Improv Workshop from www.freedrama.com
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The script may be printed and copied for free. There is no charge to use the play.
1. All programs, posters, etc. should have the author's name (D. M. Larson) and something that tells about the Freedrama.net website such as "Produced by special arrangement with www.freedrama.net". When you complete the production, it would be appreciated if you would mail a copy of the program to D. M. Larson, 422 Deanna Lee St., Grants, NM 87020.
2. All videos of the plays must be approved in advance of the performance. The videos must have Freedrama.net in the credits and also a link to freedrama.net in the description if the video is placed online.
NOTE: The play may not be reproduced, redistributed or republished in any form without written permission from the author.
Thank you for selecting my script. Have fun and enjoy the play.
Sincerely,
D. M. Larson
This
workshop is free for use in educational situations. In return, I ask that anyone who uses this
workshop provide any suggestions and improvements to the freedrama.com website
(pocolocoplayers@yahoo.com). Plus I also ask that these ideas continue to
be freely exchanged at no cost to anyone.
Introduction
of instructors and introduction to acting.
What is acting? What types of
acting do people do? Movies, television,
theatre. What is theatre like? How is it different from television and
movies?
Do
you want to be actors today? Actors have
to practice and they play games to practice being good actors.
K-6
Honey Walk: All students stand and walk in place. The instructor calls out
different things they must pretend to walk through. Snow, deeper snow, ice, water, mud, jello,
honey...
Actors
have to be good at pretending.
K-6
Pass the Ball: All students in a circle. Ask the
students
to pass a mimed ball to others quickly. Then when it gets back to the
instructor, the instructor changes the ball in some way: it becomes heavier,
until it
weighs
a ton, or extremely light, extremely big (and
light
or heavy) or extremely small (and light or
heavy).
The ball can take on other characteristics (or adjectives) such as hot, cold,
etc. Students need to show the ball's
characteristics in the way it gets passed.
Instructor let students suggest other ways the ball changes to extend the
activity. The instructor can also give
the ball sounds that need to be passed as well and the students must imitate
the sounds.
Have
to be aware of other actors. Good actors
can work with other actors and learn to react to what they are doing.
K-6
Group Stop: Everyone quietly mills about the room. When the instructor yells stop, then everyone
must stop. After doing this a couple of
times, the instructor will freeze in position unexpectedly and not say stop. As
soon as one notices that the instructor has frozen in position they freeze as
well. So the effect of one person freezing causes everyone to freeze. Once
everyone is still the group starts milling around again. The goal is to see how
quickly the group can freeze in position.
Once the students get the hang of it, then the instructor will have
everyone close their eyes. The
instructor will tap a student on the shoulder and that student becomes the
secret leader. Everyone opens their eyes
and then starts moving around the room.
The secret leader freezes and everyone must freeze. The other student then guess who the secret
leader was. If they can’t tell, then
everyone starts again and tries to figure it out. Then the instructor selects a new secret
student and continues. Try to see which
student can be the secret student the longest.
Discuss
how actors need to practice different emotions.
Ask the students if they’ve even been stuck somewhere. Discuss the emotions they felt when they were
stuck. The students may say things like
scared, happy, sad. Once the instructor
gets a variety of answers/emotions, then the next game begins.
K-6
Shrinking Box: Actors pantomine that they are in a
very
large box. At first they might think it
is fun and get excited. The students
show that emotion. Then they might get
mad and show that emotion. Then they
might get sad and cry. Then the box gets smaller. They find the sides of the box and then show
the same three emotions again. The box
shrinks a couple more times until they are on the floor. Then they must figure out a way to escape.
The
students call out ideas and then the instructor picks an idea and they escape
with that idea.
Actors
must learn to copy different characters. Do ever copy something you see in a tv
show or movie? Like Homer Simpson “Doh!”
Copy
cats: The instructor leads the students.
The students must copy everything the instructor does.
Mirror
Exercise: Pair up students. One student is the
mirror
and must copy everything the other student does.
3
Noses: A fun and silly game. Let everyone walk
leisurely
around the room. When you shout '3 Noses'
the
players must form little groups, each group
consisting
of 3 touching noses. Use your imagination -
say
4 feet, 3 hands, 2 ears, 9 fingers, 5 hips, 4
elbows,
3 heads, 7 left big toes, 4 little fingers.
Repeat
till everyone is giggling.
Actors
must be able to do different types of acting. What is a fairy tale?
Fairy
Tale in a Minute: The students pick a fairy tale
(or
get one from the instructor) and then act out the
story
in one minute. For older students:
Then they must act out the same story in 30 seconds. THEN they must act it out
in 10 seconds.
Melodrama:
We have an old fashioned melodrama for you,
but
with a twist. The twists will be based on
suggestions
from other students. We have three
characters:
a damsel in distress, a hero, and a
villain.
Students: you will Boo at Villain, Cheer for
Hero,
Ahhh for Damsel. Students will suggest...
Damsel:
something strange to raise on a farm, Villain:
a
weird form of torture, Hero: an odd weapon someone
might
use to stop a villain.
A
way for actors to practice speaking clearly is Tongue Twisters.
Hidden
Hot Spot: Instructor divides room up in four areas. Students move around and then the instructor
says stop and they must freeze. Then
they reveal what four areas are (sing, dance, exercise, sleep). These can be written on cards. Then students move around the room and the
four areas change (either mix up four areas or add new ones).
Happy
Place: Sit and think about your happy place.
Where is a place you really like to go?
Open your eyes and tell us some of your happy places. Now close your eyes again and imagine doing
something fun in your happy place. With
your eyes closed show us what you’re doing without making any sound. Instructor can pick students who are doing
good pantomime and bring them up front.
Have students guess what they’re doing.
Ends
up in charades.
Another
game: Here Comes Jill
New
idea: Follow the leader to get into line – silly walk – yell out “that’s not a
very silly walk when you have an idea for a fun one.