Need a last minute drama lesson plan or a classroom filler? This is an easy, fun workshop that doesn't require any materials, just a good imagination.
![Free Emergency Lesson Plan for Drama Classroom Basic Improv Workshop Filler]( "Free Emergency Lesson Plan for Drama Classroom Basic Improv Workshop Filler")
This improv workshop is free, but I ask that anyone who uses this lesson provide any suggestions and improvements in the comments below.
THE HOOK!
Ask the following questions:
What is acting?
Who are your favorite actors?
What types of acting do people do? (i. e. 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. Here are some good acting warmups that actors use.
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...
Lesson (the why): 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.
Lesson: 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.
Lesson: Good actors pay attention to the other actors in a scene.
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.
Discussion: 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.
Discussion: 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.
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).
Then a good way to end the workshop and calm students down is with the Happy Place game.
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.
Conclusion:
Ask which games the students liked best.
Ask students what they learned about acting from the games.
Ask why teamwork is important for actors.
Bonus games:
Here Comes Jack and Jill: Students get up in groups of four. Two of the team members describe what the other two (Jack and Jill) are like and then the two others enter and act the way they were described. After everyone gets a turn and if everyone is having fun, then the teams can go again and switch roles.
Silly Walk (Copy the Leader): All the actors to get into line and follow a leader in a circle around the room. The leader does a silly walk. After one time around the room a new person calls out “that’s not a very silly walk" and starts a new silly walk that everyone must copy.
For more improv games (which are great for emergency lesson plans, last minute lessons, or fillers) go to http://www.freedrama.net/improv.html
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This improv workshop is free, but I ask that anyone who uses this lesson provide any suggestions and improvements in the comments below.
THE HOOK!
Ask the following questions:
What is acting?
Who are your favorite actors?
What types of acting do people do? (i. e. 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. Here are some good acting warmups that actors use.
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...
Lesson (the why): 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.
Lesson: 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.
Lesson: Good actors pay attention to the other actors in a scene.
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.
Discussion: 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.
Discussion: 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.
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).
Then a good way to end the workshop and calm students down is with the Happy Place game.
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.
Conclusion:
Ask which games the students liked best.
Ask students what they learned about acting from the games.
Ask why teamwork is important for actors.
Bonus games:
Here Comes Jack and Jill: Students get up in groups of four. Two of the team members describe what the other two (Jack and Jill) are like and then the two others enter and act the way they were described. After everyone gets a turn and if everyone is having fun, then the teams can go again and switch roles.
Silly Walk (Copy the Leader): All the actors to get into line and follow a leader in a circle around the room. The leader does a silly walk. After one time around the room a new person calls out “that’s not a very silly walk" and starts a new silly walk that everyone must copy.
For more improv games (which are great for emergency lesson plans, last minute lessons, or fillers) go to http://www.freedrama.net/improv.html
