Keeper of the keys

Type: Warm-up

Purpose: This is a simple game that is most appropriate for very young actors (Age 5-8).

Procedure:

1.  One player stands stage right (The Keeper) with his back to the other students.  A set of keys is placed at his feet.

2.  All other players stand stage left, facing the Keeper’s back.

3.  When the Keeper says “Go”, the group can move toward the Keeper to try and get the keys. When the Keeper turns around everyone must freeze. If the Keeper sees anyone “unfrozen”, that player must go back to the start.

4.  This continues until one player grabs the keys. This player now becomes the Keeper.

NOTES:

- Once the kids get the hang of the game, you can introduce variations that will help them explore different characters. (i.e. they must move and freeze as “ballerinas”, “tigers”, “80-year olds”, etc.)

Alien, Tiger, Cow

Type: Warm-up

Purpose: A fun way to get students comfortable around each other and outside their shell.

Procedure:

1.  Have everyone stand in a circle.

2.  On the count of 3, the players have the choice of being one of three things (like rock, paper, scissors):

ALIEN: they hold their fingers up to their head like an antennae and say “Bleep, bleep, bleep”

TIGER: they throw their hands out like claws and say “Roooar!”

COW: they put their hands on their tummies with fingers sticking out (like utters) and say “Mooo”

3.  On the count of 3 everyone has the choice of being one of these things.

4.  Whichever one of these things is in the minority, those players must leave the circle (i.e. there are 4 aliens, 7 tigers, and 3 cows: the cows are in the minority and must leave the circle)

5.  Continue until there are only 1 or 2 people left.

VARIATION:

- A different approach to playing this game is for the goal be for everyone to become the SAME character (no elimination). Obviously it will take a few turns for this to happen. Let the students organically try to figure it out.

Toilet Paper Icebreaker

Type: Warm-up, Ensemble Building

Purpose: A fun, simple way to help a new group get familiar with each other.

Procedure:

1.  Have the group sit in a circle.

2.  Hold up a roll of toilet paper. Tell the students you’re going to pass it around the circle, and they can take off as many or as few sheets as they like.

3.  After the roll has gone all the way around the circle, share with them the “twist” to the game: For each sheet that they took, they have to tell the group something about themselves.

4.  EXAMPLE: If Isabel took five sheets, then: 1) I like to dance 2) My favorite color is purple 3) I have a dog named Sammy 4) This summer I went to Hawaii 5) I’m really afraid of snakes.

5.  Not only will the group learn from the information each student shares, but you will also learn personalities based on who took a lot of sheets and who took only a few.

6  OPTION: Afterwards, have everyone throws their sheet into the center. This represents all the new information we now know about each other.