warm-ups and activities

The best way to start of an acting lesson is to play a few warm up acting games. They get everyone comfortable preforming around each other, and they put a smile on everyone’s faces. A classic game is the improvisation game. The rules of the game are that if you three people and at all times one has to be on the floor one has to be on a chat and one has to be stood up. Now you’re given a scenario and you have to create a scene. At any time another actor can come into the scene and replace someone, always keeping the scene flowing. This gets people’s minds working and creativity flowing. It teaches students to always actively listen whilst acting to keep scenes flowing. Playing these games are a brilliant way to get everyone having a good time whilst unknowingly preparing them for their acting futures. As theatre actors, improvisation can be a lifesaver. If you get out onto the stage and in a moment of adrenaline and nerves you or your fellow actors forget a line, being able to improvise can really save you from breaking the scene. The game is fun and exciting and doesn’t put any pressure on the actors .

A game I think would be very useful and productive to learn is the emotional taxi game. For this game you get four chairs and set them up like a car. There is a taxi driver and everyone who gets into their car brings and emotion that all the other passengers have to portray as well. When someone else wants to join in they just walk to the car and tap someone out. If done correctly it shouldn’t get boring. I think any improv games help you get comfortable expressing you’re creativity and also make everyone closer to each other.