Theatre games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Theatre games are designed to train actors that was developed in the 20th century by practitioners such as Viola Spolin and son Paul Sills, Joan Littlewood, Clive Barker, Keith Johnstone, Jerzy Grotowski and Augusto Boal. Theatre games are also commonly used as warm-up exercises for actors before a rehearsal or performance, in the development of improvisational theatre, and as a lateral means to rehearse dramatic material. They are also used in drama therapy to overcome anxiety by simulating scenarios that would be fear-inducing in real life. Improvisational theatre games have also been used in performance on stages and on television, most notably on Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
Examples
- And: One partner should accept what another partner has stated ("And") and then expand the line on that.
- Freeze:[1] A game where players jump into scenes frozen in action, encouraging quick thinking and scene-building.
- Mirror Exercise:[2] One partner mirrors the movements of another to build empathy and non-verbal communication.
- Alphabet Game[3]: A scene where each consecutive line of dialogue must begin with the next letter of the alphabet, used to develop focus and narrative flexibility.
- New Choice[4]: A game where a moderator calls for a "New choice!", requiring the performer to immediately replace their last line of dialogue with an alternative, used to explore multiple narrative paths.
- Questions Only[5]: A high-energy game where performers must conduct a scene using only questions; any declarative statement results in a buzzer or elimination.