Games, Exercises, & Activities

There are some days when your students are just not feeling their best. They’re tired, they’re dragging, they’re feeling “off.” So how do you combat these low energy times? Try these 10 warm-up...

Name games are a great start-of-term activity, especially when you’re working with new students. It’s a fun way to break the ice and for students and teachers alike to learn everyone’s name....

In Part 1 of our How to Use a Small Cast Play in Your Drama Classroom article, we shared two different analysis-based exercises that focus specifically on small cast shows. Now we’re going to focus...

To affirm: To state positively; to state as true; to support by giving approval or encouragement Affirmation: A positive statement; the assertion that something is true Sometimes words of...

This is a classic theatre game; you might know it as Shadow Walk, Follow the Leader, or Leader & Follower. It is deceptively simple at first glance: students walking around the room imitating each...

Choice boards are a great way to give students some independence and autonomy over their assignments, and “gamifying” their choice board makes it more fun. A simple way to mix up your choice board...

Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita invented modern-day emojis in 1999, and they’ve found their place in our world as a unique visual language. Emojis can be used as a way to express ourselves when...

This improvisation game challenges students to think quickly: grab a hat and create a character name, some personality traits, and their voice and signature gesture. This exercise is all about...

This exercise combines fine art (photography) with drama class. Students will select physical items reminiscent of a play or musical, and arrange them to create a styled still life photograph....

“Speed Props” is a fast-paced, competitive version of the traditional Props game. This is a great game for students who like a challenge and want to practice their improvisation skills. Materials...

Sometimes you need a simple activity to get students warmed up, a time-filler for the last few minutes of class, or a classroom task that you can have a substitute teacher or student lead. No need...

Theatre is all about conveying emotions onstage through our voices, gestures, facial expressions, and body language. With middle schoolers, who are often in the midst of learning how to deal with...

Something teachers notice frequently when working with middle school students is that when the students are performing a two-person scene onstage, they tend to turn their bodies directly towards...

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone, for our American friends), one of the exciting and challenging tests for Harry, Ron, and Hermione was to play a game of wizard’s...

In this activity, students will demonstrate their knowledge of a selected play or musical and combine it with their creative and artistic skills to make their own theatrical board game. They’ll...

Take this article’s title with a grain of salt — we would never want to intentionally ruin any play or musical! We’re just going to have a little fun with show titles by adding, removing, and...

This rehearsal exercise takes its name from one of my favourite improv games, Scenes from a Bag. If your actors are feeling a bit shaky or uncertain with their lines during the rehearsal process,...

The following is a quick, simple warm-up game that works for virtually any age range and skill level. All you’ll need is a stack of Post-it notes or a pile of scrap paper, some writing implements,...