It’s not just for summer camp anymore! While theater games are a favorite among kids, they have a lot to offer adult actors as well. If you’re hoping to hone your memorization skills or work on your projection (all while having a little fun), read on.
1. Zip! Zap! Zop!
How to play: Players stand in a circle. The first player begins by exclaiming “zip!” and gesturing (pointing, clapping, etc.) in the direction of another player across the circle. That player then points to a third player while exclaiming “zap!,” and that third player points at another player while shouting “zop!” Then the pattern repeats itself over and over, slowly getting faster until some player inevitably messes up. There are several more advanced variations of this game, including adding a fourth move called “boing,” which sends the game back to the person who sent it; eliminating the player who ruins the pattern until only three are left standing; and giving “zip,” “zap,” and “zop” their own unique gestures or corresponding moves.
Why play? A classic with kids because it’s high energy and legitimately fun, Zip! Zap! Zop! is a great game for any actor to play early in a warmup or rehearsal. It gets you into your body, hones your concentration, and helps you focus on healthy projection, all of which are important for the stage.
2. Cat and Mouse
How to play: All players are blindfolded (or trusted to keep their eyes closed). One player is chosen to be the cat, while all others are mice. The objective of the cat is to find all of the mice, while the objective of the mice is simple: Don’t get caught. As the group carefully moves about the room, if any two players bump into each other, they have to make their identity known—either by squeaking or meowing. If the cat bumps into a mouse, the mouse is out of the game. If two mice bump into each other, they are safe—but that squeaking will certainly alert the cat to their whereabouts. If playing in a large group, you can also add a dog character, who can catch both cats and mice.
Why play? While Cat and Mouse is best played in a classroom or rehearsal room (tumbling off a stage blindfolded won’t teach you anything about acting), it’s still a useful addition to any theater game rotation. It requires actors to exercise both their spatial awareness and their listening skills, and it can be just as informative to play as to watch once eliminated.
3. One Word Story
How to play: Players sit in a circle and attempt to tell a story. The catch? They only get to contribute one word at a time. Starting with one player, game play moves clockwise around the circle as each person adds one word to the story (so, the first player would say “once,” the second would say “upon,” the third would say “a,” etc.). This continues for as long as players want, until the story reaches a logical conclusion, at which point the last two players will say “the” and “end.”
Why play? This is a great game to practice active listening skills (the story has to make sense, after all), with a dash of creativity and improv mixed in.
4. Mirror
How to play: Actors are paired up with a partner. The objective is simple: Try to behave like two halves of a mirror. While it may happen that one partner inevitably leads while the other follows, this should not be assigned but rather occur organically as the exercise continues. It shouldn’t be apparent to an outside observer that anyone is leading or following.
Why play? Popularized by Viola Spolin in her revolutionary Theater Games System, Mirror is a great theater exercise because it encourages actors to put all of their focus on their partner, while still remaining active in their own bodies. If this sounds really academic for such a simple exercise, it is—focusing on your partner is one of the main tenets of Konstantin Stanislavsky’s system.
8 Acting Exercises for the Well-Prepared Performer5. Dinner Party
How to play: One actor is chosen to play the host and is sent out of the room. The remaining actors are assigned different roles (famous people, fictional characters, etc.). The host is then brought back into the room and begins pretending to host a party. As the different “guests” arrive, the host’s objective is to correctly identify all of the guests. They can ask any questions they want, or might prefer to observe the guests interacting with one another, all while keeping up the pretense of being the host of a party. Once a guest is correctly identified, they “go home” and leave the game. Game play ends when the host has identified all the guests.
Why play? Also called Party Favors, Party Quirks, and probably several other names, Dinner Party is a crowd favorite—it’s a lot of fun, both to participate in and to watch. It also encourages actors to sharpen their improvisational skills and think about what it means to embody a character, regardless of whether or not they’re playing a real person, a fictional character, or even an inanimate object.
6. Group Counting
How to play: Actors sit in a circle. The object of the game is deceptively simple: Just count to the highest number possible. Beyond that, there are no rules. Anyone can speak the next number whenever they feel compelled to, regardless of seated order or when they last spoke. The name of the game is reading the room; speak at the same time as someone else, and the game restarts.
Why play? Another one of Spolin’s famous games, Group Counting helps actors to focus on the group dynamic, hone their instincts, and practice working collectively instead of individually.
7. Freeze
How to play: Two actors begin onstage, with the rest observing from the house or the front of the stage. The two actors begin an improvised scene. At any time, one of the actors watching the scene from the house may say “freeze!” The scene freezes, and the actor who called the freeze replaces one of the two frozen actors, assuming the same pose that they froze in. Then the action resumes, but with a completely different scene that’s evoked by the held poses.
Why play? The most obvious example of an improv game on this list, this one offers a lot of benefit to theater actors, regardless of their interest in improvisation as an art form. The nature of live theater means that at one time or another you will be required to think on your feet—and what better way to practice than in a low stakes, creative game?
8. Object Game
How to play: Players sit in a circle. The first actor names an object, then the actor to their left names an object that they associate with that object, and that continues around the circle (so, words might go: elephant, zoo, tiger, lion, jungle, river, and so on). Once everyone has gone, the whole group repeats the exact same sequence, saying the same words they originally did. Then, to take it up a notch, one of the actors must repeat the entire sequence of words. For an added challenge, groups may try going around the circle with the word association several times, to get an even longer sequence.
Why play? The most obvious benefit to this game is that it helps flex your memorization muscles. This one also can serve as a bit of an icebreaker and a good way to get to know your fellow actors, since remembering what everyone said might also help you to remember a bit about them, too.