Here are some our students really like:
Survivor: 4 to 6 people play a scene. Then teacher calls "freeze". Teacher (or audience) votes for who is "voted off the island" (for whatever reason- no reason has to be given.) The remaining people do the scene again- but they must include everything from the person who was voted off (lines, character, blocking, ideas, etc.) Then teacher (or audience) votes another person off. The last round is one person doing the whole scene (and including everything)
Story, Story, Die!: 3 people stand at front. Student left in the audience decides a character's name, a place and a job. All 3 actors say "This is a story about (the character) who was a (the job) at (the place.) Student in audience then points to one of the 3 students who starts to improv a story about the character. Student in audience, at any time, then points to other student. The first student abruptly stops speaking the 2nd student picks up the story. The transition must be seamless- no "um" or "ah", hesitations, repeating of words or nonsensical additions. If any of these happen during a transition, the student in the audience yells "die!" and the storytelling student leaves the stage. Also, storytellers need to listen because if they contradict or get incorrect something from the story (brother changes to sister, toppings on pizza change [etc.]) the student in the audience yells "die" and the storyteller is eliminated. The student in the audience continues to stop and start the story on a regular basis. The game is then played with 2 students and the last student is the winner. (Can also be played with 4 students being the storyteller and the teacher being the audience person.
Good, Bad, Ugly: One student needs advice, the other 3 students are the advice-givers. The student asks the group for advice (could be a real-life problem/situation, or a created one.). The first student listens and gives good advice- lots of imagination and detail. The 2nd student listens to the good-advice student, and, building on what they said (and adding more) gives the advice-seeker some bad advice. The 3rd student listens to both the good-advice and the bad-advice students and then gives ugly advice (the absolute worst advice in the world.). The advice seeker then chooses who wins the round; who listened, used details, imagination, outside-the-box-thinking, humor, etc.
The Eraser Game: Two students at a time are the storytellers, two are the judges/voters. You can use a classroom eraser, or any object, really. The object is placed between the two storytellers, who are at the front of the room. One of the judgers/votes says what the object is (a candy bar, a cell phone, a magnet, a tiny house for mice, etc.) Then, one at a time, each of the storytellers creates/improvs a story about why they need the object- and why the audience should vote to give them the object. Details, imagination, not-too-short-a-story, etc. all help. After each storyteller has said why they should get the object, the audience votes. If there is a tie, the teacher can vote as well. The most-voted-for-story is the winner.
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Joanna Lewton
Arts Director
Capital City Public Charter School
Washington DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-21-2021 13:50
From: Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Subject: Competitive Game for a VERY small group
Hey there, hive mind!
I need a competitive acting game that I can play with only four students (we'd have five people if I can participate instead of coaching). Yes, I do want it to be competitive rather than ensemble -- we're talking about competition and playing to win in a scene.
Usually I play something like Kunja, Four Corners, or Cat in a Corner, but I don't think any of those will work with such a small group.
Suggestions?
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Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Theatre Department Coordinator
Shenandoah Valley Governor's School
VA
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