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Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops
Jessica Swale
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- English
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eBook - ePub
Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops
Jessica Swale
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About This Book
101 great drama games for use in any classroom or workshop setting. Part of the NHB Drama Games series.
A dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book, packed with 101 lively drama games suitable for players of all ages, with many appropriate for children from age 6 upwards. Whilst aimed primarily at school, youth theatre and community groups, they are equally fun - and instructional - for adults to play in workshop or rehearsal settings.
'Small but perfectly formed, this is an essential purchase for classroom teachers and workshop leaders alike.' Total Theatre Magazine
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PART ONE
WARM-UP
Body
1. Rubber Chicken!
A fast-paced, team-building warm-up game that gets a group going quickly.
How to Play
Ask the players to stand in a circle. Explain that you are all going to shake your right hands up in the air eight times, whilst counting loudly and quickly â â8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2,
1!â Then you are going to repeat this with your left hand, then right leg, then left leg. The counting needs to be fast and loud, and the shaking needs to be vigorous and energetic. As soon
as you have done all four limbs from 8 to 1, repeat the shaking and counting from 7 to 1, then 6 to 1, and continue until you finally shake each limb once, counting, â1, 1, 1, 1!â Then
everyone shouts âRubber chicken!â and shakes their whole body like a rubber chicken!
The Aim of the Game
The aim is for the whole group to complete the routine vigorously and enthusiastically as a team. The game also builds their energy levels and gets them moving.
You can easily replace the phrase ârubber chickenâ with a word that means something to your group, the name of the play you are rehearsing, or your theatre company or school, to give
a feeling of group solidarity and positive energy!
2. Greyhound Race
A quick circle game that encourages everyone to get moving and get involved by mimicking a sports crowd, and the sport, simultaneously.
How to Play
Ask the players to stand in a circle. Explain that they are at the greyhound races and, to everyoneâs excitement, the greyhound is going to race around the track right under our feet! When
you say âGo!â, the dog will be let out and will run as fast as it can in the designated direction (to your left or right). As the imaginary dog passes under your feet, you must jump as
high as possible to let it past. You must watch as it whizzes round the circle, and the louder you cheer, the faster it will go!
On your shout (âGo!â), each of the players then jumps up in the air in turn, as quickly as possible, to allow the greyhound to pass underneath them. Give a running commentary as
âthe sports commentatorâ to enliven the game, and to help the players imagine the dog as it is running past:
Heâs coming round the final bend, he seems to be slowing down, maybe if we cheer louder heâll run even faster, look at the sweat pouring off him, heâs almost there, a
little bit faster⌠and heâs done it!!
When playing with older groups you can pass the âcommentatorâ role to a responsible player. Once the greyhound has done several rounds, you can announce that it has won.
The Aim of the Game
The aim is for the players to work as a team to create the idea of the moving greyhound. Everyone needs to participate and jump up â if one person doesnât jump, the whole race will
slow down. By encouraging cheering you can also stretch the playersâ imaginative skills and increase the feeling of teamwork, as they encourage each other to jump quicker to help the
greyhound win!
3. MTV Cameraman
A hilarious physical warm-up game, in which players use body parts as a pop-music video camera.
How to Play
Ask the players to find a space. They must imagine that they are the newest hot-shot film-maker, the guy (or girl) behind the latest music videos. They are now going to shoot their best pop
video yet⌠using a part of their body.
On the sole of their left foot there is an imaginary video camera. Balancing on their other foot, they can now begin to make the film. In order to create a cool video, they need to move their
foot through every angle, zoom in on interesting people and objects, whilst moving their âcameraâ in time to the imaginary music. Encourage them to video the whole room; behind them, in
front of them, the ceiling, and the floor. The wilder the film, the better! Then move onto the right foot, and any other body parts you choose.
The Aim of the Game
Primarily the aim is to physically warm up the players by encouraging them to manipulate their bodies in every direction. It also encourages an awareness of rhythm and demands imaginative
thinking.
Variations and Extensions
This game can easily be played with imaginary music, but you could use a CD if you wish. You can also vary the music style each time you begin with a new body part, to encourage them to explore
various musical forms; e.g. a slow, lyrical video as opposed to a flashy disco-mix. This also encourages players to think about emotions and genres.
4. Super Shake
An extremely simple but amusing warm-up game, in which players pass âthe shakesâ to each other.
How to Play
Ask the players to stand in a circle. Explain that you have the dreaded disease âThe Shakesâ, and it is highly contagious!
You begin the game by shaking a body part; for instance, your left hand. The more shocked you act that you have caught the shakes, the better! The shakes become extremely vigorous, and the only
way of getting rid of them is to âthrowâ them to another player across the circle, by physically shaking at them.
They must catch the shakes in the same body part, and then transfer it to another part of their body. They then âthrowâ the new shake to someone else, and thus the game
continues.
The Aim of the Game
The game encourages teamwork and physical confidence â the more you shake, and the more fearful you are of the shakes, the funnier the game! Encourage older players to be inventive with
the body parts they choose; it is a hilarious sight to see people catching the shakes in the knee, the eye or even the tongue!
5. Mirror, MirrorâŚ
A physical game that involves passing movements around the ring; a âbodily versionâ of Chinese Whispers.
How to Play
Ask the players to stand in a circle. You begin by doing a simple movement (e.g. jump and point) towards the person on your right, letâs call her Claire. Claire must then do exactly the
same movement back at you, before turning and repeating it to the person on her right, Becky. Becky then copies Claireâs movement back to her, before passing it on to her right-hand
neighbour, Natalie, and the game continues.
The idea is to pass the exact movement around the whole circle. However, if anything changes â e.g. if someone laughs halfway through, or gets the movement slightly wrong â the next
person must copy what they saw, not the initial movement. Inevitably, the movement that comes back around to you at the end of the circle is likely to be very different from the one you initiated,
and can often provoke hysterics amongst the players!
When the group has become adept at passing the movement round, you can introduce a second movement, and pass it in the other direction around the circle. The point at which the two movements
swap places is a great source of amusement! You can add more movements to make the game more challenging.
The Aim of the Game
The game encourages physical alertness, concentration, and stresses the importance of observation skills for actors.
Variations and Extensions
Try adding sound to each movement to create a greater challenge for older or experienced players.
6. Yes, Letâs!
Perhaps the most positive of all drama games, an encouraging, energetic and enthusiastic team game involving improvisation. In this game, anything goes!
How to Play
Ask the group to spread out and find a space. During the game, players offer suggestions for spontaneous activities. Each suggestion must begin with âI know, letâsâŚâ Suggestions can be as simp...