Improv Games List - Part 3

Welcome to the third part of our dive into improv exercises....

Word at a Time Story

• Aims: Enhance teamwork and spontaneous creativity.

• Instructions: Participants create a story one word at a time, with each person contributing a word in turn. Is easiest when a group is in a circle. After the game reflect on how they found it, creating with limits, and the importance of listening and being in the moment.

• Keywords: Collaboration, Spontaneity, Storytelling, Teamwork, Improv.

All-knowing Sage

• Aims: Develop active listening and storytelling skills

• Instructions: Similar to word-at-a-time story. A member of the group asks the ‘sage’ a question, and the group answer it one word at a time. When it feels like the question has been answered, the group together say ‘yes,yes,yes,yes’.

• Keywords: Collaboration, Spontaneity, Listening, Teamwork, Improv.

I Am a Tree

• Aims: Encourage physicality and yes-anding.

• Instructions: One participant moves to the centre of the circle and makes the shape of a tree, saying ‘I am a tree’. One at a time people add to the image, embodying their contribution e.g. ‘I am a tyre swing’, ‘I am a flowing river next to the tree’. Once there are 4 people on stage, the person who started picks one of their ideas. Everyone else leaves the scene, and we restart a new image with the one idea, e.g. I am a tyre swing, ‘I am a swing’.

• Keywords: Physicality, Character, Nature, Expression, Creativity.

Complimentary Actions

• Aims: Enhance teamwork and active listening.

• Instructions: One person begins an action, and the next person adds a complementary action, e.g. a tennis player and an audience member clapping

• Keywords: Coordination, Teamwork, Movement, Creativity, Chain.

Zoom In/Out

• Aims: Focus on detail and perspective in storytelling.

• Instructions: Participants take turns describing a scene, zooming in on details or zooming out to show the bigger picture.

• Adaptations: Use specific themes (e.g., a day at the beach) or limit the number of zooms.

• Keywords: Perspective, Storytelling, Detail, Creativity, Focus.

Woohoo We Failed

• Aims: Promote resilience and positive attitudes toward failure.

• Instructions: Participants share a recent failure, followed by the group responding with "Woohoo!" to celebrate the experience.

• Adaptations: Set a time limit for sharing or focus on tiny failures.

• Keywords: Resilience, Positivity, Failure, Celebration, Support.

Red Ball

• Aims: Encourage creativity and imagination.

• Instructions: One person pretends to throw an invisible red ball to another, who catches it and then pretends to throw it to someone else.

• Adaptations: Change the color or type of object; introduce more complex actions or emotions with each throw.

  • Red ball- gym ball

  • Yellow ball- beach ball

  • Purple ball- travels at the speed of light

• Keywords: Imagination, Creativity, Movement, Playfulness, Interaction.