Best Bits
Age: 7 years +
Players: Small Groups
Time: 5 minutes
Tags: #Collaboration #Improvisation
Quickly share group work
When groups develop scenes or improvisations, they inevitably want to show them to the rest of the class. With several groups takes a while, especially when the mind begins to wander. So when students have finished devising, ask them to choose the ‘best bit’ of their improvisation and to prepare a Freeze Frame of that moment. Then when it’s their turn, ask each group to make the freeze frame and use Action Clip to bring it to life. That way, everybody gets to show their favourite moments in a much shorter space of time without (literally) losing the plot!
Director’s Tip
- When younger students ‘perform’ a scene, they are usually devising it all over again and it’s difficult for them to know when to stop. And by the time the last group is up, they really have forgotten what they planned. So try ‘Best Bits’ – everyone’s a winner!
Count To 20
A classic concentration and focus exercise, where the group tries to count to twenty.
Daft Definitions
Put random words together to invent new concepts! Great storytelling warm-up.
Drama Games for Story Books
Two amazing drama activities for bringing story books to life through drama!
Family Portraits
Groups make family portraits by striking funny poses.
Fruit Salad
A fun game encouraging fast reactions and verbal dexterity by saying the names of fruits.
Grandma’s Footsteps
This classic playground game is perfect for exploring dramatic tension. Plenty of fun, surprise and cheating!
Groovy Image Factory
Quickly generate repeating actions and sounds or words
Guess Who I Am
A fun way of creating characters from any picture.
Imaginarium
An exciting and completely unpredictable way to quickly develop a scene
Night Watchman
The museum is closed for the night. The watchman is making his rounds. But something strange is going on...
One Word At A Time
A story is told by the group or in pairs, with each person adding one word at a time.
Open and Close
A brilliant method of performing a series of freeze-frames to tell a story in a drama lesson.
Pecking Order
Can you work out where you stand in the pecking order?
Poetry in Motion
Poetry can be explored and presented effectively through drama and movement
Random Sound Stories
A story is told by the group or in pairs, with each person adding one word at a time.
Sculptor and Statue
In pairs, create a still image where one of you has a higher status than the other and let others
Shoe Shuffle
Develop imagination and mime skills using everyday objects
Siren (Voice Warm-Up)
An effective and easy humming warm up for exploring and extending the vocal range.
Soundscapes
The group is conducted to create a sound picture or “soundscape” using their voices and bodies.
Status Pictures
In pairs, create a still image where one of you has a higher status than the other.
Story Orchestra
The group tells a story, with a conductor guiding the narrative
Ten Second Objects
Drama game - groups make the shape of an object using their bodies - in only ten seconds!
Three Changes
An observation and getting to know you game - with online version
Three Word Sentences
Sometimes three words are just enough.
Two Truths And A Lie
Play online or live - tell your partner three things about yourself – two of which are true and one
What Are You Doing?
Quick thinking and action is essential in this funny mime and spoken language drama game.
Where Do You Stand? (inc Online Version)
A fast and effective way of discovering everybody’s opinions about a subject - online or offline.
