Games & Exercises

Welcome to our second series of exercises for 2021: The Other Side of the Story! This series of exercises will focus on exploring, expanding, and creating new stories from the perspectives of...

Welcome to Part 5 of Theatrefolk’s Superhero Series. Your students have accomplished a lot: They created their own original superheroes, super sidekicks, and supervillains, and have experimented by...

Welcome to Part 4 of Theatrefolk’s Superhero Series. So far, your students have created their own original superheroes, super sidekicks, and supervillains. Now, we need to get those characters into...

Welcome to Part 3 of Theatrefolk’s Superhero Series! In our last posts we’ve created original superheroes and super sidekicks. Now it’s time to create some conflict and add a dash of mayhem with...

Welcome to Part 2 of Theatrefolk’s Superhero Series! In our last post, we talked about creating an original superhero character. Now we’re going to give the superhero a sidekick. Batman has Robin,...

When teaching virtually to students with their cameras on, teachers get to witness all sorts of interesting student antics — students tuning in from strange locations (their closet, their family’s...

When students are acting on camera – like when they are participating in a virtual drama class, or doing an online performance – their playing space is the rectangular area visible in their webcam....

The following exercise, Lipdub, brings together observation, critical thinking, scene writing, and vocal performance. As well, it’s a lot of fun! Lipdubs are commonly seen on YouTube as musical...

Here’s a playwriting prompt exercise that takes advantage of something that’s frequently around us: advertisements! Ads are everywhere, and their main purpose is to sell us stuff. But we’re going...

Are your students feeling overwhelmed with possibilities for writing a new monologue? Do they need help focusing on one idea? Or are you simply looking for a way to get your students writing? For...

The core tenet of improvisation is “Yes, and…” To keep the scene going, each participant must agree with any suggestion that is brought forward, and add something on. It’s a balance of giving and...

Here’s a warm-up game that is a lot of fun and gets students’ energy up. It’s a plus if you and your students are studying puppetry, but it’s not necessary to have done so. This is a great warm-up...

The mirror game is one of the most common exercises in the drama classroom. Students are grouped into pairs, facing each other. One student is the leader and moves their face and body in slow...

This warm-up exercise is perfect for days when your students are feeling stressed, frustrated, or unfocused. You can use it at the start of class to help students clear their brains, or mid-class...

In this multi-part exercise, students will write monologues based on the concept of an “I want/I wish” song, which is used by a character to share their heart’s desire. It is primarily a written...

The following exercise has a straightforward premise: watch a movie musical and analyze it! This written exercise helps students practice skills including analytical and critical thinking,...

It’s fun and interesting to imagine alternate endings to our favourite musicals. What if Annie had ended up being adopted by Lily and Rooster in Annie? What if the Von Trapp family wasn’t able to...

The following exercise challenges students to take on the role of costume designer and come up with a modern look for a character from a different era. Students will learn about the character and...