When you hear the term “theater games”, you might think they are all fun and goofing around. Or, you might be thinking “what is a theater game?” The truth is theater (or drama) games are a fun and interactive way for adults to explore their creativity, build confidence, and improve overall communication and teamwork.
The skills that one needs to be successful in many job environments can be honed through theater games that are actually really fun. These games are often used as a team-building exercise in corporate settings, schools, and other organizations. Include some theater games in your next company retreat to see a whole new side of your team!
Without further ado, let’s dive into 26 of the most popular theater games.
Best theater and drama games for groups
1. Yes, and
This game is all about collaboration and building on each other's ideas. One person starts with a statement, and the other person must say "yes, and" then add to it. You can begin with a fun statement or something related to your work or team. Many people use this form of game for improv exercises where the comments pertain to made-up events.
2. “Pass the energy” circle
People love this one because it’s high-energy and good for engaging groups. Here are the steps: begin with everyone in a circle. Have a “caller” who will kick off the game by choosing a noise to make (such as “ahh” or “boom”). The person next to them must replicate the noise and it goes around the circle until it gets to the last person, who makes a new noise. Everyone should try to make the noise as fast as possible around the group. If you want to add some extra fun, try timing the exercise for each sound and seeing how fast the group can run through a single noise.
3. Sound and movement
Have everyone stand in a circle. One volunteer should go into the middle of the circle and make a sound and a motion. For example, they might stop their feet and say “clomp, clomp”. That particular sound and movement should be repeated by everyone in the circle. Then a new person should enter the circle and do the same thing, until everyone has had a chance to come up with their own sound and motion for people to repeat. It’s usually easiest to go in a clockwise order, but you can also have people volunteer for a turn at random.
4. Alphabet game
This game involves going through the alphabet and finding words that fit a specific category. For example, you could choose animals as a category. You would start with the letter “A” and the circle would be responsible for coming up with different animals that begin with A, then B, and so on (so relevant answers could be ant, beaver, etc).
5. Try not to laugh
This is another one that’s great for groups. Choose one person to be “invisible”. Everyone should also pretend that the player can’t be seen. They can do anything except interact directly with the invisible player. The entire time, the invisible player should be trying to make them laugh. Any player that does end up laughing must leave the game. Ideally this game goes on until there’s only one player left (the winner).
6. Pass the clap
Pass applause around the circle! To play, participants should gather in a circle and the leader will start the clap. Other players take turns clapping in a clockwise direction until the leader makes the final clap. There are some other variations, too. For example, the participants can start the clap slowly and then gradually increase the tempo over rounds.
7. One-word story
Storytelling exercises help people to overcome shyness and work on their articulation skills. In this game, a group of people takes turns saying one word to create a story. Start in a circle and move clockwise or counter-clockwise. Many times this exercise starts with “Once upon a time” and goes from there. The final players should say “the end”.
8. Drama-freeze
Best for small groups, this option can be really interesting. You start with pairs of two and a supervisor. The first team will act out a spontaneous scene without discussing it beforehand. While they do so, the supervisor of the game calls out “freeze” (any time they want). At that time the acting team must remain still. Then the next team of two begins and will start upon the supervisor saying “action”. They need to come up with a scene entirely different from the one from the pair before them. This will go on until each team gets a turn to act and freeze.
9. Gibberish conversation
Two people have a conversation in “gibberish” (essentially made-up, nonsense language), and each person must try to understand what the other is saying.
10. Jump over the imaginary ball
This is a warm-up game for many theater groups. It involves leaping over an imaginary ball. Everyone should stand in a circle and the leader will throw “the ball” to a participant. They jump over it and pretend that it rolls to another person for them to jump over. The game goes until everyone has had a chance to jump.
11. Mirror game
Two people stand across from each other and mirror each other's movements, trying to stay in sync.
12. Family portraits
A group of people creates a tableau of a specific group member. Everyone must work together to put together an image that closely resembles the subject.
13. Emotional status
One person assigns an emotion to another person, and they must act out that emotion. You can choose the emotions off the cuff or write down several and tear them into little slips that you draw from. It’s extra fun if you choose more obscure emotions aside from the usual “anger”, “happy” - try “envious” or “in love”.
14. Freeze
Slightly different from the drama-freeze game above, this exercise encourages more individual participation. Two people act out a scene, and then someone yells "freeze," and another person comes in and takes over the scene. It’s best to do this in an orderly fashion where the next participants are in a circle that you move around (or a line that you run down).
15. Communication chain
This is a great game for a team and involves participants expressing activities through gestures. Have everyone stand in a line facing the same direction. The last person on this line is the lead. They should write down an action (such as “I was walking my dog and tripped and fell”). The person next to them in line acts out the particular action without any verbal cues, and then the next person in line does the same, and so on. The first person at the beginning of the line will have to guess what the action was.
16. Who am I?
One person writes a name on a piece of paper and sticks it on another person's forehead. They must ask yes or no questions to figure out who they are. If you have ever played the game 20 questions (or the fun iPhone game of Heads Up) then you’re familiar with the premise.
17. Red ball
A group of people pass around an imaginary red ball and must come up with a story about where it has been. You can change the color of the ball or even the imaginary object, the point is to mix up the start and stop of the story and get creative.
18. Zip, Zap, Zop
This game is sort of like hot potato without a ball. Start with everyone in a circle. The first player should clap their hands, point to another player in the circle, and say “zip”. The pointed-to player must immediately clap, point to another person, and say “zap”. The third player says “zop” and continues the pattern. The process should repeat with everyone saying “zip, zap, zop” until each person has had a turn. For a little extra challenge, try to increase your speed as you go through second or third rounds of the game.
19. Blind drawing
Similar to a live-action game of Pictionary! In pairs, one person describes an object, and the other person must draw it without seeing it.
20. Storytelling circle
A group of people takes turns telling a story, with each person adding a sentence. You can choose a theme ahead of time or try an improv prompt (more on that below), or just ask the first person to wing it and go from there!
21. Word at a time
A group of people takes turns saying one word to create a sentence.
22. Heads up, heads down
This one is ideal for small or medium size groups. The goal of the game is to eliminate players who make eye contact. First, choose a person who will shout out the directions. Then players should gather in a large circle with their heads down. When the leader calls “up”, the players must raise their heads simultaneously, look towards another player, and pause. Then the supervisor will say “down” and players put their heads down. These actions go back and forth and if two players happen to look at each other directly, they are out of the game. This continues until there is a winner.
23. Dance-freeze
A very popular high-energy game, this one is great for students and teams. You’ll need music that you can dance to and participants that aren’t too shy about dancing. The concept is simple: everyone must dance when music is playing. When the music stops, everyone must freeze just as they were when they were in motion. Anyone who keeps dancing is out of the game and it continues until there is a single winner.
24. Call a number
This circle game is ideal for warming up and gaining energy. Follow these steps: First, give all of the players ordered numbers (so if there are 15 players there would be numbers 1-15). Players should gather in a circle and then choose someone to go first. The player will mention a random number within the range of numbers you are playing with. The player with the number mentioned must respond by mentioning the number of another player. The game continues with players responding when another player calls their number. If a player doesn’t respond right away when their number is called, they are out.
25. Stop and walk
This is a high-energy game that's great for groups. Use it to warm up large groups in a fun way or break up long periods of sitting such as during training. All the participants should “walk” and “stop” on the commands of a leader. The leader should repeat the two commands several times so everyone gets used to it - and then switch commands to “trick” people. For example, saying “stop” two times in a row. You can also add in other commands like “jump” or “turn around”. There’s no real winner, it’s just about everyone being silly and moving their bodies.
26. Night watchman
Both small groups and big groups can benefit from this exercise. The game involves players imitating a statue under the watch of a “night watchman”. They should try to move without getting caught. You’ll have to choose a night watchman at the beginning of the game; this person can move about freely while everyone else should behave like a statue. Players can try to take steps, but the night watchman must not see them move. If they see someone move, that person is out of the game. In some variations, the night watchman can do things to make the players move, but they shouldn’t touch them directly. You can also make this a no-winner game where the last person caught moving becomes the new night watchman.
How do you play theater games? Some best practices
Theater games were normally used in dramatic groups for warming up, improving physicality, and relating to each other. However, many groups have realized that there is plenty we can all learn from adding some drama games to our team activities. That being said, it makes sense to do some planning ahead of time and follow some best practices.
Here are some tips to follow to ensure your theater games are fun, successful, and engaging.
- Be organized. What supplies will you need to play your chosen theater games? The items you might need range from paper and pen to accessories, balls, and more. Plan ahead and make sure that you are prepared for all the games you want to play. Do you have enough? For example, if you want to play a game where each person writes something, that will take a while if 20 people have to share the same pen. Space is the other big consideration. Games like dance-freeze require more space. If you’re in a small conference room, choose drama games accordingly.
- Set clear expectations. Make sure the rules are properly explained to everyone and that all participants understand the goals of the game. The group should be clear on what you want to happen before you begin the theater group session.
- Try an improv prompt generator using AI tools. If you don’t want to use tools then plan ahead and keep a list of options handy. This will make it easier to come up with options to get everyone’s creative juices flowing without getting stumped. For example, you might come up with prompts like “Your team is having a meeting to come up with new fortune cookie ideas” or “The worst grand opening of a restaurant ever”.
- Choose a coordinator who will manage the other participants. You’ll notice that most of the games above mention having a “leader” who kicks things off or passes things to other participants. You might choose to change this up for each game, but it can often be easier to have that person chosen ahead of time. Then you don’t waste valuable minutes at the beginning of each exercise waiting for a leader to volunteer.
- Be inclusive. Keep everyone’s skills and limitations in mind. You might be surprised how often this aspect gets overlooked, but the truth is that everyone has different capabilities. You might have people with physical disabilities or crippling fear of public speaking on your team. You wouldn’t want to play dance-freeze with a group of very elderly people, for example. Make sure you’ve taken the time to understand the physical capabilities and concerns of people on your team and choose activities that accommodate them.
- End on a positive note. Remember, the games are supposed to be fun. No matter what your larger goals are - such as breaking the ice in a company event or getting creative juices flowing - you should feel that the activities you plan help with efforts. Make sure to close the session on an optimistic and upbeat note. You want everyone to feel engaged and energized moving into your next activity.
The benefits of theater games for groups
Dramatic exercises are not just for theater kids. Schools, businesses, and groups of all shapes and sizes have figured out that theater games can increase collaboration, productivity, and engagement. Give them a try and you might experience:
- Self-confidence - Taking risks and speaking in front of an audience is intimidating for most people. Theater games are a way to put yourself out there in a low-risk environment.
- Increased creativity - Having the opportunity to come up with new ideas and flex your imagination can really ramp up your creative side. If you are in a corporate environment theater games can be a great way to add to brainstorming or other creative endeavors.
- More collaboration - No matter what industry you’re in, cooperation is a good skill to hone and will help with most professions. These games incorporate the skills and input of everyone, allowing people to get to know each other better.
- Better communication skills - Drama supports verbal and non-verbal expression of ideas. Use these games as opportunities to improve articulation, voice projection, fluency of language, and persuasive speech.
- Physicality - Ever sat in an hours-long work session and started to nod off? It can be difficult for people to be at their best if they are stuck in the same seat for extended periods of time. Mix things up and allow people to stretch their muscles by playing a few games.
- Building trust - Most people feel some degree of vulnerability when doing anything in front of a group. Making team-building more fun by incorporating games where everyone is in the same boat, allowing people to feel more secure and get to know their teammates.
- Fun! - One of the best aspects of theater games is that they are entertaining. No matter who your participants are, they’ll appreciate you taking the time to plan some out-of-the-box activities. If you are working on a retreat or company offsite, make sure to incorporate some drama games to mix things up.
In conclusion, theater games are an excellent way for adults to improve their communication, collaboration, and teamwork skills. These games are fun, interactive, and can be tailored to fit any group size or setting. Whether you are in a corporate or educational setting, participating in theater games can help you break out of your shell and improve your personal and professional development.
If you are looking for other ways to improve your company team-building, consider planning a retreat with Surf Office. We bring a decade of experience and over 100 retreat locations to the planning process, creating fun and productive events seamlessly. Our job is to make your job easier! Get a quote for your next team-building retreat today.
