Improv Acting

This has surprisingly become one of my most popular programs. I figured the kids would all stand and stare at me, but once you break the ice, it's not usually a problem to get them to participate. The following are some games that I've had success with, and some others you may want to try.

Statues - This is my icebreaker. Basically you have the kids space themselves out around the room and get them to freeze into a position. Then you have a security guard (which is usually, initially, me). The security guard walks around and makes comments about the statues, and whenever the guard turns his/her back, the statues are supposed to move into a different position. If the guard sees a statue moving, that person is out, and the game goes until all but one is left, or you have to call a draw. Usually the teen that wins is one that doesn't move very much, and you need to encourage them to change into more drastically different positions, instead of just moving an arm. The way I've been doing it with my Fort White group is the person who wins gets to choose who is the security guard next.

I know this game doesn't sound that impressive, but they love it! My Fort White group has boys up to 17 or so in it, and they beg to do it almost every time. Same goes for my younger teens as well.

Contagious Emotions - If you looked through your FLYP manual last year, you may have come across this game in the teen section. I know Page Turner Adventures covered it in their workshop. Basically it's like the party game on Whose Line is it Anyway?. You have one teen who's hosting a party. The other teens you select are guests, and draw a slip of paper with an emotion on it out of a hat. One by one you send the teens in, and the host is supposed to try to guess (not out loud) what emotion they're portraying and then emulate it. As the game goes on, with each new person that's sent in, the rest of the party "catches" the emotion as well.

This is a good beginning game, as it doesn't take a whole lot of acting skill to portray an emotion. Sometimes I use other states of being (not necessarily emotions), like sick, zombie, cold, etc. This one definitely gets a lot of laughs, particularly if you're not sure what the emotion is, but are playing along anyway.

Questions - This game is a more advanced improv. Divide the teens into 2 groups, and have each group form a line facing each other. Like this _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. The two people in the middle will then start a conversation using only questions. You can set limits as to what they're talking about or where they are, and that may help. The rules are that you can't make a statement and you can't repeat a question back to someone. The idea is to have a conversation, and not just fire random questions at each other. When someone breaks one of these rules, that person is out, and moves to the end of the line and the next person steps forward.

An example of a good conversation is this:
A: Where did you get that shirt?
B: Do you like it?
A: Wouldn't my question imply that?
B: Well, where do you think I got it?
A: Is it from Hollister?
B: Is that the store next to American Eagle?

You get the idea. You can get stuck in the trap of teens just asking "What's your favorite ____?" back and forth, and then it's a good idea to stop. However, if you have teens that are quick-witted, this can be a really good game.

Sit, Stand or Bend - This one seems like an easy enough game, but if you've watched Whose Line, then you know it can be quite difficult and hilarious. Basically you have 3 people and two chairs. One is sitting, one is standing, and one is bending over. You then give them a scenario to act out. At any given time, one of the actors can choose to change position, and the other two have to scramble to change - you always have to have 1 person in each position - sitting, standing, and bending. That's pretty much the game in a nutshell.

I've had a pretty good response to this one, but it's not one I feel like I need to do every time.

Hats - This game is a chance for them to dress up (and I'm telling you, there's nothing like watching a bunch of high school boys play dress up). I usually pick out 3 teens, and hand them hats. You then give them a scenario - like they're all on a sinking boat and they're arguing about who gets to be in the 2-person life raft. Then at a choice moment, I yell out "SWITCH", and they have to switch hats and become that other character. I do that twice, so everyone has a chance to be each character.

Well as you can guess from my first statement, the teens love this one! Heck, I could just give them the box full of hats and wigs and they could entertain themselves on their own for awhile. It's a good game, and well received.

There are loads of other games that you can find online (including some mad libs skits I want to do), but these are the staples that I use for my program. The best thing about this program? It's FREE! We already had hats and wigs laying about (and I'm sure you do too), so use them! And have fun!