Fun theater improv games

Introducing friends and colleagues in an exaggerated manner means getting to know them and then running with what you know. Tap into this idea with this fun improv exercise that taps into roleplay for funny results! Start by creating groups of three and asking these groups to share some basic information about one another. Player 1 from each group will be the person being introduced. Player 2 will be the Straightman and Player 3 will be the Hypeman. Next, ask two groups of three to come together.

Player 1 from each group will be introduced by the other two from their group. Player 2 must introduce them using an understated, matter of fact style. Player 3 will introduce using exaggerated, over the top language. He does marketing for SessionLab and facilitates too. James does marketing the way other people do breathing! Mix groups up so everyone has a turn playing all of the roles. By taking turns building up our partners and coming up with exaggerated, sometimes outlandish claims, you can take the sting out of meeting new people and have some fun improvising too!

Hypeman energizer support trust positivity name game introductions mixer improv game character relationship em opening. Improv techniques often draw from the world of acting, asking participants to use their whole bodies to get into the scene or participate in the game. Physical improv games like those below are especially great for getting people moving and adding new energy into the room. If a group has been having long and difficult conversations all morning, using an activity that gets them using their bodies can be just what they need to feel energized and engaged.

These games are even useful for those attending virtual meetings and workshops. Asking people to move around and have fun on camera can be an effective way to combat zoom fatigue! Interpreting actions is a great way to encourage creative thinking and energize a team. In this improv game, one player starts by imagining an action on the spot and physically miming that action.

For example, they might start by miming washing, drying, and brushing their hair. Next, another player jumps in and asks them what they are doing. The person miming must then say any other action than the one they are performing. Rather than say they are brushing their hair, they might say they are performing brain surgery or playing hockey.

The next player must then begin miming out that action. Encourage everyone to be creative with their actions and responses and keep the game moving! By improvising physically and providing the next player with a prompt, this exercise is a great way to encourage activity and conversation in those groups that might be more reserved to start!

What are you doing? Though simple, it engages the imagination and gently challenges participants out of their comfort zone by having them mime a range of different actions. Seeing the differences and similarities in our approaches can really help us bond as people.

In Human Objects, challenge your group to impersonate an object with their body in just ten seconds. Start by calling out the name of a common object like a desk, mobile phone, microwave oven, or drum kit. Have everyone improvise and impersonate that object using just their bodies and then nominate another play to choose the next object. Human Objects invites some fun, creative thinking into your meeting and it works great in both live and virtual settings.

Trying to fit a human guitar into the frame of a Zoom window often gets people laughing! Human objects improv game energizer remote-friendly fun icebreaker. Like most collaborative and creative processes, understanding and listening to your partner is key to your success.

Mirrors is a classic physical improv game that encourages deep connection and attention using our bodies. Start by asking pairs to imagine themselves as standing on two sides of a mirror with a boundary line between them. Next, have player 1 start leading with physical movements, gestures, and actions that player 2 must then mirror.

Encourage players to go slowly and not to talk. Switch which player is following regularly and invite everyone to get creative while leading the way for their partner. When looking for an improv game that gets people moving, Mirrors does small wonders. Bonus points for creating memorable team moments and opportunities for hilarity!

Mirrors improv game flexibility active listening listening and awareness speaking accepting offers trust leadership em fb. Physical improv games that ask us to use our bodies and get involved can be great team activities. Working together while having fun taps into what many of us love about team sports, creative collaborations, and what it means to be a part of a group! This improv exercise asks that a group come together to embody a robot, with every player on the team playing a single part of the machine.

Start by having a single-player enter the center of the room making the sound and movement of a part of the robot. After five seconds, have another player jump in and add themselves as another part of the robot, complete with a new sound and movement.

Want to add another angle? Invite the robot to perform a task or deconstruct the robot piece by piece. We love inviting the group to create a robot designed for a specific task and see how people choose to bring themselves to the process and position themselves as part of the group. Human Machine hyperisland energiser. This fast and physical group gets participants moving and working together in a way that generates energy and promotes collaboration.

At their core, most improv activities are a set of rules that participants must work with creatively in order to achieve their goal. Having to work with these rules on the spot means participants have to interpret and respond quickly and creatively. As such, the results can often be surprising, even with the simplest of rulesets!

Near and Far is an exercise that draws on these concepts without the usual setup of other improv games. Start by asking everyone in the room to secretly choose one person in the group to stay close to and a second person they must stay away from. Next, gather everyone into a close huddle, explain the rules for safety and not speaking, and then send them off to find the person they need to be close to and far away from.

Let them wander and enact these rules while inviting them to observe all the strange systems and actions that emerge from working together in this space. In a very short period of time, you and your group have lots to reflect on and have improvised and engaged with one another creatively too! Near and Far ice breaker energiser action thiagi outdoor warm up.

Mime and comedy go hand in hand. In this improv game, the group is asked to imagine passing several items around the group and responding to them in turn. Start with everyone in a circle. Have the director begin by showing the group an imaginary red ball.

After a few passes, the director then adds more and more items including a sleeping baby, an angry cat, the keys to a sports car, and more. Ask players to be imaginative and creative in how they pass these objects around while observing the rules of the game. Red Ball listening and awareness improv game active listening em. When it comes to being creative and engaging with others, our storytelling instincts are a great place to play inside.

Stories resonate with people across cultures and demographics — inviting people to improvise in this space is effective for building group bonds, having fun, and improving teamwork. In the fields of drama and comedy, narrative improv is a common technique that encourages participants to work together to create a complete story from scratch!

Story-making with others can be a fun and engaging collaborative process and narrative thinking can have massive benefits across your organization. For some groups, telling stories brings to mind dragons and spaceships and this can prove a barrier to engagement. This variation on a classic story game keeps things grounded and practical while still encouraging improvisation and creativity.

Start by having a player state a goal they want to achieve a year from now. Continue around the circle so that the player can refute and overcome all possible obstacles that would come between them and their goal, however wild or difficult. Each person then gives a reinvented function for that object. Ideally, one can start with the obvious functions until all are said. You can start the game again by picking a new object and go through the same exercise. The takeaway for this game is looking at ordinary items or situations from a new perspective.

Last Word, First Word You may have probably played this game in grade school or even high school in your English class. Word Ball Just another game to let loose while thinking quickly on your feet? He then names the person to come next. Next player says another word that should be related to the first word.

The next person does the same. The games continue everyone had their turn. Tell Me A Story Much like the one-word story, this one is also about honing your imagination, creativity, and communication skills. Phone a Friend This is similar to the Customer Service Face Time but in this case, two participants act out as friends talking with each other over face time. Give the players time to improvise their act as the rest of the group guess the animal assigned.

Zip-Zap-Zop online version The original version of this game is for a player to say Zip, Zap, or Zop then point another player afterwards.

The Zip-Zap-Zop order must be followed. Anyone who does the opposite receives a strike. Verbing In this game, participants need to prepare drawing materials like paper and a pen. Guessing Emotions This activity is a little bit deeper and not recommended doing the beginning of workshops or for groups of people who have only met a few times. Anyone Like Me? In Summary There are many ways to incorporate improv exercises games in your remote teams.

FAQs: What are improv games? Improv games draw inspiration from improvisation theatre, where actors portray characters, go through plots, and live up to dialogues made up on the spot. When talking about improv, spontaneity always comes into mind.

In theatre again, improv plays often take suggestions and ideas from the audience and translate it into a full story on stage. More and more organizations use improv games in their teams to foster organizational awareness and skill development.

What are the best improv games for large groups? Here are some of the best improv games for large groups from our list that you can try on to your respective teams: Anyone Like Me?

Number Count Some of the games not mentioned can still be done for large groups. Why should you play improv games with employees? Harnessing soft skills is one of the reasons why you should take a look at improv games. In work, it shines a spotlight on each of the following skills: Self-Awareness: The largest impact of improv is on the self. Communication and Listening Skills : Improv participants can practice active listening and ongoing communication in a group.

Emotional Intelligence : Along with self-awareness, a host of other skills develop when doing improv. Get remote-work tips delivered straight to your inbox. Email Subscribe. Do you want. Book a Call. About Onsite. One Line at a Time is a storytelling exercise where participants make up a story by adding sentences one by one.

This game is one of the best virtual improv team building exercises. You can either play by typing responses into the Zoom chat or saying the sentences out loud. You can also spotlight different characters to add the next line. If you have a big group, then you can split attendees up into breakout rooms.

You can also turn the game into a listening exercise by challenging an audience member to repeat or summarize the story once it is complete.

Newscast is a roleplaying improv game where actors make up fake news reports on the spot. The game begins with the meeting host spotlighting two anchors. These anchors each get two or three random fake news stories or headlines, submitted by the audience, to read and explain during the broadcast. At random points during the game, the anchors can pass the action over to another player by announcing the sports, weather, cooking, interviews, on-the-scene reporting, or commercials.

The anchor can introduce another teammate as the presenter, or the host can choose a random participant. Word Association is one of the easiest Zoom improv warm ups and works for groups of all sizes. A leader reads out a list of random words one by one, and meeting attendees share the first word that comes to mind, either by shouting it out or typing it in the chat.

The leader can acknowledge unique or unusual responses and ask participants to explain why that word came to mind. To play Commentary, the host chooses two or three actors and two or three commentators. The host spotlights the actors and gives them a situation to act out. Then, the commentators unmute themselves and narrate the action. The actors must respond to the comments and adapt the scene to the commentary. The scenes do not need to be sports-related. For instance, actors may be contestants on a cooking show, or the scene may be a situation that normally would not get commentary, such as kids running a lemonade stand.

A few volunteers start acting out a scene. The actors must adapt the scene depending on the emotion the speaker uses. This game helps teammates be more aware of tone and improve their emotional intelligence. Improv games are a way to keep energy up and encourage participation during Zoom meetings or gatherings.

These exercises keep attendees alert and encourage folks to think on their feet. Not to mention, improv is entertaining, and can create inside jokes and shared experiences that form the foundations of relationships. You can use improv activities as an icebreaker or energizer for meetings, or can organize improv nights as a virtual team building outing. These activities work best if you have a group full of outgoing personalities, however improv exercises can also help shyer teammates break out of their shells.

For more fun, check out this list of Zoom drinking games , this guide to virtual game nights , and this list of fun communication games to play at work. We also have a list of improv prompts for your games, and a list of the best improv books. Examples include word association, questions, and one line at a time. Some good Zoom improv games to play with coworkers include scenes from a chat, you can say that again, props, and line please.

To play improv games on Zoom, first choose the exercise. Be sure to explain the mechanics of the game to the group. Next, ask for volunteers, and then ask for suggestions of scenarios from other players. Finally, start the scene and watch the players act out the skit. You can end the scene once the action reaches a natural conclusion, or after a set amount of time. Improv games do not have point systems or winners and losers, and are meant to be played for fun and entertainment. There are many reasons to play virtual improv games during meetings.

These games are fun and can be energizers or de-stressors. Not to mention, improv boosts trust and improves communication.

These are games that I not only like myself but that have worked well for my classes. They include circle games and you will find games suitable for different sized groups large or small. Some games are not 'technically' drama games but I have included them because they serve a purpose such as focus, warm up, bonding, lifting energy and some of them are just great fun!

You'll find more of my favourites with my drama and improv card and games collections which you can find HERE! Here is a collection of 45 free drama games and activities for middle school and high school students.

I have found these games to not only be engaging and fun and useful for quick warm ups, lifting energy and focus but can also serve a purpose in curriculum objectives when carefully matched with drama curriculum outcomes. Acceptance Circle. Alphabet Scene. Ball Pass Mime. Ball Count. Bippity Bop. Body Hide. Sword and Shield. Clay Sculptors. Drama Freezes. Dramatic Deaths. Exaggeration Circle. Expert Double Figures.