Physical Warm-Up Game: Doodles

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 tone isn’t evident in writing. And they’re a lot of fun too! There are many ways that you can use emojis for warm-up games in drama class. In this article, we’ll share ways for students to use emojis to express themselves non-verbally, using their bodies and faces. These warm-up exercises are great for any grade level and can also be done online in a virtual classroom setting, with cameras on. You can use these in the drama classroom or as a physical rehearsal warm-up. To start, you might wish to print out flashcards of different emojis or project them onto the wall. Students will then physicalize the emojis using their bodies and faces in different ways. Here are 11 prompts to get them started: • Hold up a flashcard or project an emoji onto the wall so everyone can see it. Using their bodies and faces, students must imitate the emojis as precisely as possible in a frozen pose. • Imitate emojis as precisely as possible using only their faces. This is easy for the face emojis, but harder for the full-body or inanimate object emojis. For example, how would students use only their faces to imitate a checkered flag or the scissors emoji? • Using only their bodies, students must imitate the emojis as precisely as possible, while their faces must remain in a neutral expression. This may be easier for the full-body emojis but harder for the face emojis. (If you have access to plain neutral masks, they might be a helpful tool for students to use so they don’t have to think about keeping their faces expressionless while focusing on their bodies. However, they aren’t a necessity.) • Have students imitate emojis from memory — no visual prompts. • Have students form groups of three to recreate the emojis. Each student must be included somehow. • Create a unique walk or movement for an emoji. • Have students form two lines. Give each student a different emoji. Starting at the front of each line, have two emojis meet in the middle of the room and improvise a conversation. • Have students form two lines. Give each student a different emoji. Starting at the front of each line, have two emojis meet in the middle of the room and mime a conversation — no voices allowed. • Have a student draw a flashcard of an emoji and act it out. The rest of the students have to guess what emoji they are portraying. • Ask students a series of questions. They can only respond silently, using their bodies and faces to imitate emojis. Guess which emojis they’re portraying. • Play Giants, Elves, and Wizards using emojis. How will students determine which emoji beats which? Repeat these exercises as many times as you wish! Related Articles: Scene & Song Analysis Using Emojis Exercise: Mimed Relationships Physical Warm-Up Game: Doodles

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 other. However, there are lots of opportunities for learning in this simple yet fun game: making choices, following directions, leadership, volume management, focusing, spatial awareness, and paying attention to detail. This warm-up game is appropriate for middle or high school students. Read on for instructions and a variation for gameplay. Instructions1. Have students pair up. All the pairs will participate at the same time. Determine which partner will go first. They will be the leader. 2. The leader will walk around the room in their usual gait but at a slightly slower pace. 3. The second partner, the shadow, will follow them, about two feet behind, trying to imitate them exactly — just like a shadow. This will likely seem like a ridiculously easy task, but to succeed, students need to focus and pay attention to detail. Have them look at the characteristics of their partner’s walk, such as their posture, length of steps, what they do with their hands, and the “weight” of their steps (such as tiptoeing versus stomping). This is why the first partner should walk a bit slower than they usually do, so their partner can try to copy them exactly. 4. Then, the leader will add one element to their walk to make it different, such as a skip, hop, arm movement, or knee bend. The shadow will continue to imitate the leader as precisely as possible. 5. Finally, the leader will do a big, ridiculous walk of their choosing, using all the parts of their body while maintaining the slow walking pace. Students should choose movements that their partner is physically able to do (for example, not everyone can drop down into the splits) and that are safe (keep an eye out for flailing limbs). The shadow will continue to imitate the first partner as accurately as possible. 6. After enough time has passed, have partners switch roles, so the second partner has the opportunity to lead and the first partner has the opportunity to shadow. 7. As a reminder, the challenge is for the leader to move slowly and deliberately, while the shadow copies their partner exactly. Variation: Once each partner has been the leader, have students get into a big circle and close their eyes. Then secretly select one leader. Students will then open their eyes and walk slowly in a circle, shadowing the student in front of them. The leader will subtly start a movement, with everyone else following them. See if students can guess who the leader is.

This warm-up game is a variation of the game “Numbered Tableaux”. It’s similar to the camp game “Chicken in the Hen House,” but adjusted to be safer for the drama classroom, and focused on creating various tableau scenes. It’s a simple introduction to tableau for students of any grade or skill level, with the added benefits of practicing memorization, collaboration, and stillness. It’s a great game for large classes, as students will need at least five different partners throughout the game. You can use this game as a “getting to know you” game, an elimination game if you have competitive students, or a week-long challenge — details below! Instructions1. Choose a Caller (could be the teacher or one of the students) and have the rest of the students spread out around the room. 2. The Caller will announce a way of moving around the room (creeping, tiptoeing, dancing, leaping, shuffling, crawling, sliding, etc.). Have the students move around the room in the manner that the Caller specifies. 3. At some point, the Caller will announce “Partners, side to side!” Students will go to the nearest student and stand next to them, shoulder to shoulder, without moving. (Blinking and breathing is always allowed, even when frozen.) This is the students’ first partner, of at least five different partners for this game. The Caller will let students know that this partner is their “side to side” partner, and anytime the Caller calls “side to side,” the students must find this particular partner and stand in this side-to-side position, without moving. Have them hold this pose for at least five seconds. 4. When the Caller announces “unfreeze,” students will move around the room again as the Caller determines. The Caller will announce “Second partners, back to back!” Students will go to the nearest, different student to them (it can’t be the same partner they had for side to side) and stand next to them, back to back, without moving. Going forward, anytime the Caller calls “back to back,” the students must find this particular partner and stand in the back-to-back position, without moving. Have them hold this pose for at least five seconds. 5. Continue with the game, adding at least three more tableau scenes with different partners each time. Here are some ideas to choose from (you’ll need to describe the poses to your students): • Chicken in the Hen House – A nod to the original game! The shorter partner kneels with their arms bent like wings (the chicken), while the taller partner stands behind them with their arms making a triangular roof over their own head (the hen house). • Statue of Liberty – The taller partner stands straight with their right arm above their head like they are holding a torch and their left hand to their side as if they’re holding a tablet (take a look at a photo of the actual Statue of Liberty for details), while the shorter partner holds up an imaginary camera as if they’re taking a photo of the statue. • Rodeo – The taller partner goes down on all fours (like a horse), while the shorter partner stands above or beside them, holding their arm above their head as if they were swinging a lasso (the horse rider). • Supermodel – Both partners strike dramatic poses as if they are modeling for a photoshoot. • Gone Fishin’ – One partner squats and holds an imaginary fishing pole while the other partner lies on the floor as the fish. • Forgive Me – One partner kneels and holds their hands up as if they were begging the other partner to forgive them, while the other partner turns their body away dramatically and crosses their arms. Remember to have students hold the frozen pose for at least five seconds each time. 6. Continue on with the game, calling out different ways of moving around the room, followed by a different tableau cue: “Back to back!” “Tiptoe around the room.” “Chicken in the Hen House!” “Disco dance around the room.” “Gone Fishin’!” “Back to back!” and so on. Students must remember which partner they have for each tableau cue and go back to that partner for that particular cue. Important Notes• Remember: tableau poses are meant to be frozen, which means no talking! • Take the path of least resistance when finding your partner; avoid slamming into or pushing over other classmates, even inadvertently. • Take care of your body: avoid clunking heads (especially in back-to-back position) or slamming knees and hands into the ground (for Chicken in the Hen House or Rodeo). • Students don’t need to touch each other to do the various tableau poses. • Be sure to leave space between pairs, so it is clear who is partnered with who. Variations • Make it a “getting to know you” game. When students pair up, have them share their name with each other. When they go back to that partner during a repeated cue, have them greet each other by name. • Play elimination style. The last pair to partner up, or a pair that moves when they’re supposed to be frozen, gets eliminated. This will cause some issues when you call out other poses, as certain partners will be eliminated. The non-eliminated partners will then have to partner up — think of it as an additional improvisation challenge! • Have students suggest their own tableau poses to add to the classroom repertoire. • Make it a week-long challenge. At various points throughout the week, without prior knowledge, randomly call out different tableau cues, even in the middle of a lesson, a rehearsal time, or another game. See if students remember what to do and what partner they’re supposed to be with.