ...

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...

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...

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

Encore

As a rule, it is advisable to schedule the addition of the program during program preparation. Sometimes it is advisable not to comply w...

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...

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...

Falling

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

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

Gossip

Gossip means that a player talks about something that is taking place or has taken place elsewhere. No interactions takes place. Example...

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...

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...

Guess status

In this exercise, the expression of a status is practiced and one gets feedback whether the others have actually perceived the status as ...

Guiness Book

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

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...

Headline

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

Help!

2-4 players improvise a scene according to any guideline. The rest of the players look on and hold themselves ready. Whenever a player fe...

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...

Hobbies

Hobbies approach manias, but are not quite so obsessive. Example: Passionate Angler (talks about fishing rods constantly, is busy with i...

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...

Ignoring

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

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...

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...

Kissing

One has to be clear in the theatre group how one creates kissing scenes. In particular if the group members still do not properly know th...

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...

La Ronde

The Round Dance follows the model of the same name from Arthur Schnitzler. In this play, different characters appear on the stage one aft...

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...

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...

Long Form

Long forms are more or less closely connected sequences of scenes, usually from 20 to 45 minutes in length, but also full-length formats ...

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...

Microphone

The use of microphones can be sensible in certain situations, to some extent even necessary. In smaller, enclosed spaces (lofts) their u...

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...

Music-Café

The director asks the audience for the name of the cafe. In this café 3 or 4 players gather and talk about this and that. As soon as the...

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...

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...

One word story

One-word stories come in several forms: All in a row 4 or 5 players line up in a row. The audience dictates the title of the story and ...

Opposites

Opposites among the characters are helpful for a scene's success. From opposites can easily arise "friction", it can by itself easily dev...

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)...

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...

Performance

A performance gives the group the opportunity to implement the experience of the exercises in front of an audience. Beginners Generally...

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 ...

Potpourri

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

Presence

Presence means the active Charisma of a person on the stage perceived and felt by the audience, it is present as a person for the viewers...

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...

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...

Quintet

At first five different scenes are played. The audience then decides on one of these scenes to be removed. The remaining four scenes cont...

Radio Mix

The players stand in a line in front of the spectators. Each player is assigned a radio station. Now, the channels (players) change...

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...

Requisite

Stage props are real objects on the stage. As a rule improvisation theater takes place without props. Usually only chairs are allowed. A...

Revolving Door

A game for 4-5 players. A player stands in the center and will quickly exchange places with where the other players started. The player ...

Rhymes

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

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...

Road Trip

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

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 ...

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...

Shortform

"Short Forms" are games that consist of one Scene or a few scenes and, due to their basic conception, only last a few seconds or a few mi...

Silent post

The gamemaster and two players are in the room Player A gets now a guideline and has to improvise a monologue straight away. Player B wa...

Simulclap

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

Slideshow

Several actors depict a scene in mime. A presenter then spontaneously describes what can be seen in that picture On a given command t...

Stage

The stage is a place, on which a theatrical play occurs. In Improvisional theater, it is the custom to act in a suitable open area that i...

Stage Directions

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

stage hog

As stage hog is referred players who always play in the foreground. This type of player is more often than others on the stage to see 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 ...

Story Solo

One player stands in front of 4-5 players who are sitting with they backs to the public. The main player starts telling a story for a cou...

Stringency

Stringency is a component of the dramaturgical list of ingredients of improvisation theater. Stringency means that the happenings on the ...

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...

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 ...

Synchro Replay

First, a base scene is played by 2 to 3 players. The same number of players goes out the door and does not see this scene. Then the playe...

Taboo

Taboos in improvisation theatre mean that games, game ideas, specifications or behaviours are deliberately avoided or ignored for certain...

Talkativeness

Verbiage or talking too much is a common mistake in improvisational theatre. Talkativeness means that more is spoken than does good to th...

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...

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 ...

Theatresport

Theatersport (TM) is the term coined by Keith Johnstone for a popular form of improvisation theatre, in which two teams of actors compete...

The Butterfly Effect

a modification of anti-freeze tag where the plot* begins by going in reverse chronological order and then the first scene (in terms of st...

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 Milano

The Milano, composed and first played by the Belgian improvgroup; Salamie. It is a composition which contains 4 existing formats (games, ...

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 seven year itch

The play comes from Doug Nunn and is a type of long form. It is best played with 3 women and three men + a presenter, and it takes about ...

The Talkshow

There are 2 main types of Talkshows. The "serious discussion" type programmes, which generally go out evenings (experts/politicians di...

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...

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 ...

Time travel

We will first present a simple neutral scene that is based on a suggestion from the audience. Then we will see a series of scenes that le...

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...

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 ...

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...

Typewriter

The title of a book that does not yet exist is queried. One of the players is the narrator. He is located at the edge of the stage. He si...

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...

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...

Words that change the world

"Words that change the world" is a long form. At the beginning the audience can be asked for a place where the story begins. The audience...

Work Exhibition

A work show is suitable for new groups or for new members of existing groups, if they have gained their first knowledge and experience in...

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, let's

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