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By
Kerry Hishon
Warm-Up Game: Tableau Mixer
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!
Instructions
1. 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.
Click here for a free participation rubric and exit slip.
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Games
3 Quick and Easy Warm-Up Games with a Drama Class Twist
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 to reinvent the wheel; the following games are classics for a reason. Here are three easy and fun games that most everyone knows, with a drama class twist.
"Director Says" (Simon Says)Have students spread out across the floor where everyone can see the caller, or “Director.” The Director will give various instructions that students must follow:
• “Director says hop on one foot.”
• “Director says take a bow.”
• “Director says move to stage left.”
But if the Director doesn’t say “Director says,” students need to keep following the previous direction given. If students follow the wrong direction, they’re out! For example, if the Director says “Director says disco dance. Turn upstage!” any student who turns upstage would be out.
For a bigger challenge, students who pause, hesitate, or flinch between directions will be out.
Learning Opportunities: Active listening, following directions, quick thinking, physical movement
“Director, May I?” (Mother May I?)Have the Director stand on one side of the room while students stand on the opposite side. The object of the game is to be the first player to move across the floor to the director. One at a time, students will call out “Director, may I take ___ steps forward?” and fill in the blank with the number of steps they’d like to take. For example, the student may say “Director, may I take five steps forward?” The Director may reply with “Yes, you may” and then the student would take five steps forward accordingly.
But the Director may also give a different answer. They may allow a different number of steps, ask the student to move in a certain way, or even say no! Some replies might be:
• “No, but you may take four steps.”
• “No, but you may take three leaps across the floor.”
• “Yes, but you must take Jennifer with you.”
• “Yes, but you must hop like a bunny.”
• “You may take five steps forward and three steps back.”
• “No, you may not.”
No matter how the Director answers, the student must follow the directions. The winner is whoever makes it to the opposite side of the room first. If you need to save time, you can have students move in teams and ask as a group, saying “Director, may we take ___ steps forward?”
Learning Opportunities: Active listening, following directions, quick thinking, physical movement, taking turns, teamwork (if working in groups)
"What Time Is It, Stage Manager?" (What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?)This is another game where the goal is to be the first student to cross the room. Have the caller (Stage Manager) stand on the opposite side of the room from the students, with their back turned. As a group, students will call out “What time is it, Stage Manager?” The Stage Manager will choose a number (10 or smaller) and reply “____ minutes to curtain!” The group of students will call back, “Thank you, ___ (number of minutes)” and take that many steps forward. For example, if the Stage Manager says “Seven minutes to curtain!” then the students will reply “Thank you, seven!” and take seven steps forward.
At any point, the Stage Manager can reply with “PLACES!” and turn and run towards the group of students, trying to tag as many of them as possible before they run back to their wall. Any students who are tagged become Assistant Stage Managers and join the Stage Manager in tagging more students. The winner is the first person to make it to the Stage Manager without being caught or the last student remaining without being tagged.
Learning Opportunities: Active listening, following directions, quick thinking, physical movement, backstage etiquette (replying back to the stage manager)
Additional Resources:
3 Games to Help Students Play to the Audience
Two Prompts: An Easy Improv Game for When You Just Can’t Think
Easy Distance Learning Activities for When You Just Can’t Think
Games
Physical Warm-Up Game: Doodles
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, and your students.
There are many different ways you can tailor this warm-up, depending on whether you’re studying mime, tableau, creative movement, or if you just need your students to get their brains and bodies moving. It’s a handy exercise to keep in your back pocket when you need to shake things up in class. Pick one, two, or a few for your students to do.
Instructions1. Give each student a piece of scrap paper or a Post-it note and a writing utensil.
2. Each student has exactly three seconds to make a doodle on the paper. No more, no less!
3. Collect the doodles. Make sure they’re all appropriate for your class.
4. Choose a doodle (or doodles) at random, post it where everyone can see it, and have students try the following exercises:
• Create a frozen pose with your body that physicalizes the doodle.
• Create a frozen pose with a partner that physicalizes the doodle.
• Move very slowly from a neutral stance (feet flat on the floor, hands by sides, eyes forward) to the frozen pose from the doodle.
• Physicalize the doodle. Move around the room (silently) as you think the doodle would.
• Select three doodles and have students slowly flow from the first doodle to the second to the third.
• Divide students into groups of three or four. Select three doodles and have each group create a movement piece that includes the three doodles in some fashion.
• Have one student direct the rest of the students in re-creating a giant version of the doodle flat on the floor.
• Have students come up with their own way of bringing the doodle to life.
Classroom Exercise
3 Fun, Physical Warm-Ups To Get Your Students Moving
Warm-ups are a great way to get students’ bodies and minds ready for drama class, especially if they have been sitting in other classes all day. Warm-ups get students into the creative mindset necessary for experimentation, risk-taking, and artistic play. Here are three warm-up games that will get your students moving. They’re also great to use in a rehearsal setting before transitioning to blocking, choreography, and character development!
1. ShakedownThis warm-up gets students moving while helping them to learn each other’s names. When you introduce yourself to a new person, you would usually say hello and shake hands. In Shakedown, you introduce yourself, but don’t shake hands.
Choose a Caller (could be the teacher or one of the students) and have your students spread out around the room. The Caller announces a way of moving around the room (creeping, tiptoeing, dancing, leaping, shuffling, crawling, etc.). Have the students move around the room in the manner that the Caller specifies.
When the Caller yells “SHAKEDOWN!” have the students quickly get into pairs with whoever is closest to them at that moment. Have the Caller yell out the name of a body part. The student pairs will introduce themselves to each other (“Hi, I’m Amy.” “Hi, I’m Jonathon.”), then shake the body part announced by the caller and say “Nice to meet you!” It’s going to be hard to keep the giggles at bay when students shake each other by the shoulder, calf, toe, or thumb!
Play multiple rounds. With each round, make sure to move in a different way around the room each time and have the Caller yell out the name of a different body part for the students to shake.
2. Numbered BodiesYou may know this warm up as That Atom Game or Mixer. Numbered Bodies starts the same way as Shakedown–assign a Caller who announces a method of moving around the room. Have the students move around the room in the manner that the caller specifies.
Have the Caller yell out a number and a body part–for example, “THREE ELBOWS!” Students then need to assemble in groups with the correct quantity of body parts touching each other as quickly as possible–in this case, three elbows.
But wait! There are two different methods of assembling body parts. The first way, “The Creative Method,” allows a variety of assembling. For example, for “THREE ELBOWS” you could have three students touch one elbow each; OR you could have two students assemble, with one student using one elbow and the other student using two. The second way, “The Elimination Method,” is stricter. It allows the exact number of people, each one using just one body part. This method is useful if you want to make the warm-up a competition.
This game is played in multiple rounds, with different ways of moving around the room, and various numbers and body parts being assembled–four pinkies, five knees, seven heels, three shoulders, etc. You are only limited by the number of students in your class!
Warning! Be sure that students are not launching themselves at each other when assembling, and do use caution with body parts chosen. (NOTE: This is the reason why I avoid calling “heads” in my classroom, because it always leads to clunked noggins.)
3. Numbered TableauxNumbered Tableaux starts the same way as Shakedown and Numbered Bodies. Assign a Caller who announces a method of moving around the room. All the students move around the room in the manner that the Caller specifies.
The Caller calls out a number, and students must assemble themselves into groups of that number with whoever is closest to them. The Caller then announces a simple tableau scene that the students must create within three seconds. Once each tableau is complete, have the students freeze in that position for at least 10 seconds. Next, have the Caller announce a new way of moving around the room and start again with a new number and tableau scene.
Suggestions for simple tableau scenes:
• Scenes from the show your class is currently studying or producing (students get to play all the parts they normally don’t play)
• Scenes from fairy tales and nursery rhymes
• Scenes from famous movies
• Scenes from school (taking a test, playing a sport, doing a science experiment that goes wrong)
• Scenes from life (shopping, going to the beach, running a race, playing with a pet)
Each of these warm-ups suggests students move around the room in a specific way. Download our action verb sheet, cut the words up into slips, toss them in a bag or hat, and pull out a slip at random to determine how students will move.
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