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ABS: Theatre Summer Camps

Wickes 358 (989) 964-4062

Theatre Games

Greetings and welcome to the theatre games link on the SVSU Youth Theatre Website. The following games were used in a booklet produced by the Summer Theatre Institute for presentation at the 2002 AATE Conference in Minneapolis Minnesota. Lead presenters were Saginaw Valley State University Fine Arts Day Camp & Summer Theatre Institute Director Ric Roberts & TADA! Youth Theatre (NYC) Education Director, Peter Avery. The session was one of the highest attended of the entire conference and are pleased to be able to share these with you today! Please note that in no way do we claim to have invented any of the following games. In nearly all cases, we have tried to list the author, if known. If you do like these games, please feel free to use them. All we ask is that you give credit to the author, if known. Enjoy!

For more information about The American Alliance for Theatre & Education (AATE) visit the following web site: www.aate.com

First set of Games Submitted by Peter Avery

The Ultimate Being

• The set-up: Start by asking students to talk about where we came from in terms of the cosmos. You will hear evolution, big bang, creationism, even some made-up ones (i.e. we are from bananas from the planet Jyrex). Ask them to explain -- ever so briefly. Usually the focus is on evolution. Let them know that all are good answers but you have found the truth. We did start at one central place. At first there was an egg. Have students get on their hind legs and walk around the room as eggs. There should be no talking since we know that eggs don't talk. Stop --back to neutral. Ask them what came next. Yes! The chicken did come after the egg after all. Walk around like chickens, flapping wings, squaking, etc. Stop --back to neutral. What came next? Let them guess and then tell them the Ultimate Being! Ultimate Beings walk around upright with their hands above their heads saying, "I am the Ultimate Being. I AM the Ultimate Being!" let them walk around and do so (always being polite to other creatures).
• The game: Everyone starts as eggs. have them mill around and meet another egg. They should then battle with ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS. Whomever wins becomes a chicken while the loser remains an egg and looks for another egg to compete with. The chicken now searches out another chicken and they battle. The winner becomes an upright Ultimate Being while the loser goes back to being a chicken. Once two Ultimate Beings faceoff, the winner remains an Ultimate Being and the loser becomes a chicken.
• The point: The game is a terrific first day game to have EVERYONE be a fool, EVERYONE take risks and EVERYONE experience winning and losing. The game teaches that their is upwards and downwards mobility and that even if you lose one battle, you might come back to win three in a row. One cannot get too cocky as an Ultimate Being and one should not get too frustrated as an egg. Just like in theater, we try not to focus on the big versus small roles--everyone has their time. It also teaches about how to lose and win gracefully but with the added zaniness to allow people to win and lose big for drama sake.

Zip Zap Zop

• The set up: The class stands in a circle.
• The game: The first student claps his/her hands toward any other student in the circle while making eye contact and says ""zip."" The student who was ""zipped"" then sends the clapping motion to any other student in the circle saying ""zap."" The student who was ""zapped"" then sends the clapping motion to any other student in the circle saying ""zop."" The cycle then begins again.
• The point: The purpose of this game is to make eye contact and send a focused clapping motion and sound to the next student. Once students have mastered the basics, the speed should pick up. Encourage students to use their first impulse - take 3 or 4 seconds deciding who will be next.

What Are You Doing?

• The set up: Students stand in two lines. The front students in each line face each other.
• The game: The student in line one begins miming an activity (i.e., skiing). The student in line two asks, ""What are you doing?"". The other student continues miming their activity (skiing), but says he/she is doing something else (i.e., taking a shower), then goes to the back of his/her line. The student in line two begins miming the new activity (taking a shower) and the student who is now in the front of line one asks ""What are you doing?"". The student in line two continues his/her activity (taking a shower), ), but says he/she is doing something else (i.e., reading), then goes to the back of his/her line. The student in the front of line one begins miming the new activity (reading) and the student who is now in the front of line two asks ""What are you doing?"".
  
  The teacher serves as the judge. Three important rules: q· Students may not repeat an activity that has already been mentioned. q· Students have only a count of three to come up with the new activity. q· Students must continue the original activity while saying the new activity.
  
  If desired, this can be a competitive game, where students missing any of the above three requirements are ""out"" and eventually there is a winning team.
  
• Example: Student one is miming reading. Student two asks, ""What are you doing?"". Student one continues miming reading, but says, ""Putting on a shirt."" Student two mimes putting on a shirt as student one goes to the back of his/her line. The student now in the front of line one asks, the student in line two ""What are you doing?"". That student continues miming putting on a shirt and says, ""I’’m combing my hair."" The student in line one begins miming that activity as the student in line two goes to the back of the line. The student now in the front of line two asks, ""What are you doing?"", etc.

Word Tennis

• The set up: Two students face each other
• The game: Students and are given a category (i.e., colors, rivers, states in the U.S., etc.). The students, one after the other name as many things from that category as he/she can. If a student takes more than a count of three to come up with something or repeats an item that has already been mentioned, he/she is out and replaced with another student from the class.

Status

• The set up: Students fill the room in random order. Props –– 1 deck of standard playing cards.
• The game:
  1. Pass out cards Reminding all NOT TO LOOK AT THEIR OWN CARDS!!!
  2. Cards are then held up against your forehead so that everyone but you can see your card. (Remember ""Indian Poker""?)
  3. Everyone is given a situation –– 1st day of class –– Birthday Party –– and told to have a conversation where the card you hold is your status. A king or ace would be treated well no matter how they act A deuce or three would be ignored ore even treated badly.
  4. After 60 seconds –– ask all to line up in the order thy think their cards represent, low to high.
• The point: To determine relationships not only by how you behave but by how others behave to you.

Write Your Own Play

• The game: Each student writes two sentences on separate pieces of paper, based on a theme: (i.e. –– A forest fire, A test tomorrow, No toilet paper in the lavatory). The papers are then tossed into a hat. Each student chooses two. The leader randomly picks small groups to read the lines in sequence and assigns random blocking. The group retires for 3-5 minutes to rehearse the scene so that it makes sense. Afterwards, everyone else ""reviews"" the plays.

""AH""

• The game: Students are given separate goals: A. You are to get B to go to the Doctor for a shot B. You are to get A to go Shopping for toys You are to offer to Drive the car to one place only
• The point: To teach that we can communicate without actual words.

Next Set of Games Submitted by Ric Roberts *

*With many thanks to Saginaw Valley State University, Dr. Janet Rubin, Dr. Steven C. Erickson, Prof. Patricia Zimmer, Prof. Jessica "Decky" Alexander, Dr. Mary Cooney , Sandra Nelson and fellow graduate students at Eastern Michigan University & previous AATE Youth Theatre Network Game Exchanges.

Bobbity Bop Bop - All Grades

• The students stand in a circle. The Leader stands in the center. There are 5 Levels of concentration skills. The game is cumulative, and levels are continually added. When a student makes a mistake two things can happen, you can either get them out OR you can just continue on with the game and let them know what they did wrong. The levels are as follows........
• Level 1: When the leader points to a person in the circle and says "Boppity Bop Bop," the student must respond with one word "Bop" before the leader finishes the phrase. If the leader points to a student and says simply "Bop," the student says nothing.
• Level 2: HOUSE - If the leader points to a student and says "House," the student must kneel on one knee and say "Come in, Come in" in a spooky voice. While this is happening, the students on either side must reach their hands up at a 45 degree angle and create a peaked roof by touching finger tips.
• Level 3: STONEHENGE - If the leader says "Stonehenge" ALL students stand with feet together, raise hands above head and bring down into prayer form. While they are doing this, the must say "Ohm" and hold it. Like mediation!
• Level 4: COWBOY - If the leader points to a student and says "Cowboy," the student who was pointed at must raise and twirl arm like a lasso, gallop like riding a horse, spank butt with free hand and yell "YE HA!" The students on either side of the "Cowboy" must face forward and gallop on a horse saying "Clip Clop".
• Level 5: HAWAII - If the leader points to a student and says "HAWAII," the student must do a hula dance and sing the song "Aloha Eh, Aloha Oh" The students on each side must raise both arms and sway like palm tree’s while making a wind sound.

Name Game - All grades

• Simple Ice Breaker game that is good for the beginning of camp to help your students become familiar with each other. Also great way to you for you to learn your students names. Have all students stand in a circle. Starting with the leader, you say your name and what you like to do, for example "My Name is Ric and I like to Act" When you say what you like to do, you also combine it with an appropriate action. Then you lead the entire group in responding "That is Ric and he likes to Act" and so on. Go around the circle once or twice, depending on time. If you go a second round, have the students pick a different thing they like to do.

What Is It? - All grades

• Another simple Ice Breaker game that helps in calming the group down after lunch and bringing them to a focus. This game also gives your students a chance to start thinking in transformative terms. Have five or six generic items, can be anything, and pass it around circle. As you start, you simply say this is a .......and come up with a name for the object that seems to fit it. For example, a paper towel tube may be a telescope, bazooka, baseball bat and so on. Continue around circle. Each time object comes back to you, start a new object.

Kitty Wants A Corner - All Ages

• This is an excellent trust building game that is loved by everyone. I have played this with 3rd graders to adults. Place all students in a large circle. Have them place some object, or you can use a small piece of tape to mark their spot. This will make it easier for you and the students as once the game gets underway, spots tend to disappear.
• Here are the rules: The leader stands in the middle of the circle and walks up to some one and says "Kitty wants a corner!", The student responds in one way "Go see my neighbor!" and points to someone else in circle - The leader then goes to the pointed out neighbor. This process continues. As the leader is asking for a corner and going to see different neighbors, the other students are switching their spots! If the leader can get into an empty spot, the person who is left out become the new Kitty! The game then continues.

Shark Attack - All Ages

• A great fun game that is exciting and great to use at the end of the day or as a middle of the session break. This game is played with all your students as the swimmers and you as the 1st shark.
• Here are the rules: What you need is some sections of old newspaper that are the big double sections. Strategically place them around the room. These are your islands and the rest of the floor space is the water. The object of the game is for the shark (you) to catch swimmers who are not COMPLETELY on the paper island. Tell the swimmers to swim around the room, when you yell out "SHARK ATTACK" they must get onto an island. Even if a half inch of their shoe is on the bare floor, they get eaten and are out! Sounds simple enough! Except for the fact that after each round, the lead shark will rip a piece of the island off so the islands slowly become smaller. This continues until all the swimmers have been eaten. You may or may not use the people that you kill as extra sharks. The space will help you decide this. You may want to just use one or two extras at a time. Watch out for this one, they will want to play it every day!

Pass The Snap - All Ages

• This is a VERY simple yet effective game that gets kids focusing on the subject at hand using transformation .
• Here are the rules: Stand class in a circle. Each person "throws" a snap to the another in the circle. The individual who catches the snap must catch it at the same level and intent it is thrown. For example if I toss a heavy hard snap, it must be caught with weight or vice versa.

Translation Mutilation - All Ages - more advanced

• This game requires groups of three. Here are the rules: Player A is your English speaking character. Player B speaks only in gibberish. Player C must translate the conversation from English to gibberish and from gibberish to English. This game is best played once or twice altogether in groups of three and then one by one giving each group a chance by themselves.

Imaginary Toss - All Ages

• Transformative games are useful in all classes. This is similar to Toss The Snap, except that the objects are "REAL" and must be dealt with as such.
• Here are the rules: Stand class in a circle. Each person "throws" an object to the another in the circle. The individual who catches the object must catch it as is. It can then transform to something else to be thrown to the next person. For example if I toss a human liver, it must be caught as a human liver, it can then transform to a fish to be tossed to the next person. Let your students know there is no right or wrong transformation. It is important that we see the object transform. You could start out with stones of different sizes and weight then move on from there.

Conversations - All Ages

• A transformative game that begins to let your students explore different characters.
• Here are the rules: #1 There are no rules!
• Pair the students up, have them have a conversation with each other using the following
• Only using numbers for words
• Only using Blah Blah Blah for words
• Making up an imaginary language
• You will notice that once you remove the language barrier, body language become that much more prominent. This game can help in trying to give their creative drama characters physical properties.

Tag - YES TAG! - All Ages

• Tag is fundamentally the most dramatic of all games and is played in almost every culture of the world. Pursuit & Escape > Basic Human Activities. (Cops & Robbers, Hide & Seek) When the structure of all drama is boiled down, fundamentally, only the game of tag remains. Play Tag! Every kid knows how to play. One person it, with one Free/Home Space.
• Try these alternatives: Freeze Tag - If tagged, you stay frozen until someone else tags you. Monster Tag - Like regular tag, except person who is it has to be a monster. Jazz Tag - Where all participants have to play Tag while moving as Interpretive Jazz Dancers - VERY FUNNY!
• Also, you can add to all of these by yelling out Slow (for slow motion), Reg, or Fast (for fast motion)! (or maybe a different style you or your students may know)

Next Game Submitted by Dr. Marc Gordon

Rotation Improvisation - Older Students

• Put your class into two circles, 1 inner circle and 1 outer circle. (Must be even number) Have the inner circle face out to the outer circle facing in. The leader will yell out a situation i.e "The Dentist Office." Upon hearing this the partners across from each other have 30 seconds to create a scene about the situation. After the 30 seconds are finished, the inner circle rotates one person either left or right. A new situation is given, repeat sequence until all students have had a chance to work with each other.

Next Set of Games Submitted by Gordon Hensley

Web Game

• Source: Gordon Hensley
• Emphasis: Teamwork
• Ages: All
• Number of Participants: best with 8-10
• Materials: Ball of yarn, and a large balloon
• Directions: Form a circle, and pass the yarn from person to person across the circle, holding on the to the yarn. This creates a large spider web effect. When everyone has a piece of yarn (or two if you have time and lots of yarn!), toss a balloon into the center of the "web". Students must work together to keep the balloon afloat on the web, bouncing it each time it hits the web. I like to see how many times we can bounce it, and students like to compete with other classes. When the balloon falls through the web, I encourage them to pick it up using the web, rather than their hands. This is a quick, visual, participatory game that wins will all ages. It also provides a great metaphor for jumping into other drama and production work.

Clap Control

• Source: Mark Warzecka
• Emphasis: Eye contact
• Ages: All
• Number of Participants: Even numbers between 10 and 16
• Directions: The participants must stand in a circle. One person is given "control" witch is passed by turning to the person on the right or the left and clapping together with the person to the selected side. The person on
  the selected side now has control and can either pass control back to the person that offered control or can turn to the person to the other side.

"Ahhhh"

• Source: Mark Warzecka
• Emphasis: Teamwork
• Directions: The participants must stand in a circle and put their arms around each other. Each player puts his or her head down. When the a three count is given by the director the plays must look up at another player of which there are three options, the person to the right, left and straight across. If eye contact is made with between any two players they must scream "Ahhh". The goal is to get to the point where every player looks up and no one screams.

What's in the box?

• Source: Keith Jonhstone, Impro
• Emphasis: Stimulate Creativity
• Ages: All
• Number of Participants: 0-30
• Directions: The director has an imaginary box. He goes around to the participants and asks what is in the box. The participants give imaginary answers that should grow increasingly creative.

Word Association

• Source: Del Close, Truth In Comedy
• Emphasis: Stream of Consciousness
• Ages: All
• Number of Participants: 4-30
• Directions: Players are given a topic. In turn players say a word or phrase associated with the topic. The game is complete when the words come back to the beginning.

Stringing together a conversation.

• Source: Stacy Moore, Garrison Mill Elementary School (Marietta, Georgia)
• Emphasis: Getting Acquainted, Team Building
• Recommended Ages/ Grades: Ages 7 and up/2nd Grade and up
• Number of Participants: 6-20
• Directions for Playing: Cut string or yarn into pieces of different lengths. (Each piece should have a matching piece of the same length. There should be enough pieces so that each student will have one.) Then give each student one piece of string, and challenge each student to find the other student who has a string of the exact same length. After students
  have found their matches, they can take turns introducing themselves to each other. You can provide a list of questions to help students break the ice, or students can come up with their own. You might extend the activity by having each student introduce his or her partner to the class.

TP Game

• Recommended Ages/ Grades: Ages 9 and up/4thGrade and up
• Number of Participants: 7-20
• Source: Rita Mote, Cactus Pine Girl Scout Director (Scottsdale, AZ)
• Emphasis: Getting Acquainted, Team Building
• Directions for Playing: Instruct students to sit in a circle on the floor. Take out a roll of toilet paper. Say that you are going to pass the toilet paper around the circle and each student should "take as much as they need. " DO NOT TELL THEM WHAT THEY NEED IT FOR! When the entire group has taken their toilet paper the leader then takes theirs and explains to the students that they need to tell one fact about themselves for each sheet of toilet paper that they have taken. The leader goes first and the game continues around the circle until everyone has had a turn.

Hey, Hey, Who's In Town?

• Recommended Ages/ Grades: Ages 7 and up/2nd Grade and up
• Number of Participants: 6-30
• Source: Audrey Berger, Music Professor ASU (Tempe, AZ)
• Emphasis: Name familiarity, getting acquainted
• Directions for Playing:
  • Instruct the students to sit on the floor in a circle. Teach the students the following chant:
    +Hey, hey, who's in town?
    +Everybody take a look around.
    +Say your name and when you do,
    +We will say it back to you.
  • After they have learned the words, teach them to say them while rhythmically clapping. When they have mastered both these skills, tell them that after chanting the rhyme, three people will chant their name in the following manner:
    I am Debi
    The group will then echo:
    You are Debi
    The second and third students repeat the process and then the chant is said again. Continue the process until everyone in the circle has had a turn.

Animal Groups

• Recommended Ages/ Grades: Ages 6 and up/1stGrade and up
• Number of Participants: 10-40
• Source: Donna Morgan, Avery Middle School (Newland, North Carolina)
• Emphasis: Team Building, Group Formation
• Directions for Playing: On the first day of school, gather all the students from level in a large common area. Give each student a slip of paper with the name of an animal on it. Then give students instructions for the activity: They must locate the other members of their animal group by imitating that animal's sound only. No talking is allowed. The students
  might hesitate initially, but that hesitation soon gives way to a cacophony of sound as the kids moo, snort, and giggle their way into groups. The end result is that students have found their way into their homerooms or advisory groups for the school year, and the initial barriers to good teamwork have already been broken.

A Tangled Web

• Recommended Ages/ Grades: Ages 7 and up/2nd Grade and up
• Number of Participants: 10-20
• Source: Amy Henning, W. C. Petty School (Antioch, Illinois)
• Emphasis: Getting Acquainted, Team Building,Group Cooperation
• Directions for Playing: Gather students in a circle sitting around you on the floor. Hold a large ball of yarn. Start by telling the students something about yourself. Then roll the ball of yarn to a student without letting go of the end of the yarn. The student who gets the ball of yarn tells his or her name and something good about himself or herself. Then the
  student rolls the yarn to somebody else, holding on to the strand of yarn. Soon students have created a giant web. After everyone has spoken, you and all the students stand up, continuing to hold the yarn. Start a discussion of how this activity relates to the idea of teamwork (for example, the students need to work together and not let others down). To drive home your point about teamwork, have one student drop his or her strand of yarn; that will demonstrate to students how the web weakens if the class isn't working together.

Spider

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 9 and up, Grades 4 and up
• Number of Participants: 30 ? 40
• Source: Chicago Public Manual (After school)
• Emphasis: Fun, Cooperation, and Team Building
• Directions: Draw 2 circles on the start line. Divide the players into 2 teams 9 15 ? 20 players). Stand each team in a circle. Rope the players of each team together. So, each team will follow the leader's command to move toward the finish line. On the finish line there are 2 more circles. The spiders must get to them as fast as possible.

Crooked Path

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 9 and up, Grades 4 and up
• Number of Participants: 2 ? 30
• Source: Chicago Public School (After school) Manual
• Emphasis: Coordination, Quickness, and Movement
• Directions for Playing: Draw a crooked line on the floor with the chalk. It's " a path". The object of the players is to walk along this "path" looking at it through the binocular turned upside down. The player who walks this "path" the fastest is the winner.

Toy Shop

• Recommended Ages: 5 and up
• Number of Participants 5-8
• Source: Actors Connection for Children
  Emphasis: Imagination, working together, creativity
• Directions for Playing: One student is the shopkeeper and one is the customer, the rest are toys in a store. They all pick a toy to become and get to come alive when the storekeeper leaves briefly. The students (toys) then have to come up with a plan because a customer wants to buy one or all of the toys. Toys only come alive when no humans are around.

Highs and Lows

• Recommended Ages: all ages
• Number of Participants: Not Important
• Source: Actors Connection for Children
• Emphasis: To get to know a group and learn about each other
• Directions: (a Warm Up) Each student shares a high and a low experience from that day.

Freeze Tag

• Recommended Ages: 6 and up
• Number of Participants: 3 and up
• Source: Theater 100
• Emphasis: improvisational, creativity, quick thinking
• Directions: Two people start a scenario and someone else shouts freeze when they want to join in by replacing on of the frozen students. The new student then starts a new scenario in which the other student has to follow along with until some else calls freeze again.

Number Game

• Recommended Ages: 6 and up
• Number of Participants: 6-15
• Source: Actors Connection for Children
• Emphasis: Quick thinking, team building, good listening skills
• Directions: Students stand shoulder to shoulder in a straight line. They are numbered off one to fifteen. Then whoever starts has to say any number besides the one who just called them. Students are out if they make a mistake and the game goes very fast.

Electric Current

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 10 and up, Grades 5 and up
• Number of Participants: Any amount, preferably 6-20
• Source: Drama 101, David Barker
• Emphasis: Quick thinking, imagination, loosen up
• Directions for Playing: Stand in a circle. Tell the students that you are holding a lightening bolt in your hand. Swallow it, then act as if an electric current is running through your body. The current can go anywhere in your body (you feet, your hands, your head, etc.) After it has "gone through you" pass it to the next person but physically "show" the pass (Examples: You can throw the current, you can toss it out of your head?) The person receiving the current must "catch" it in part of his/her body, let it run through them, and then pass it to his/her neighbor. Do this all the way around and when it comes back to you, pass it again. When you pass it again, speed up the current, then try things like telling the students to make noises showing that the current is painful, feels gross, etc.

Question Game

• Recommended Ages: 10 and up
• Number of Participants: 5 to 20
• Source: Unknown
• Emphasis: Quick thinking, creativity, good listening
• Directions: Students sit in a circle and ask questions. They can ask anyone but they have to answer the question with a question and also have to say the persons name first. I.E. Sarah: why is the sky blue? (Sarah responds) Joe: where are you from? And when someone answers the question, gets stumped, or stops they are out.

Vogue

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 8 and up, Grades 3 and up
• Number of Participants: 10-20
• Source: Drama 101, David Barker
• Emphasis: Paying attention, working quickly, quick thinking
• Directions for Playing: This is similar to the game "Telephone" yet it requires movement, not speaking! You need two large, wood boxes to stand on. Pick one volunteer to be the "Poser." Have the rest of the students stand in a line with their backs facing the Poser. The Poser, picks a pose using the box (standing on it or sitting on it, but get creative? make
  it hard!) You say "go" after the pose is picked and then the first student in line with run to the other box and try to do the exact same pose, while you are counting to five quickly! As soon, as five is up, you say go and the original Poser hops down and the next student in line runs to the box to copy the pose the second student is doing. Go through all the students and see if the last student is posed the same has the original Poser started! (you don't HAVE to have boxes? it just makes it more fun!)

Morphing

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 12 and up, Grades 7 and up
• Number of Participants: 10-18
• Source: Drama 101, David Barker
• Emphasis: Working off other students, watching, paying attention, imagination
• Directions for Playing: Have all of the students standing in a circle. One volunteer will start in the center and he/she will begin some sort of movement (ex: swaying hands back and forth.) All of the students copy what the center person is doing. After a few seconds, another person steps in (while doing the motions still.) When the new person steps in, the
  original person moves back in the circle. The new center person will then "Morph" the motion into an entirely new motion. The Morph must be very fluid and natural looking, though. Repeat the process until all of the students have been the center person.

Hitch Hiker

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 13 and up, Grades 8 and up
• Source: Drama 101, David Barker
• Emphasis: Paying attention, imagination, watching
• Directions for Playing: Have 4 chairs set up in the room like the seats in a car would be set up. There is one driver and two people in the back seat. A volunteer gets up and pretends to be a hitch hiker. The students in the car then "pick" him/her up. When the hitch hiker gets in, he/she has a specific quality (ex. nervous, talks loud, cries.) As the group
  keeps pretending to drive forward, the rest of the students pick up the hitch hiker's quality until they are all doing it! Once everyone in the car is doing it, they stop and the students rotate so that the person right/back gets out of the car, the person left/back scoots over, the driver goes in the back, and the hitch hiker becomes the driver. Then a new volunteer becomes the hitch hiker that this new group picks up. The games keeps going until everyone has had a turn to be the hitch hiker!

Join me!

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 14 and up, High School and up
• Number of Participants: 6-18
• Source: Drama 101, Christine O'Grady (TA)
• Emphasis: Paying Attention, use of space, imagination
• Directions for Playing: A volunteer thinks of a room in the house, or a place (that will be relatively easy to mime!) Then the student goes up in front and mimes something that he/she would do in this room/place. (ex. In the bathroom = taking a shower.) The other students watch for a few minutes and then as they realize what room/place it is, they stand up and do something that they would do in that room/place. (ex. Brushing his/her teeth.) Don't stop until all the students are standing up and miming. Once everyone is standing, stop and make sure that everyone knows the room (ex. Bathroom!) Keep going until everyone has a chance to think of a place/room OR until they run out of rooms/places!

Head Game

• Ages: 3rd- any
• Participants: 10- 30
• Source: ASU education teacher
• Emphasis: Team Building
• Directions: Players are handed out a small piece of paper by the instructor. Players secretly think of their favorite famous person. (actor, singer, anybody well known). Players write this on the small piece of paper and crumble it up. The papers are passed around until the instructor says stop. Do not look at your piece of paper. The player then must take that piece of paper and tape it to their forehead. The players walk around the room and can only ask questions to figure out their character.

Improv Letter

• Ages: 4th- any
• Participants: 10-30
• Source: Asu education teacher
• Emphasis: Team Building
• Directions: Players start out with a sheet of paper. Players all start and write the sentence "once upon a time". Then players crumble up their sheets and throw them into the circle. Players run up to grab a new crumbled sheet in the middle of the circle. Next the instructors tell players to add on and write about a subject and describe the subject.
  Then paper is thrown in the middle again. Players then start the story. Then players write where the subject went. Next is what the subject did. Then last, players end the story. Then players pick up the crumbled paper in the middle of the circle and read theirs aloud. These stories are so funny because they never make sense.

Web We Weave

• Ages: 1st- any
• Participants: 20-40
• Source: Internet site "Icebreakers"
• Emphasis: Teambuilding
• Direction: Players or students start with a circle. The teacher may start with the ball of yarn. The teacher tells the group something funny or remarkable about themself. The teacher passes the yarn to someone else either across or diagonal. Then they share. Then the yarn is passes again. At the end, a huge web is formed and this can be portrayed to a class that when they all use their talents together they can all work together. This web can be displayed as a bulletin board at the beginning of the school year.

Toilet Paper Toss

• Ages: 4th- any
• Participants: 6-20
• Source: Camp Counseling
• Emphasis: Icebreaker
• Directions: The instructor passes around a roll of TP. The players take as many pieces as they want. How ever many pieces the students take is the number of traits they must share about themselves.

Do you Love Your Neighbor

• Ages: 5th- any
• Participants: 20-30
• Source: Asu education teacher
• Emphasis: Motivation and energy
• Directions: The froups sits with chairs in a circle. One person standing in the circle says to anyone, "Do you love your neighbor?". The individual pointed out can say, "Yes, I love my neighbor, but I really like people who are wearing red, or are from Co, etc.". or "No, O do not love my neighbor." If the player says the first phrase, all the members of the
  group with that characteristic have to find a new place at least three spaces from where they are sitting. The person with bo space becomes the caller. If you "do not love your neighbor" his/her two neighbors must switch places with one another. The group members move in quickly to "lose their space". The last becomes the caller.

Concentration

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 7 and up, Grades 3 and up
• Source: Rocky Parra
• Emphasis: Concentration, team work
• Directions for Playing: Create groups of no more than 6 people. Each group will need at least 3 balls(any type, no larger than a softball). The groups will stand in a circle and toss the balls to each other. Each person receives the ball from one person(across from them) and tosses the ball to one person(across from them). The goal is to get as many balls going at one time as possible. Each player must concentrate on their role in order for it to be a success.

Quiet Ball

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 9 and up, Grades 4 and up
• Source: My elementary school teachers
• Emphasis: Team work, physical warm-up
• Directions for Playing: Students stand in a circle. There is one ball. Students must toss the ball to each other without talking. If a student talks, misses the ball or makes a bad throw he/she is out.

Telephone

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 5 and up, Kindergarten and up
• Source: School
• Emphasis: Communication skills, working together
• Directions for Playing: Students stand or sit in a circle. The teacher tells one student a phrase then that student passes it to the next and so forth. The last student to receive the message then tells the class the message. The teacher should then tell the class what the original message was. This can also be done in teams. You can bet you will never have the
  same message in the end.

Build it!!

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 9 and up, Grades 4 and up
• Source: Communication workshop
• Emphasis: Communication, team work
• Directions for Playing: Create identical boxes containing exactly the same Lego pieces. Each box should have no more than 10 pieces, and less than that for younger students. Create teams of three and designate group members as: "lookers, messengers and builders". The teacher will have a model of an object made from pieces in each team's box. The "looker" is the only one that can see the model, he/she must tell the messenger where to place the pieces and the messenger must tell the builder. The messenger can look at what the builder is doing but may not touch the pieces. This project should be timed accordingly for number of pieces and age.

The Name Game

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 5 and up, Grades 1 and up
• Source: School
• Emphasis: Building community, quick thinking
• Directions for Playing: Have the class sit or stand in a circle. Go around the circle having each student state their name and one thing they like. Then have one person start, this person only has to say their name but the second person must tell the first persons name and their name. This pattern will continue around the circle. The last person will have to list everyone's name and then add theirs to the end. Go around foreword and backward and start at different places. Eventually the class should be able to go around and list what each class member gave as one thing they liked.
  Do not try to do all of this in one day, take time to work on it a little every day. For younger kids break up into smaller groups.

Senses Story

• Recommended Ages/Grades: 8-18
• Number of Participants: 6-20
• Source: Peterson, Lenka & O'Connor. Kids Take the Stage: Helping Young People Discover the Creative Outlet of Theater
• Emphasis: Warm-up, strengthen sensory awareness
• Directions for Playing: Ask one of the children to relate a short story or incident, using all the senses, trying to make it real to herself as she tells it. Then have another student act out the story as the first one retells it. Repeat exercise with other pairs of children in the group.

Silent Conversations

• Recommended Ages/Grades: 8-18
• Number of Participants: 6-30
• Source: Peterson, Lenka & O'Connor. Kids Take the Stage: Helping Young People Discover the Creative Outlet of Theater
• Emphasis: Warm-up, to develop characters by how they relate to each other
• Directions for Playing: Have the group divide into pairs. Tell them to engage in a soundless conversation, just reading each other's lips. Everyone can do this at the same time. They could be: Best friends, Secret friends, Worried parents, Sister and brother, Enemies, Teacher and student, Winner and loser, Friends sharing great news.

Finish the Story

• Recommended Ages/Grades: 8-18
• Number of Participants: 6-20
• Source: Peterson, Lenka & O'Connor. Kids Take the Stage: Helping Young People Discover the Creative Outlet of Theater
• Emphasis: Warm-up, train the imagination
• Directions for Playing: Send two or three children to the playing area and give them a situation to begin acting out, such as:
  • You're sneaking into an old, dark, empty house which you heard was haunted.
  • You see a rattlesnake in your path and one person wants to run but one person says to hold very still.
  • You are two aerialists in a circus waiting high up on the tightrope when a third one gets a panic attack and can't go up.
• Once they get started, ask the group watching the improves, "Now what happens?" Call on the one waving his or her hand the most wildly to suggest what happens next. The ones in the playing area then follow this idea until you ask the audience again and call on the next excited hand-waver.

Saying Their Own Names

• Recommended Ages/Grades: 8-18
• Number of Participants: 6-30
• Source: Peterson, Lenka & O'Connor. Kids Take the Stage: Helping Young People Discover the Creative Outlet of Theater
• Emphasis: To introduce vocal color, to put meaning into the way things are said
• Directions for Playing: Everyone sits and relaxes for this "as if" exercise. Ask each, in turn to say his/ her name as if ?
  • Correcting someone
  • Sick with a sore throat
  • Being arrested by the police
  • Afraid people will laugh
  • Meeting someone
  • Reading it in Braille
  • Volunteering for a dangerous job.
  • After you jump into a cool pool
  • While sneezing
  • After running a race
  • At a concert
  • With a mouthful of food
  • While in a library
  • While hiccupping
  • After eating a whole peanut butter sandwich without anything to drink
  • After winning a big game
  • After failing a test
  • Under water
  • After a sad movie
  • Meeting someone famous
  • If you lost your voice
  • While being tickled
• Let the kids invent other "as ifs" to try.

Transforming Objects

• Recommended Ages/Grades: 8-18
• Number of Participants: 6-30
• Source: Peterson, Lenka & O'Connor. Kids Take the Stage: Helping Young People Discover the Creative Outlet of Theater
• Emphasis: To stimulate imagination and sensory response
• Directions for Playing: Pass an object such as a pen or pencil around to each person. Heave each one use the object as if it's something else. For instance, a pen could become a baton, a thermometer, a spyglass, an umbrella, a microphone, and so on. Keep going until the ideas run out.

You

• Recommended Age/ Grade: Ages 10 and up, Grade 5 and up.
• Number of Participants: Entire Class
• Source: www.creativedrama.com
• Emphasis: Group Cohesion, Communication Skills
• Directions for Playing: Participants stand in a circle. One person gestures toward another and says, "You". The next person gestures toward another doing the same thing. Each time the "you" is passed the energy and volume increases. When the next person can not improve on the energy and volume, the "you" begins to decrease until it is only mouthed. At this point, the "you" is passed only through the eyes.

Who's the Leader?

• Recommended Age/ Grade: Any age group
• Number of Participants: The entire class
• Source: Classmate from Block 1
• Emphasis: Deduction, inspection skills
• Directions for Playing: One person in the class is chosen to be a detective and is sent out of the classroom. The remaining students decide who will be the leader of the group. The leader starts doing a simple motion and the rest of the students mimic the leader. The detective is told to enter the room to discover who the leader is. While the detective
  is looking at all of the suspects, the leader will make a change in the motion, and everyone will follow along. Once the detective discovers who the leader is, a new round begins.

Murder Mystery

• Players: Usually around four to five in one round
• Grade Level: Middle School & up
• Directions: One person is chosen as the starter, and all other players must exit the room. The group, as a whole must come up with an occupation, weapon and a place where the crime happened. Once this is decided the starter is left standing and the first player enters the room. Without using words the starter must try to tell the player all three details
  that the group decided on. Gibberish and noises can be incorporated to the action. The player pats his/her noise and makes a sound when the starter can go on to the next clue. Once the player thinks they have figured out all three, "takes the weapon" (miming it of course) and the starter falls to the ground. This process is repeated with each succession. The result is to see if all three items stayed the same throughout the game. It's like a twisted form of telephone.

Our Trip

• Players: A big group is needed
• Grade Level: 4th & up
• Directions: There are two people who get to be narrators and a group of people, (no less than five) who get to be the postcard. Everyone decides on the title of the trip, for instance: going camping or shopping at the mall. The lights are turned off and the big group gets into a giant posed position having to do with the storyline. It is up to the two narrators to tell us the story of what happened on the trip by using by looking at how the group is posed.

The Rhythm and Name Game

• Players: A big group is needed
• Grade Level: All
• Directions: Everyone starts by standing in a big circle. One person establishes a basic rhythm with their feet, and the whole group follows this until everyone has it down. Still keeping this sound going, everyone goes around the circle saying their name using this same rhythm, and each time the group echoes the person. In the second rotation everyone keeps this rhythm but says their name at different pitches and/or volumes. In the third rotation, everyone adds a gesture or movement while saying their name and still keeping with the rhythm. The group still mimics the person with each rotation.

Human Puzzle

• Players: A big group is needed
• Grade Level: 3rd & up
• Directions: Starts off by clumping together in a small circle. Everyone puts both of their hands in the middle of the circle and grab hands with two different people. Once this is done, the group's job is to carefully untangle themselves without letting go of anyone's hand. This takes communication and patience to get the job done.

Hitchhiker

• Players: 5 in each round
• Grade: 5th & up
• Directions: Start off with five chairs; three in a row in back and two in front, this is now a car. Four people begin seated in the chairs and the front left chair (passenger seat) is empty, and they pretend to be driving in a car. As soon as the first hitchhiker is ready, he/she will wave their arms in the air, and those not currently envolved in the activity shout "hitchhiker." The car stops and the hitchhiker sits in the empty chair. Each hitchhiker must have a very distinct character trait, behavior or way or speaking. When he/she enters the car and starts portraying this, everyone in the car suddenly has this same trait, until another hitchhiker enters. After this happens, when the next hitchhiker is spotted the person in the far right seat exits, and everyone rotates a chair, making room for the new player. There can be as many hitchhikers as desired.

Sound Ball

• Recommended Ages: 8+ Grades 3+
• Number of Participants: 5-20
• Source: Sean Gaffney, playwright and director (MasterWorks Festival)
• Emphasis: Vocalization, Physicality, Sending and Receiving, Eye Contact, Quick Thinking
• Directions: Position students into a circle where each student can see everyone in the group. Begin by having a student throw an imaginary ball of sound at another in the group. The student must physically toss the ball with a sound effect of his or her choice. The receiving student then catches the ball with the same sound effect and then continues by sending the ball to someone else with a different sound and a different toss.

Patterns

• Recommended Ages: 12+ Grades 6+
• Number of Participants: 6-15
• Source: Sean Gaffney
• Emphasis: Focus, Listening, Sending and Receiving, Eye Contact
• Directions: Students begin in a circle. The instructor chooses a topic, like, favorite colors. One student then points and makes eye contact with another in the circle and says a color. The student has to remember the color and the person they
  sent it to. Then once everyone has been given a color and a pattern has been established around the circle, they choose a new topic and a new pattern. The key is to get it fast even with two or even three patterns going on at the same time.

Big Bootie

• Recommended Ages: 10+ Grades 5+
• Number of Participants: 9-13
• Source: Sean Gaffney
• Emphasis: Listening, Quick Thinking, Rhythm, ENERGY!!
• Directions: Big Bootie is a fun high energy warm up where the participants stand in a banana shape, numbered Big Bootie to 8. The object is to be Big Bootie and stay Big Bootie. After Big Bootie the numbers then start at 1.For purpose of rhythm, it's best if the game is only played with monosyllabic numbers. The game starts with the theme Big Bootie, Big Bootie, Big Bootie, ooooooh yeah! then Big Bootie will kick things off by saying Big Bootie number (whatever) and then, keeping rhythm, the number Big Bootie called will have to say his or her number and then call on someone else. The student is out if they are out of rhythm or if they stumble on a word... OR if they have low energy and refuse to dance and shout... (which shouldn't be a problem.) The participants work their way to Big Bootie by getting the people out in front of their number, if they are so inclined. A line is formed behind the last number in the banana. The people who are in line still participate by keeping energy up, by being judges, and by keeping rhythm.

Press Conference

• Recommended Ages: 13+ Junior High+
• Number of Participants: 6-10
• Source: Sean Gaffney
• Emphasis: Quick Thinking, Listening, Working Together
• Directions: One student goes out of the room, the others decide what celebrity or character the one on the outside is... They then fetch the student and begin asking questions at a press conference that might help reveal who the character is. When the student realizes his or her character, they finish by somehow acknowledging who they are... if they are
  Big Bird, they might say, "That’s all the time I have for now, I have to meet Snuffy for lunch."

English Gibberish

• Recommended Ages: High School
• Number of Participants: 2
• Source: Sean Gaffney
• Emphasis: Quick Thinking, Listening, Vocalization, Sending and Receiving, Teamwork, Accepting What is Given and Adding on
• Directions: This is an advanced game. One student can only speak in gibberish, the other can only use English, however, they both completely understand each other. Someone watching will yell switch or will have some sort of a whistle or bell, and then the participants will switch languages. The trick is to keep the scene alive even with limited communication.

Puppets

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 10 and up; Grade 5 and up
• Number of Participants: 2-20 (need an even number)
• Source: The Drama Guide (http://expage.com)
• Emphasis: Imagination, Team work, and Movement
• Directions: Put the students in pairs. One person is the puppet and the other person is the Puppeteer. The puppeteer manipulates the invisible string on the puppet to walk, move, and talk (puppeteer does the voice) while the person being the puppet tries to follow what his partner is making him do. After a few minutes the partners should switch roles.

Tableaux Transitions

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 10 and up; Grade 5 and up
• Number of Participants: 6-20
• Source: Augusto Boal (www.staircase.org)
• Emphasis: Imagination and Creativity
• Directions: Players need to be put in pairs (but this can also be done in teams of 2-4). They need to create an initial frozen picture (tableaux) that depicts a relationship. For example one person is the quarterback, they could be about ready to throw the football, while the other person is receiving the ball. Then the receiver leaves the tableaux while the other partner remains frozen and he/she need to examine the frozen quarterback and come up with a new tableaux based on the image by entering the picture in a different way. The former receiver now could place himself in front of the quarterback and crouch as if afraid he/she is about to get hit. The frozen quarterback then leaves his role and creates another relationship to go with the crouching and fearful person. Maybe he/she can pretend to grab the person's hair. And this goes on for some time until the instructor ends the game. To keep things moving, the instructor count to 5 in between poses.

Digits

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 12 and up; Grade 6 and up
• Number of Participants: 6-20
• Source: Improvisational Comedy Theatre Structures (www.staircase.org/structures)
• Emphasis: Team work, Concentration, and Patience
• Directions: Get the class in a circle and have them close their eyes. Someone will count off the number one and then someone else will count the number two. No one knows who will be speaking next. If two or more people speak at the same time then the group must start over again. The class should try to count to 20 in this fashion.

Who am I?

• Recommends Ages/Grades: Ages 12 and up; Grades 6 and up
• Number of Participants: 6-20
• Source: Karen Jochimsen (www.eslcafe.com/ideas)
• Emphasis: Communication
• Directions: Instructor needs to create enough index cards, one for each student, with a name of a celebrity on one side. The instructor can chose a specific category (ex. music celebrities, actors and actresses, fruit, vegetables, etc.). Each person will have the index card taped to their back and they need to ask their classmates yes or no questions to try and figure out what is on the back of their card. They can only ask a maximum of 5 questions per person. This can be played in a group or by the full class.

I Spy

• Recommended Ages/Grades: Ages 10 and up; Grades 4 and up
• Number of Participants: 6-20
• Source: Rachel Newcombe (I did not make up the game, but I remembered playing it as a child in class)
• Emphasis: Communication and Working Together
• Directions: One person needs to leave the room while the rest of the class chooses an object in the room. Then they call the person that left, back into the room. The person needs to ask yes/no questions to the class to try and figure out what object the class chose. Once that person guesses (they should get no more than 5 tries) then the instructor can chose another person to go outside.

Whose Behind the Curtain

• Age: 5+
• Number of Participants: 8+
• Source: Puppertry for Children class at ASU
• Emphasis: Quick thinking and memory
• Materials: A pole and a curtain or some sort of big fabric to throw over the pole.
• How to play: Split the class into two groups and review everyone's name. Then the teacher or whoever is in charge needs to stand on a chair or table with the pole and the curtain thrown over it. The two teams must all stand
  behind the curtain. Then one person from each team stands directly behind the curtain. The teacher lowers the curtain and the person who guesses the name of the other person first wins a point. You can play as many times as you want, or set a certain number of points a team must get to before they win.

Anything Fabric

• Age: 5+
• Number of Participants: 5-20
• Source: www.creativedrama.com/theatre.htm
• Emphasis: Stimulates creativity and multiple answers for the same question
• Materials: A piece of fabric, about a yard square, solid color or pattern
• How to play: Participants stand in a circle. The leader shows the fabric to the participants saying "What could this fabric be? We are going to pass it around the circle and each of you are going to show us something it could become." The leader demonstrates, turning the fabric into something and stating what it is. Then the fabric is passed from person to person. If an idea is repeated then the teacher asks the student to be more specific.

Blob

• Age: 7+
• Number of Participants: 5-40
• Source: www.creativedrama.com/theatre.htm
• Emphasis: team work and togetherness
• How to play: Participants spread out in an enclosed area and Blob is chosen. At the leader's signal, the Blob begins trying to tag another participant. When the Blob succeeds in tagging a participant, that person latches to on to the Blob, becoming the Blob. Blob continues to try to tag others, and as they get tagged, they also join the Blob. Eventually, everyone becomes the Blob, and there is no one left to be tagged. Encourage both groups of participants as they try to avoid or assimilate, and remember that the last person tagged is not the winner and the first person tagged is not the loser. Play two times, so the second time the participants can work together to tag people or to stay away from people.

Movie Star Name

• Recommended Ages: 7 and up
• Number of Participants: up to 30
• Source: Kid Zone
• Emphasis: Memory stimulation, ice breaker
• Directions: Get in a circle, go around the room having each person say their "movie star name" which consists of the name of their first pet for their first name and the first street they lived on for their last name.

Emotion Party

• Age: 10+
• Number of Participants: 5-15
• Source: www.creativedrama.com/theatre.htm
• Emphasis: Improvisation
• How to play: One person begins, as the host, with a neutral emotion. The first guest knocks or rings the bell (saying knock-knock or ding-dong), and enters in highly charged emotional state. Emotions that work well with the exercise include excitement, fear, anger, jealousy, joy, sadness, etc.. As soon as the host picks up on the emotion, she "catches" it and interacts with the guest. The next guest comes in with a different emotion. Things get more chaotic as more guest come in. Once the first guest has entered, the participants can interact with different people until they notice a change in the emotion, and then they must adapt tht emotion. The participants should not watch the new guest for the emotional state, rather, they should let the emotion "travel" to them as it will. To make things really tricky, two guests could enter at the same time with different emotions. The participants will be really wired after this game, so plan accordingly to use that energy.

Mime Down The Alley

• Age: 10+
• Number of Participants: 8-10/line (two groups of 8-10)
• Source: www.creativedrama.com/theatre.htm
• Emphasis: Skills Development
• Material: Items the children can mime
• How to play: Participants are divided into groups of eight or ten people. Each group sits in a straight line, facing backward except for the first person. Participants are not allowed to talk at any point in the game. The first person in each line is given an object to mime. The only requirement is that it can be shown in pantomime in the seated position. The first person taps the second person in line on the shoulder so that they turn to face each other. The first person mimes the object and when the second person knows what it is they nod their head. Than the object is mimed to the next person, traveling down the line to the last person. The objective is for the pantomime of the object is clear enough each time that it stays the same object all the way down the line. Usually, the object changes into something entirely different-the interesting thing is to see how it changed along the line. Each person should tell the others what they thought the object was, and discuss what they saw the others demonstrating.

Flock Dance

• Recommended Ages/Grades: 7 and up
• Number of Participants: At least 6
• Source: About.com (theatre games)
• Emphasis: Physical warm up and ice breaker
• Directions: First person starts to move and then the two people behind him/her mimic the movements and the last 3 people mimic those two. The movements get distorted as they move further toward the back of the "pyramid". The leader changes the movements and starts again.

Slow Motion Samurai

• Recommended Ages: 8th grade and up (the violence was a factor)
• Number of Participants: infinite
• Source: About.com (warm up games)
• Emphasis: Warm up, community
• Directions: Everyone mills randomly around the room, then they are directed to start moving in slow motion. They are then told to pretend they are samurai warriors with poisonous blades built into their forearms. If you get touched, you have to die a poisoned death in slow motion.

Following Game Submitted by Will Weigler

**Check out Will's new book - STRATEGIES FOR PLAY BUILDING - The 2002 AATE Distinguished Book Award Winner! - at www.willweigler.com/index.html

Group Juggle

• Emphasis: This exercise requires three or more beanbags, although socks filled with a cup of dried peas or beans and then knotted will do just fine.
• What to do: Standing in a circle, one actor in the group tosses a beanbag (nice and easy, underhand) to the person who is standing just to the right of whomever is directly across from him. In order to get the receiver's attention, he calls her name and makes sure she hears him before he tosses her the beanbag. If he doesn't know her name, he first needs to ask her what it is. After she catches it, she tosses the beanbag to the person standing across the circle, just to the right of the person who threw it to her. She likewise calls his name and makes sure he's heard her and knows it's coming. He catches it and tosses it to the right of the person who threw it to him, and so forth. Once the beanbag has gone around the circle, another beanbag is added, and then another. Each actor will have beanbags coming from every direction, always preceded by a tosser calling the receiver's name. Once the group becomes adept, the challenge can be increased by adding more bags or selectively alternating directions. That is, the yellow beanbags must be tossed to the right of the person who tossed it, but the red beanbag is tossed to the left, and so forth. If someone drops a beanbag, no harm done, he just picks it up and tosses it back into the mix.
• There is no naturally obvious ending to this exercise. It will often just fizzle out when the majority of the beanbags accidentally land on the ground. To make it end on a more triumphant note, the director can call out: ""On the count of three, toss the beanbags into the center of the circle, reach up and take each other's hands. One...two...THREE!"
• The point: The task itself, tossing and catching a beanbag across a circle, is fairly easy. So is the one (initial) rule, throwing it to the right of the person who threw it to you. Starting with one beanbag gives the participants a chance to get the hang of it slowly. But before long, the relentlessness of the arriving beanbags makes it impossible for a mind to wander. The air is full of flying objects. Everyone's peripheral vision is wide open. Where did that one come from? Where is this one going? When no one is dropping the beanbags, especially if they're brightly colored, the exercise can be pretty spectacular and exhilarating. In addition, a Group Juggle is a good way to learn names.
• To design exercises along the lines of a Group Juggle, come up with two or more repeatable physical or verbal tasks which are easy to perform by themselves but which are different enough as to make it challenging to perform together. Start with one, and then gradually introduce the other(s).

Following Games Submitted by Adrienne Effron

Twizzle

• Emphasis: movement & concentration game.
• Set up: Students walk even distance apart in a circle.
• Directions: Twizzle master calls out 3-4 basic commands in alternating order: Jump (180 degree jump and freeze), turn
  (reverse direction and continue moving) and twizzle (360 jump and freeze). Students who don't freeze, or moving in wrong direction are out. I ask those students who are out to help me spot those still left in the circle.

Huggy Bear 1-2-3 (Survivor)

• Emphasis: movement game, good to get to know you and break down group dynamics.
• Set up: There is a caller and students are spread out in a room.
• Directions: The object is to make the groupings as instructed. Students must quickly get into groups of 5-or 4 or 2 as called out; anyone who is left out of a grouping can come with me to help decide what is the next grouping called out. The students enjoy huddling together and being one of the last "survivors".
• For my 8th graders, then I often call this game "survivor" because in order for some of them to stay in it they make and break their quick allegiances with the other players.

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