Round-Up: Theatre Games for Building Relationships

Theatre games are a vital tool for drama teachers. They help build relationships in the drama classroom, teach important theatre skills, and give students a chance to practice those skills and take risks in a low-stakes way. But let’s be honest: sometimes, as teachers, we get tired of them. Maybe you’ve played the same games with different groups year after year. Maybe the games feel stale or chaotic. Or maybe you just don’t have the energy to lead yet another round of “Zip Zap Zop.” Burnout happens, but it doesn’t mean you (or your students) have to give up on games. Here are some ways to refresh your practice. 1. Reframe the purpose.When a game feels stale, remind yourself why you’re using it. Is it about focus? Active listening? Quick thinking? Ensemble building? Shifting your mindset from Ugh, this game again to This game builds X skill can reignite your sense of purpose with the game. If you’re not already doing so, try adding a short reflection question or exit slip after each game, so it feels less like “just playing” and more like skill-building. For example, you could ask: • What is one thing you learned from this game? • How does this game help you become a better actor? • How can you apply this game to the real world? 2. Put students in charge.Instead of leading every game yourself, assign students to run them. They can explain the rules, manage the group, run the timer, give prompts, or even invent different game variations. This not only takes the pressure off you, but also empowers students to take ownership of their learning and allows them to practice their leadership skills. 3. Rotate and/or retire.It’s okay to give yourself permission to retire a game for a while. Just like actors cycle through roles, teachers can cycle through activities. Rotate in new games, revisit old ones later, or give yourself a break from the ones that drain you most. For example, I can’t stand the game Park Bench (it always seems to devolve into students yelling), so I’ve retired it from my roster of theatre games. But other teachers love it. If you are one of those people, send us your tips for success! Additionally, why not ask students to teach you a drama game they know, or invent an entirely new drama game? You’ll expand your repertoire, and your students will get to bring fresh energy to the lessons and leave their mark in the classroom. 4. Layer skills and challenges into old favourites.If a game feels tired, tweak it by layering in a skill focus or adding a more challenging variation. This helps the “same old game” feel refreshed. For example: • Zip Zap Zop, Trapdoor, or Upstage/Downstage – Add a character voice or physicality for each word. • Word at a Time Story – Instead of single words, assign a word pattern (e.g., Student A can use three words while Student B must use five), or make a rule that students must start each phrase with the next letter in the alphabet. • Scenes from a Bag – Add new prompts to your bag or have students brainstorm new prompts. 5. Give yourself permission to skip games.You don’t have to do theatre games every class. If you’re feeling burnt out on theatre games, try something different: a mindfulness exercise, a storytelling circle, a written assignment, a student-led project. The magic of games will be there when you’re ready to return to them. Final ThoughtsBurnout is a signal, not a failure. If you’re feeling tired of theatre games, you’re not alone, and you’re not doing anything “wrong.” Review, refresh, or even retire your current roster of games, especially if you’ve been using the same ones for long periods of time. Remember: theatre games should energize you as well as your students. If they don’t, it’s time to shake things up.

These games and exercises are my go-to activities for teaching beginning drama students. They’re fun, engaging, effective, and give students a well-rounded overview of topics such as drama classroom and theatrical etiquette, various nonverbal and scripted performance techniques, introduction to scene and character analysis, and more. First Week Essentials• You and your students can learn each others’ names using the Silent Line-Up game, the ABC Name Game, and the Action Name Game from 3 Tips to Learn Students’ Names Quickly, and get to know a bit more about them by playing Move Yer Butt and Mixer from Getting to Know You Games. • Practice and reinforce classroom rules and theatre etiquette guidelines with the Act It Out game. • Creating a set of Community Agreements is an essential first week activity for you and your students. • And here’s even more First Week Activities for you to use. Ensemble-building and trust-building are key topics to cover through warm-ups, games, and classroom exercises. Nonverbal Theatrical Techniques: Mime, Tableau, Dance & Creative Movement• Elephant Walk is one of my favourite nonverbal warm-up games. • Start by teaching students about neutral position (from 3 Tips to Help Student Actors Stop Fidgeting), which helps them learn focus and body awareness. • Our Middle School Miming series has great tips for teaching students about miming technique. Try Preparatory Skills; Big, Small, Heavy, Light; and Interacting with a Wall to start. And of course, the Mirror Exercise is a classic mime exercise that everyone should use. • We’ve got lots of tableau exercises here at the Theatrefolk blog, but my go-to is Tableau Scenes from a Book. • Dancing in the Drama Classroom is another way to explore nonverbal storytelling and creative movement. Group Scene and Monologue Preparation & Practice• Always be sure to warm up the voice for speaking and singing, including breath control and enunciation exercises. • Scene analysis exercises help students gain a deeper understanding of the character they’re playing and the scene as part of the whole play. Don’t start rehearsing without doing some preparatory work first! • Teaching Students How to Rehearse in the Drama Classroom helps them use their in-class rehearsal time effectively. • Students also need to know the basics of stage directions. Try playing Trapdoor to learn the difference between upstage, downstage, stage left and stage right. • Once students have a good foundation, they can start working on partner and group scenes (which are generally less nerve-wracking than jumping right into monologues). If you need some great scripts for students to study in class, check out Theatrefolk’s Top 10 Plays for Scene Work. Work on analyzing, rehearsing and then presenting their scenes for the rest of the class. • Then, move on to monologues, both for performance and as part of an audition. I always have my students do mock auditions, so they get to practice going through the audition process before actually auditioning for a show. Specialty Topics• Improvisation is a vital skill for beginning drama students to help them think on their feet and work as a team. Here are the Top 10 Tips for Teaching Improv. Some of my favourite improv games include Scenario Generator, Props and Word at a Time Story, Commercials, and “Yes And…” and “No, But…”. • Puppetry is a great topic for students of all ages and levels of ability. Puppet Dance Parties are a fun starting point for introducing puppetry to your class. • Stage combat should only be taught by a qualified and experienced fight director, but you can introduce stage combat safety, responsibility, and fight analysis without even throwing a punch or picking up a sword. • You can teach introductory technical theatre topics to your beginning students, even if you aren’t the most technically inclined teacher. Costumes, props, makeup, sets, lighting, sound, special effects — there’s a technical area for just about everyone. We’ve got a collection of 15 Tech Exercises for the Non-Technical Teacher that don’t require a lot of equipment or extensive technical theatre knowledge. • You can bring together and show off all the skills your students have learned and developed over your time together with a class showcase. It could be a private performance for just your class or a public presentation with an invited audience — whatever works for you and your students. You can end each class with a quick verbal check-in with your students, or give them a few minutes to respond in writing to an exit slip prompt. Check out the giveaway below for a collection of exit slip prompts that you can adapt to many different lessons. Related Reading: Curriculum Planning: Introductory Skill Building

Collaboration games are a great go-to exercise throughout the entire school year. At the start of the school year, they work for ‘get to know you’, and warm up activities. Later on in the school year, they can help get the class out of rehearsal ruts, energizing both the students and the teacher. These are 5 of our favourite collaboration games. Each post comes with a PDF download so you can walk into class the next day, ready to play the game with your students! 1. Three Things in Common The point of this game is for students to not just talk to each other, but to go beyond surface connections. Great for the first week of the term! 2. The Marshmallow Challenge It works because it’s so simple. Groups of four are given 18 minutes to build the tallest freestanding building they can with 20 sticks of uncooked spaghetti, one yard of masking tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. 3. The Negotiation This game will give your students practice negotiating, not just following one or two leaders. 4. The Human Knot Students must not only achieve the knot, but they must also work together to undo it. This game will challenge students to communicate with each other without resorting to commands. It will also boost their negotiation skills. 5. Big, Tiny, Twisted This exercise is a great last warm-up before transitioning into classwork or rehearsal.