Games, Exercises, & Activities

Cross-curricular projects are awesome in theory, especially in the drama classroom. They are a great way to demonstrate comprehension by taking information in one form and applying it to another....

Observation is my number one tool for finding play ideas. When you observe, you’re not just looking around, skimming the world around you. Observation is the specific looking at people, places and...

Here’s a great warm up that also works as a communication exercise. Magic Putty. Instructions:1. Everyone stands in a circle, including the teacher. The teacher cups his/her hands and says, “I’m...

““… I recommend they keep a diary, at least a page a day, and faithfully, and also to get into the habit of letter writing to other writers. The advantages that come with doing this seem...

How do you communicate when you can’t talk directly?Have you ever been in a situation where you see something or someone and you want to comment out loud, but it’s just not possible? Perhaps you’re...

A mixed message is when someone communicates two conflicting ideas at the same time, making it unclear what they really mean. This can happen through: • Words vs. actions (saying one thing, “I’ll...

Good communication is all about being engaged and listening. One of my favourite quotes about communication is: “Two monologues do not make a dialogue. – Jeff Daly” Instructions:1. Ask your class...

Communication is not just what we say – nonverbal actions play a huge part as well. How we stand, gesture, make eye contact, all of these physical choices communicate. Use this nonverbal exercise...

This is a great classroom exercise to not only have fun with Shakespeare but to also see how well students can re-frame which ever Shakespeare play they are studying. Take a character from one...

Sometimes it’s the simple games and the ones we’ve played over and over again that can offer the most learning. Take The Human Knot. It’s a game that’s been played in playgrounds, camps, and drama...

How do you get students to work together in a creation? Try this pre-exercise to have students practice collaborating to make a finished product. It’s an exercise that has been around for years but...

If you want your students to devise a theatre piece in class, it’s important to practice the act of collaboration as much as possible. Ideally, you should use the month beforehand getting students...

Todd Espeland, instructor of the Drama Teacher Academy course Serious Play: Theatre Games and Warm Ups for Rehearsal and Ensemble Building, uses Big, Tiny, Twisted as the last warm up before moving...

What is devising?The hallmarks of a devised theatre piece is that it: • does not start with a script, it start with a idea/concept/topic • is a collaborative creation • there are no traditionally...

“Devising: A project that starts with an idea/concept/source material rather than a completed script” The culminating activity for collaboration in the drama classroom is to have your students work...

Jennine Profeta, instructor of the Drama Teacher Academy course Yes… And How to Teach Improv always uses the game Job Interview in her classes. In this game, one student has more knowledge than the...

Here are some great improv games to work on collaboration skills. Word at a Time StoryStudents sit in a circle. Give them a title for a story. “The Best Birthday Ever.” The story is told one word...

How does your class collaborate in a crisis? To collaborate is to work together as a group to produce something. In this case, each group has to work together to create a list. But it’s not just...