I was working with the LCVI improv team earlier this month and was inspired to create this game for them. It is as yet untitled, so if anyone has any ideas… Get everyone to walk around, filling the space, taking care to spread out as they walk. At any time, one team member (the initiator) makes [...]
Filed under: Games, Teaching | Tagged: feeding, stakes, Warmups | 2 Comments »
Replacement Games Attribution: Classic improv handles, used at the Bad Dog Theatre In the following Replacement Games, split 10-12 performers into two teams, each team forming a line along one side of the stage. One representative from each team begins in the scene. Take a location as suggested by the audience to begin the [...]
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Poetry Night Attribution: Jessi Linn Davies and Alastair Forbes, Bad Dog Theatre Youth Program Choose two players, one to be the poet, the other to be the interpreter. The Poet can only speak gibberish, so must use his body language to help explain his poetry. The interpreter gives the English (or French) translation to [...]
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Interactive Location: Decide upon a location, have a group of performers physicalize that location. Choose one to three performers to explore the created location : Players (5 or 6) act out frozen slides while one or two performers narrate each slide. Allow the slides to change before the narrators start narrating, to allow [...]
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If you haven’t reveiwed tableaux with your class in a while, it might be worthwhile to revisit some tableau exercises with your students. I find that the elements and principles of design (used in visual art) are useful terms to work from when discussing stage pictures. Start from a comfort zone. If students will [...]
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Hotseat Revolve Attribution: Jessi Linn Davies, SEEDS (Seven/Eight Enrichment Day Studies), Queen’s University Each performer has developed his/her own character for this exercise. Place 4 chairs on stage – three for the questioners and one for the character in the hotseat. Set up the rest of the class so they are sitting in a [...]
Filed under: Games | Tagged: character, feeding, interview | 1 Comment »
Job Interviews Put performers in pairs. One partner is the interviewer, the other enters (in character) for a job interview. Interviewer asks questions which feed and strengthen the interviewee’s character choices. This scene should take 1-2 minutes maximum and could be as short as 30 seconds. The exercise can be used for performance or [...]
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Fairy Tale Interview Attribution: Alastair Forbes/Jessi Linn Davies, Bad Dog Theatre Company Each performer is a character from the same well-known fable (4 to 7 players on stage at a time). Characters chosen should be secondary to the action (i.e. not Cinderella, but one of the mice; not Little Red but the [...]
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Hot Dog Stand Attribution: Nicholas Hanson, author of The Ultimate Improv Book Select one performer to be the hot dog vendor. Select five other performers to line up in order to enter as passersby. Select a characteristic (i.e. greedy) for the vendor. Each passerby, in turn, must enter, interact with the hot dog vendor and [...]
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