Click on individual games and exercises or the entire category to show/hide.

A to Z

Character: 1 Plot: 1 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

A scene is performed where each actor's sentence must start with successive letters of the alphabet, starting and ending with the letter chosen by the audience. Say, if the first actor's sentence starts with the letter b, then the other actor's next sentence must start with the letter c. Tips: You'd be surprised at how hard it is for some people to remember their alphabet. Try to keep the scene very tight with short back and forth dialogue; if sentences run-on for too long the other actor is likely to forget what the next letter is. You obviously don't want any scene to drag, and in this game long lines just compound the fact. If you can, try to set-up your partner for his next letter. Also, for hard letters like x, you can fudge things, like using eXactly, also c for k switches work (albeit you'll get boos from the audience, but that's usually the fun of it). I'd say use relationship instead of setting, because if you have a good relationship, characters, and conflict set-up early, A to Z is great and it really flies, even when its bad though it seems to come off ok.

Alter-ego

Character: 3 Plot: 1 Timing: 1 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 3

Two actor scene getting relationship, the other two are the voices inside their heads. Interplay between voices and actors, funny if theirs contradictions in this game, action-action-action.

American Musical

Character: 0 Plot: 2 Timing: 4 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 0

Actors get three topics from the audience, (i.e... Life hopes, something that bugs them, something they did today, etc.) and get a location. Three actors do hammed up scene, with gushy/excited/cheesy build-ups to songs, make sure all the songs have different distinct styles, end scene on the last song.

Arms-expert

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 2

Two brave audience members are brought onto the stage and act as the actors' arms for the scene by standing behind them and putting their arms on the sides of the actors, under their armpits. The actors should do a very phsysical scene, trying to get the audience members to do complex tasks with their hands.

Backwards Forwards

Character: 1 Plot: 2 Timing: 3 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Two actors start doing a normal scene from a suggestion, host can clap theirs hands at any point and say backwards and the actors must do their physical actions in reverse and say their lines in reverse order of who said them (lines are still said normally, just in the reverse sequence). At any point the host can also clap their hands and say forwards and the actors resume the scene in forwards motion. Actors should try to do big motions and then can be run again and again by the host.

Bartender

Character: 0 Plot: 2 Timing: 0 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 0

One actor is the bartender, and three are patrons. Each patron comes in separately and sings a song to the bartender about a problem s/he has about a noun given by the audience. The first actor is sad about their suggestion, the second is angry about their suggestion, and the third is happy about their suggestion. Then the bartender sings back a solution to the patron.

Blind freeze

Character: 1 Plot: 2 Timing: 4 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 3

Troupe members form line with an actor on one side having their back turned. Director gets a sugggestion from the audience and then starts the scene. At any point the actor on the other end of the line from the one with their back turned can clap their hands and say freeze, the next actor turns around, tags one of the actors out of the scene immediately, and then starts a new scene by justifying the physical position the previous two actors were in. Game continues until the director feels like ending it (usually on a kicker line).

Call-in-radio show

Character: 5 Plot: 1 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

Expert and talk-show host, and funny characters call in and ask questions.

Chain-Murder (P.O.W.)

Character: 0 Plot: 1 Timing: 1 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 3

Send out two people and one audience member. Fourth person remains and gets place, occupation, and murder weapon from the audience. First troupe member returns, original person must explain the three things to them in by miming and only saying "Jaba" or some variation of those syllables, when they get each thing they hi-five, when the murder weapon is gotten, the audience yells, "die", and newcomer kills the original actor with the murder weapon. Then the three things are explained to the audience member, and then to the last troupe member. Review what each person thought everything was at the end.

Changing channels

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 3 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 0

Three sets of two actors, director gets three TV show styles and topic from the audience, the three shows must all incorporate the topic, director (or audience) member can change channels and even fast-forward, reverse, slow-motion, tracking, etc. the scene.

Character stream

Character: 2 Plot: 1 Timing: 4 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 1

Get a non-geographical location. whole troupe performs split up into two sides. start with two actors in the scene. host of game eventually tells one actor to leave and brings in one actor from the other side; host continues to do this, rotating from one side to the other, and makes scenes go faster and faster until stopping at a high point. Best if two sides are uneven, so same characters aren't always in the scene together.

Cliché (Is this late for work)

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

One person goes out, get a cliché from the audience, actor and other actors from the troupe give them hints on guessing the clue, person comes out usually and first thing says an outlandish guess, like "its raining cats and dogs out there."

Columns

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 3

Two audience members sit in chairs on either side of the stage. Actors start a normal scene with a suggestion and at any time can point to their audience member and get a word from them to use in the scene.

Conduct-a-gripe

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 3 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

Get general gripe topic from the audience, then four sub-topics (or just 4 topics), director then conducts the gripers like an orchestra (faster slower louder softer), bringing people in and out, until all four people are on and a crescendo to a big finish before falling silent.

Crime-scene

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 0 Mime: 5 Group Mind: 1

Cop interrogating witness. Get from audience a location for the crime. Distraught witness re-tells murder they saw committed with that object at the crime scene about two friends of theirs (use improvers real names) and improvers in question that he describes act the scene out as it happens. Then cop corrects him and re-tells the scene differently. Storytellers should make actors do a lot of physical action.

Customs agent

Character: 2 Plot: 0 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

One person leaves, get from audience country that they are coming from, wacky contraband, and mode of transportation. Person comes in and has to work with customs agent/other troupe members in order to guess the three things.

Dating Game (Love Connection)

Character: 4 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

Get audience member, three troupe members are the bachelors, imitate either dating game or Love connection style, get traits/occupations for bachelors, audience member is picked at beginning of show and writes their questions ahead of time.

Day-in-the-life

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 1 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 0

Get audience member's day (or story from their life) so far, improvers act it out in a funny, exaggerated way.

Director's Choice

Character: 3 Plot: 3 Timing: 1 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 3

Number of actors: 3 and a director. How it works: First the director asks for a location, the three actor's do a short, simple scene at that location. The director then asks for an emotion, and the actor's redo the scene all displaying that emotion. He then asks for movie genre, and the scene is redone in that style. And finally a literary style is asked for and the scene is re-performed as such. Actors are encouraged to change things from the basic scene as they see fit for the new style. Or third possibility is TV style, ask for all three before-hand. Option: Do starting scene as a fairy tale. Or get first-line and last-line.

Elevator

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

One person goes out of the room, other person gets item from the audience that they are buying at the mall/department store. Person comes in and they are the elevator operator, game host does not leave the elevator until the operator has guessed the item via stopping at floors and saying what items can be found on those floors. At every floor, a troupe member comes in to interact and give clues and then gets off at the next floor. Good to start off with subtle clues and then work up to real obvious ones.

Emotion Zones

Character: 3 Plot: 1 Timing: 2 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 1

Two actors, get location and three emotions, separate the stage into three sections and assign each an emotion, actors have to have that emotion in that zone, other troupe members can come into the scene.

Emotional Roller Coaster

Character: 3 Plot: 1 Timing: 2 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 0

Number of actors: 2, and a director. Audience participation: Audience gives a long list of emotions (these can be stretch emotions like French or stupid) and a location. How it works: Scene starts off basic, but the director will call off emotions from his list and one of the actors changes their emotional being; the other actor plays the "straight-man" Scene usually ends with narcolepsy.

Entrances and Exits

Character: 1 Plot: 1 Timing: 3 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Number of actors: 3-5. Audience participation: The audience gives each actor a word; location. How it works: Scene starts with two actors on stage the others offstage. Whenever an actor's word is said, that actor must make an entrance if they are off-stage, exit if they are on-stage. Scene ends when all actors are offstage (i.e. when one actor is left on-stage, he says his own word).

Every-day Olympics

Character: 3 Plot: 3 Timing: 0 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 2

Get every-day activity from audience, have two sportscasters, two competitors, and two on-the-field reporters.

Family Dinner

Character: 4 Plot: 3 Timing: 0 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 2

Get an audience member to come up to the stage. Have them choose actors in the troupe to play different members of their family at the dinner table. Dinner table scene starts with no further information, if an actor does something out of line with how the audience member thinks that family member should act, he buzzes; if an actor does something that the audience member thinks is in-line with how that family member behaves he dings. Buzzing and dinging can be done by having the audience member hitting the heads of two left-over troupe members. Scene doesn't end until audience member approves of reason for every family member leaving the dinner table.

Famous Person Cafe

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 4

Three actors go out of the room one at a time; when each one goes out, the audience gives the name of a famous person/character that they are. The scene takes place at a cafe with the three famous people sitting at a table. Each person has to guess who they are based on clues given by the waiter and the other two famous people.

First line/last line

Character: 2 Plot: 3 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0

Two person scene, other players can support. Get a first line of dialogue and a last line of dialogue for the scene, players fill in the rest of the dialogue.

Four ways to die

Character: 2 Plot: 4 Timing: 0 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 3

Number of actors: 4. Audience Participation: The audience gives a location and four ways a person could die. How it works: The scene starts (with usually not everyone on stage), and through the course of the action, each actor must die by one of the 4 ways given. No one is assigned any of the 4 ways, the actors figure out who will die by what way as the scene evolves.

Gibberish

Character: 1 Plot: 1 Timing: 5 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 2

Get a sticky situation for two actors to do a scene. Actors start the scene speaking normally, but whenever the director claps, they would start speaking in gibberish, and then when the director claps again, they revert back to normal speak.

Half-life

Character: 2 Plot: 1 Timing: 5 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 1

Two actors on-one off get first line/last line from audience and a location. Actors do the first scene in a minute, with third actor coming in about 3/4 the way through. Scene is then done in 30 seconds, 15 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds.

Harold

Character: 3 Plot: 5 Timing: 3 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 5

Usually 6 to 8 performers.

Get a theme or a noun from the audience. The players usually first performs a brain-storming game like a word association, monologues, an invocation, or any other pre-planned group game. Two actors come out and start a two-person scene based on the theme and/or what's been brainstormed in the opening game. This scene can be supported by the other players via tag-outs, cut-tos, minor characters, inanimate objects, and sound effects - all support should help to clarify the scene/game of the two actors. Eventually someone in the troupe sweeps the scene and starts a new two-person scene. This scene again is eventually swept and a third scene is started. When the third scene is swept, the group then usually goes into a group scene based on the theme and/or what has been established in the scenes. The first two-person scene is then brought back (advisable to have it in a new time and/or place), then the second scene is brought back, and then the third again. A second group game is then usually performed. Finally, one last scene or series of scenes is performed that ties the three scenes and the theme of the Harold together.

Interrogation

Character: 2 Plot: 1 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 3

Good cop/bad cop guessing game, actor playing criminal goes out, get what they did, what famous person they are, and where they did it (non-geographical), they come in, and then the other two actors start their good cop/bad cop interrogation and give the criminal clues to help him guess the three things.

Jail-Bird

Character: 3 Plot: 1 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 3

One person goes away, audience gives silly crime that they did, a silly crime and then also usually a famous person. Guard goes out and brings new inmate into the cell where other two actors are two inmates already there, new inmate has to guess crime he did, from clues by the other in-mates and other troupe members who come into the scene. Person should milk it if they know it, saying "you know how tough I am, It took 100 cops to bring me in, I ..." and should always keep using same clue if got one right so far.

Limerick

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 4

Troupe members stand in a line, host gets name of person in audience and hobby, troupe members do continuous limericks, each taking one line, until one person is eliminated by the host for whatever reason, and then a new limerick topic is taken, limericks go A-A-B-B-A, like "There once was a man from Nantucket, whose xxxx was so long he could xxxx it, he'd do it all day, but then he would say, If my ear was a xxxxx I'd xxxx it."

Lines from a Hat (Whip it Out)

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 5 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 2

Number of actors: 2. Audience Participation: During an intermission or before the show, the audience write lines of dialogue on pieces of paper and puts them into a hat. When scene stars a location is given. How it works: The two actors do a simple scene, but must pull lines intermittently from the hat, read them immediately and incorporate them into the scene. Wackiness ensues.

MacGyver

Character: 2 Plot: 4 Timing: 1 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 1

Like the show, two actor's (MacGyver and little Jimmy) must save a life-threatening situation or catastrophe, but only have three-objects told to the actors by the audience.

Minor Characters

Character: 5 Plot: 4 Timing: 1 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 4

Start off with two actors and get location/story-title - two actors start scene - another minor character comes in - when he exits - actually when anybody exits the scene, the scene follows them, try to have a coherent story-line and wrap things up with re-current characters at the end.

Movie critics

Character: 2 Plot: 0 Timing: 1 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 2

Get a name of a movie, two movie reviewer characters, introduce themselves and the movie, but not the first clip, actors perform the first clip, then hosts set-up the next clip for the actors, then the reviewers give their thumbs up or down (or other thing, preferably, up or down or amount of something, like three avocados), then preview next week's movie (actors do a tableau) and say good-bye.

Moving People (Puppets)

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 3

Audience member (or two) move the actors in the scene, get a location for the scene, can introduce more actors into the scene to frustrate audience members.

Mr. Subliminal

Character: 2 Plot: 1 Timing: 3 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 2

Get occupation for the two actors, one subconscious gets something to be fixated with, the other gets childhood trauma, two actors are the thoughts for the other two actors but the thoughts are fixated on the two topics, escalates to the point where two thoughts rank on each other and get into fight and have to be separated by the actual two people.

Nightmare

Character: 3 Plot: 0 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

Get someone from the audience's day or fear, or embarrassing situation, and portray it as a nightmare, one troupe member plays the audience person, every one else in the troupe acts creep/weird/scary and surrounds them and portrays other people, many stock gimmicks for the game like evil laughter and Wayne/Garth dream sequence wave, works well with a keyboardist.

No-rules improv

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0

Two actors, audience makes up about four rules for the improv game.

Objection

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 3 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 3

Audience gives topic to talk about. One person starts talking until another actor yells objection and states their reason. The judge/timer can sustain or overrule, if they sustain the objecting person starts talking about the subject. Object is to be actor talking after three minutes is up. Objections should start out normal and then get wackier/personal.

One-letter Improv

Character: 0 Plot: 1 Timing: 1 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 0

Two actor's-get two consonants from the audience. Every sentence (or word!) each actor says must start with their letter.

One-word story

Character: 0 Plot: 1 Timing: 0 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 5

Get story title. Do one-word story, every sentence, person designated claps, and then actors from the line act out what's just been said.

Oscar Winning Moment

Character: 2 Plot: 1 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0

Do a regular scene, at any point the host can clap their hands and choose an actor to give their oscar wining moment, the chosen actor must step out and do a cheesy academy-award winning monologue.

P.O.V. (point-of-view)

Character: 3 Plot: 2 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 3

Get an historical event from the audience. Three actors do the scene as normal, then re-do it three times from the perspective of the three different characters.

Pan-left, Pan-right

Character: 2 Plot: 1 Timing: 4 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 1

Four actors, get four scene subjects (usually nouns, one assigned to each actor), start off with two actors doing scene with the other two actors behind them, the first scene involves the subject of the person to the right and should be initiated by that person (i.e. offers up the first idea), when director yells pan left or pan right, the four actors rotate to the left or to the right so that there are two new actors in the front doing the scene (one always remaining from the previous scene) and the scene once again involves the subject of the person to the right; when a set of actors is returned to, they pick up the scene where they left off previously. Director starts off slow, then quickens the pace of the panning until its frenzied and he ends it.

Party Quirks

Character: 4 Plot: 0 Timing: 1 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 3

Number of actors: 4-6. Audience participation: While the host character is out of hearing distance, each actor is given some weird personality quirk by the audience they can either be physical (can't sit down on his butt or picks his butt), emotional (hates his butt), or surreal (thinks his butt is his good friend Eric the aardvark). How it works: Host character starts out by himself. One by one each character rings or knocks and then enters the party; they leave the party when the host guesses the quirk correctly. The scene ends when all quirks have been guessed by the host. Audience encouraged to boo or cheer when the host is close or way off.

Play-book

Character: 1 Plot: 2 Timing: 3 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 1

Audience gives a non-geographical location. And chooses play-book at of about ten and the page to start from, One actor does the scene straight and the other actor reads every other line from the script.

Pledge break

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 1 Mime: 5 Group Mind: 5

Host, two guessers, two presenters; guessers leave the room, for the presenters you get for each of them tree nouns and adjectives (like verbose cat, rancor pencil, and red penguin), guessers come back in, presenters alternate miming the three things (in order) to the guessers, host switches them in fifteen second intervals, go until one team gets all three; fast, high energy game.

Questions

Character: 1 Plot: 1 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0

Location is received from the audience. Short scene (can be timed - 1 to 2 minutes preferable) is performed by two-three actors in which they can only ask questions of the other actors. Other troupe members can enter the scene as needed.

Replace A Letter Please, Homie (Ralph)

Character: 1 Plot: 2 Timing: 3 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

The audience is asked what letter they would like to replace, choosing from R, S, T, L, N, and E, and then they choose what letter it should be replaced with. The actors must then do a scene replacing the appropriate letter with the one that has been selected.

Return-a-product

Character: 2 Plot: 0 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

One improver leaves, and get an object from the audience and something wrong with it that normally wouldn't think would be wrong with it, person comes in returning it but has no clue and must figure out what it is, clerk doesn't help that much, but other improvers come in and help out.

Rhyme-or-Die

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 0

Elimination game follows the song, get first name from audience, keep song going rhyming that name, until someone repeats or can't think up a rhyme, audience yells die and then get a new name.

Righting-a-wrong

Character: 2 Plot: 3 Timing: 1 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 1

Audience member tells about a time when they feel slighted, unjustified, improvers portray the scene, then right the wrong in a funny way.

Royal Expert Rumble

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 3 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 4

A combination of the games Two- and Three-Headed Expert. A two-headed expert (both actors speak simultaniously) and a three-headed expert (one word at a time) engage in a point-counterpoint style debate with a host taking questions from the audience. Works best if the two experts have opposing viewpoints on something rediculous, like pro- and anti-pants.

Say It

Character: 2 Plot: 0 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 3

One troupe member leaves. Audience gives a sentence for that person has to say. Scene is with one other person, other troupe members come in and give hints. Trick is to evolve sentence and give structural clues, like "That's right you have a dyslexia problem," and caboose, you're getting to the end.

Scene-in-verse (or rhyme off challenge game)

Character: 1 Plot: 1 Timing: 3 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Two people start a scene at a non-geographical location. First person says a line, second person must rhyme their line with the last and then say a neutral line to feed the other person, etc. If one person messes up, the director/host blows the whistle and someone else from that team goes in and is fed the same line that their team-mate screwed up on. Winner is team with the least whistles.

Script writers

Character: 3 Plot: 4 Timing: 1 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 2

Get title for movie/TV show two guys are writing the script, they set up scene, other actors come up and play that scene, authors keep changing things, going back, plot twists, introducing new characters, monologues, songs, etc.

Sit-Stand-Kneel (or Bend)

Character: 1 Plot: 2 Timing: 3 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 1

Number of actors: 3. How it works: At a given location, a scene takes place where at all times one of the actors must be standing, one of the actors must be sitting, and the other must be kneeling on the ground. Thus if the person sitting, stands up, someone else must sit down.

Sound Effects

Character: 0 Plot: 1 Timing: 2 Mime: 5 Group Mind: 4

Get a simple, every day task for someone to perform, they do the scene silently, and play off another troupe member who makes sound effects on the microphone; also done as two person scene with relationship/conflict and/or having an audience member on the microphone.

Space Jump

Character: 3 Plot: 3 Timing: 2 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 1

Number of actors: 4-6. How it works: First actor is given a simple action by the audience. He starts off by doing the action until one of the other actors freezes him, the new person comes in and starts a new two-person scene justifying the new scene by incorporating the last person's physicality into the new scene. The new scene continues until another person freezes it and comes in and starts a new three-person scene. This continues until all the actors are in the scene, at that point, the last person who came in finds a reason to leave, and the scene reverts back to the scene before he came in. This process continues all the way back until you are left with just the one person again doing his action given by the author.

Story-story-die

Character: 0 Plot: 3 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Get story title from audience and an emotion (genre) for each actor, director moves from actor-to-actor and they must pick up story where last actor left off in their emotion, if the actor stumbles, repeats a word, or is just bad, the director (or audience) has that actor die and then the director starts a new chapter.

Stunt Doubles

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 2 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 1

Two actors do a scene about a (dangerous) activity, when one of the actors is about to get hurt, the director calls for a stunt double for him, an outside actor comes in and takes the physical punishment, the scene then resumes with the original actor who is unharmed. Their are two stunt doubles for the scene, and they carry previous injuries into subsequent times they enter the scene.

Super-hero Space jump

Character: 4 Plot: 3 Timing: 2 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 1

One-person starts on, is given a super-hero name and a catastrophe to solve, they introduce the next super hero/villain to help/hinder them with the crime until everyone's on, then everyone leaves one by one, until the original super hero is left on to finish the scene/save the day.

That Damn Clap

Character: 2 Plot: 3 Timing: 4 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 1

Get a relationship or a location for two actors, they start a scene, every so often the director claps, the actor who just said or did something must change that. Key in the game is doing simple changes from yes to no's, but also making them do long lists, and funny actions. Timing is key and actors should be told to do at least one physical thing during the game.

Three-way dub

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Three actor scene, get a location, two actors start on, the other off, each actor speaks for another.

Two's A Crowd

Character: 3 Plot: 2 Timing: 4 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 3

Two actors do a scene in a given location by the audience. They play multiple parts in the scene, stepping out of one character into another, the more contrasted and wild characters chosen by the actors the better.

World's Worst

Character: 0 Plot: 3 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0

Get occupations and places to meet someone, and improvers give quick character sketches of that worst person, famous people-impersonations are sometimes funny, running gags through all the topics (i.e. same person is that worst person for each category), sexual things usually work but don't overdo it.

Yes, and

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 0 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 1

Number of actors: 2 Not usually a performance game, can get a relationship or setting, but usually start with nothing. How it works: After the first line, every line of this scene must start with "yes, and". This is an exercise in accepting offers, you should never deny anything in improv and always try to further the scene. By saying yes, and you are forced to accept what the other person said and move on from that point. One rule is that you can't ask questions. Also, never say "yes, and" and then turn around and deny it later in the line. Tips: Always come up with something new in each line, don't just repeat what the last person said or comment on how you feel about it. "Yes, and I saw you do that and I didn't like it" is not as good as "Yes, and that was my mother you actually ran over. The funeral was yesterday."

You sick bastard

Character: 0 Plot: 2 Timing: 2 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 1

Take audience member and a controversial or gross topic, members from the troupe come up the audience member and try to make them laugh by doing something pertaining to the topic, when they do laugh, the audience yells, "you sick bastard" If competition style, points are given to team of succeeding person. Teams should alternate in this game.

fxXu (FX by You)

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 1 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 3

Get an audience member and a story-title from the audience. One troupe member tells the story while two other troupe members act it out in mime and the audience member provides the sound effects on microphone.

1 Person Firing Line

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 3 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

Everyone takes turn asking one person the most inane questions and they answer them quickly and seriously.

3-Sentence Scene

Character: 2 Plot: 4 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Actors take turns doing scenes with just three sentences. Other rules are that you can't ask questions, each statement must be said with emotion/attitude, and the first two sentences must acknowledge who the other person is. Optional rule: limit the number of words in each sentence.

Add-On Game

Character: 2 Plot: 4 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 4

One person starts by explaining a situation for the group. Each person in the group in turn adds-on to what the person said before, agreeing with what's been said and discussing/amplifying the ideas further.

Ages

Character: 3 Plot: 0 Timing: 1 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 0

Actors portray different ages and focus on how that affects their bodies.

Animal Walks

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

Turn it into a human, then person interrogates that human-type animal

Beep Circle

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 4 Icebreaker

Actors pass a "beep" around the circle and affect its path by adding modifiers.

Big Wind Blows

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1 Icebreaker

Someone in center says big wind blows for everyone wearing socks, everyone who is wearing socks must run from their place and find a new place, someone is then stuck in the middle again.

Bombardment

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 3

One person is in the center, each person around the circle thinks up of a relationship to that person and/or something that they want from that person, the director then taps random people to go in and bombard that person, and then tags new people to go in and the old person leaves.

Categories

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

All troupe members in a circle slapping their thighs. Each person names a category and each person in the circle must come up with something that fits that category.

Character Development Through Walks

Character: 0 Plot: 4 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0 Icebreaker

Have troupe members walk around in different postures until they develop a character. Then devise situation for them to interact in such as in an elevator, a park bench or bus stop - usually done in mime with director calling out instructions and changes to the surroundings. In the news interview version, a news reporter stops people on the street (troupe members who walk back and forth across the stage, changing their walk and character each time across) and asks them their opinion about a news issue.

Character Interview

Character: 0 Plot: 4 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0 Icebreaker

Have two people walk around and have them think up a character, ask them to think about their background, how they walk, talk, what motivates them etc. Have both of them sit down, start interviewing one of them, then switch to the other person and ask them how they know the first person after you ask them a few personal questions. Ask questions back and forth about their relationship and their lives. Second person can modify their character based on what the first person says.

Clapping Name Game

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0 Icebreaker

Everyone stands in a circle and claps hands. First clap is one hand down to the person to your left and one hand up to the person to the right, second clap is to the side to each person, and third clap is both of your hands together. One person starts off as George. They say George after 3 claps, then the name of someone else after another 3 claps. That person then says their name after 3 claps and then someone else's name after another 3 claps. George always has to be said for the person who's George, not their real name. One someone messes up, they become George. Try to clap faster and faster as you go along.

Cocktail Party

Character: 3 Plot: 3 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

X sets of two people at a cocktail party. Each group gives the next group their theme for the conversation. Each group converses on their theme until another group starts talking and the first group fades out. Eventually each group lets their conversation be affected by the topics of the other groups without actually physically interacting.

Counting

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 4

Actors must count off, but only one number per person, in random order, and if two people talk at once, count starts over.

Crazy/Straight Scenes

Character: 3 Plot: 2 Timing: 0 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 1

Two person scenes where one person is told to act abnormally and the other person acts/re-acts in a normal fashion.

Denial

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Reverse of "Yes, and" to demonstrate how bad it is.

Don't Just Stand There, Do Something

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 1

Game where each line must be accompanied by a physical action.

Ed Golden

Character: 3 Plot: 2 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

Motivational improv, one person comes in and has to get the other person to do something, one person is packing and the other person has to stop them from leaving, acting is doing.

Eight Through the Door

Character: 2 Plot: 1 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Everyone do a character like Four Through the Door, second time through, people imitate the characters of the people in back of them.

Evolving Sound and Motion

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

Same as above, only each actor adds a new sound and motion

Exits

Character: 1 Plot: 1 Timing: 3 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

3-5 different characters portrayed by the same actor come into scene with other two actors and they must justify his leaving.

Explosion

Character: 3 Plot: 2 Timing: 1 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 3

Two person scene, people start apart for 30 seconds talking to an object related to the scene with very strong emotions, at the end of 30 seconds the two people face each and vent on each other.

Follow the Leader

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 1

Just like in kindergarten (isn't that a stupid word? kindergarten...I blame the Dutch).

Fortune Cookie

Character: 3 Plot: 2 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0

Read a fortune cookie saying, do a scene about it.

Four Through the Door

Character: 2 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Someone leads, every improver comes up to them, they are at an information desk, as a different character, and for each round can have a different style of character (i.e. ethnic or energetic).

Freeze and Justify

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

Same as positions, only with two or three actors who both get into position and then justify the position.

Gang-Up

Character: 0 Plot: 2 Timing: 3 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0 Icebreaker

Two people start a scene based on a word. Once a relationship/status/conflict has been established, people start coming into the scene taking one of the sides of the relationship, taking the theme to a new level. Example: Bike shop where person is trying to get their bike fixed, rode for a year, but then broke down, think it's the fault of the store owner, next person comes in and says their bike fell apart when they were riding down the street after having just bought it, and the last person comes in and starts testing bikes in the shop that just fall apart.

Here Comes Charlie

Character: 2 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

Two-three people waiting for Charlie, they describe different traits he has, actor then comes in as Charlie and has to display those traits.

Hitchhiker

Character: 3 Plot: 1 Timing: 0 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 1

Two people mime driving down the road, eventually they pick up a hitchhiker. The person playing the hitchhiker has a physical and/or verbal personality quirk that the other people in the car must pick up on. Once they do, the driver leaves, and the shot-gun person moves to driver and picks up a new hitchhiker.

Hot Spot

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 0 Icebreaker

Every person in the group plays. One actor steps forward and starts singing a song, another actor steps forward quickly and tags them out to sing a song that the first song made them think of. The key is each person must be tagged out quickly.

Human Knot

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

Exactly what it says it is!

I Really Hate You Because/I Really Love You Because

Character: 3 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 2

Actors take turns explaining to each other why.

Jester/Lord

Character: 3 Plot: 1 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 2

Everyone in the group splits up into pairs. Each pair decides who is the jester and who is the lord. The pair walk around with the lord in front of the jester. The jester must compliment the lord continually while mocking him behind his back, if the lord catches the jester mocking him, he hits him with his cane (rolled up newspaper).

Job Interview

Character: 4 Plot: 1 Timing: 1 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

Three 90 second scenes. In each scene, one person comes in as a different character interviewing for a job with the same interviewer. Interviewer asks them a series of question delving into their personal and professional life, finally ending off with "So tell me why you want to be an X" where X is something that this person is not qualified to do.

Levels/Status

Character: 3 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Either two person scene, where have eventual change in each person from high to low status, or the whole troupe mingling around in a party as either high or low status and then have everyone switch, in these games, everyone should act to the extreme, in all scenes, someone should be high and the other person low status.

Machine

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

One actor pretends to be a machine, and the other interacts with him.

Mirror Exercise

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

One actor mimes another.

Motivation

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

Give each actor a motivation for a scene and play it out.

Motivation Scenes

Character: 2 Plot: 3 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

Two person scenes where each actor is secretly given their motivation for the scene by the director.

Name Three

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 3

Name three-five things associated with a place, three-five things not associated with a place.

Open the Box

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 5 Group Mind: 0

What's in the box? Shake it, roll it up in a ball, eat it. Basically a free-form mime exercise.

Physicalization Scenes

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 0 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 1

Two person scene, actors do physical actions for location or noun given for 30 seconds before starting the dialogue for the scene.

Positions

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

One person gets in weird physical position, the other comes around and looks at them, and says why you're doing such and such, the other person accepts and does that out of his position.

Practice Styles

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 1 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 3

Go over cliches and typical things in different literary styles, movie styles, TV styles, emotions, etc. To help, i.e. for Shakespeare, Moliere, etc., bring in plays for illustrative examples.

Props

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 2 Group Mind: 0

Funny uses with props. Duh.

Protector/Predator

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0 Icebreaker

Everyone gets around in a circle. In their head they choose one person to be their protector and one person to be their predator. When everyone is ready, someone yells go, and everyone runs around with the objective of always trying to keep their protector in between themselves and their predator.

Quirk

Character: 2 Plot: 1 Timing: 0 Mime: 3 Group Mind: 0

Scenes with characters defined by a physical quirk.

Scene with an Attitude

Character: 3 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 0

Each actor gets an attitude for the scene like "Everyone's out to get me", "Everybody's beautiful", etc.

Scenes on a Theme

Character: 3 Plot: 3 Timing: 0 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 1

Everyone in the troupe participates, get a noun or theme, everyone performs in at least one two-person scene based on the theme or noun given. Scenes can be supported and swept to a new scene just like a Harold, but no scenes come back a second time.

Sound and Motion

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 4 Icebreaker

One actor makes a sound and motion, and the other actors mimic his exact sounds and motions.

Status

Character: 3 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

One person must be dominant, the other subservient in every scene.

Tableau

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

Group of between 4-8 act out silently different locations.

Tag-Out

Character: 3 Plot: 2 Timing: 4 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

Two people start a scene based on a word. Any other person can yell freeze at any time and tag-out one of the people in the scene. In the new scene the person coming in starts a new scene that extends a theme of the previous scene, the person remaining must keep the essence of their previous character, but doesn't necessarily have to be the same person.

Tongue-Twisters

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 1

'Nuff said.

Topic Firing Line

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 3 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 2

Name five things in a topic really quickly as before others pass the ball around.

Wake

Character: 4 Plot: 1 Timing: 2 Mime: 0 Group Mind: 3

One troupe member pretends to be dead. Each actor in the troupe goes up to the dead body and says their good-byes to that person. Each subsequent person must build upon what the last person said in their good-bye through the eyes of their character.

Walking Around

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

It gets cold, shovel snow, pick up paintings falling, see a person you know, gets actors to physicalize space.

Walks

Character: 3 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 0

Lead with different parts of your body, and see what kind of character springs from that kind of walk.

What're You Doing

Character: 1 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 4 Group Mind: 0

One actor asks another what he/she is doing, then proceeds to mime what the actor replies.

Yes

Character: 0 Plot: 0 Timing: 0 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 0 Icebreaker

All troupe members in a circle. One person starts by pointing at another, they start walking towards that person when they say yes. The next person must then point at someone, hear yes from that person, and start walking before the first person arrives at their spot. Also done with the word go or with people's names as an icebreaker (say your name to the next person and they repeat your name to let you go).

Yes, And

Character: 2 Plot: 2 Timing: 0 Mime: 1 Group Mind: 1

"Yes, and..." must be first thing said by each actor in the scene. No questions and no yeah buts, get a location or a relationship.