The success of any collaborative drama activity relies on levels of energy, interaction and communication with the group. Warm-ups are a great way to build connections, release any tension or anxiety and physically prepare students. Get students’ bodies moving and their brains active with basic instructions, building up to more complex exercises and perhaps delegating responsibly for leading the activities to students.
An exercise that will develop students’ teamwork and strategy skills as they work together, using all their senses, to solve a shared challenge. Download game.
A fun drama game with the main objective of trying to make members of the group laugh. Download game.
A simple yet engaging game to raise the energy amongst the group. Download game.
This fun game involves quick thinking and works well as an icebreaker for new groups. Download game.
This is a quick and easy game that will get students up and moving. Download game.
This classic game is quick and easy and involves quick thinking and concentration to stay in the game. Download game.
This is a very energetic game that will get your students warmed up and listening to directions, perfect to play as a warm up. Download game.
Yee-ha!This game is great for encouraging students to demonstrate the energy and enthusiasm required for performance. Download game.
The game is a physical warm up which requires listening and quick responses. As this game requires quick movement around the space, health and safety measures may need to be considered. Download game.
This name game can be adapted to develop focus and concentration skills and can, therefore, also be an effective 'cool down' activity. Download game.
This a great warm up activity, requiring students to concentrate and be alert, it can also be a good tool for learning names. Download game.
These exercises are designed to develop confidence and group interaction skills, transferable to group rehearsals and performance. Learning how to work effectively in groups also develops collaborative communication skills which equip students for success in life and future challenges.
This is a fun drama game which encourages your students to work together. A great exercise for building group dynamics. Download game.
This is a great team—building exercise, as it relies on co—operation between all students for success. You will need three juggling balls (or rolled up socks!) to play. Download game.
A great way for a group to get to know each other. Skills developed include listening, quick physical response and leadership. As this game requires quick movement, health and safety should be considered. Download game.
In this game students must have awareness of the whole group, and their place in it, in order to be successful. Health and safety should be managed due to the physical nature of the game. Download game.
This is an adaptation of the very popular 'Wink murder' game but focusing on physical movements. Students work together to hide the identity of the ‘Leader’. Download game.
This classic drama game is a great activity for building teamwork and communication skills, as well as drama—focussed skills such as improvisation and creativity. Download game.
This is a quick and easy team building activity involving counting from one to three. It sounds simple but requires lots of concentration. Download game.
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Improvising is an excellent way to explore ideas and encourage creativity in students. Improvisation games allow students to become immersed in the moment and better relate to a situation. Responding to stimuli through improvision is also a key rehearsal skill which is assessed in many Trinity drama exams.
This exercise will help to develop your group’s improvisation skills and is great for getting the students used to performing in front of an audience. Download game.
This exercise introduces props to be used with improvisation and encourages students to think more and more creatively as the exercise goes on. Download game.
This improvisation game focuses on character and ensemble performing 'in the moment'. Students need to accept another student’s 'offer' and enter into their imaginary world. Download game.
This is a great game for developing mime skills, and the quick thinking and responding skills needed when improvising. Download game.
This is a fun introduction to improvisation. It works well for groups who are new to improvisation as they don’t have the pressure of producing a whole scene, they just have to react! Download game.
This classic game introduces students to the important improvisation concept of agreeing to, or building on the suggestions or stimulus given to them. Download game.
Are you looking for an accessible way for students to be recognised for their performance achievements? Trinity drama exams for groups and pairs help to build confidence and encourage students to perform to the best of their abilities in a supportive environment. Download your free guide to group assessments here.
Devised exercises do not rely on a script and as such allow students to use their inventiveness to take a concept and build upon this as a group. This flexibility encourages imagination and allows students to explore different situations and emotions.
This exercise involves groups working together to develop a simple scene together in a relatively short period of time. This will get your students thinking quickly and focussing. Download game.
This is a rehearsed improvisation exercise that aims to stretch students’ ability to develop dialogue when devising. Download game.
The focus of this exercise is the development of both character and narrative in devising work for performance. Students will need to have done some preparatory work on use of tableau/still image. Download game.
Devising activities based around ‘flashing forward’ or backward can be key rehearsal tools, encouraging young people to develop their understanding of character, story structure and text. Download game.
A good way for students to develop their understanding of a character is to place the character in a new situation and explore how they might react or behave. Try using our range of suggested stimuli with your students. Download game.
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Games that focus around a specific text allow for students to become fully absorbed in the setting, storyline and characters. Students can relate to the narrative and understand the text when they are able to play-out and visualise this away from the page.
A rehearsed improvisation exercise in which students take on animal traits (physical, vocal, personality etc.) to develop a character for both text and devised work. Download game.
This is a good introduction to the drama form ‘thought tracking’ which can be used both in devised work and when exploring the inner world of a character in off-text work. Download game.
This exercise encourages students to develop a deeper understanding of a character they’re trying to portray by asking them a range of questions about their character. Download game.
This exercise encourages students to focus on the subtleties of acting that can be used to portray something intangible such as status. Download game.
When considering scripts, either as a performance piece or stimulus for devising, it can be tricky to choose a text that captures and maintains the interest of the group for the duration of the project. To help with this, we have suggested some sources for scripts which include suggestions for different ages, group sizes and preferences.
Trinity’s online Anthology offers short text ideas, ideal as inspiration for solo or pairs performances, whilst National Theatre’s Connection plays are longer delivery suggestions written for larger casts. A great place to browse for plays suitable for all cast sizes is Nick Hern Books’ ‘Plays to Perform’ online catalogue.
Each year the National Theatre commissions ten new plays for young people to perform, from the UK's most exciting writers. There is an application process each year for youth theatre groups who would like to perform these new works. Also the scripts for previous Connections Anthologies are available for schools to browse and purchase from the National Theatre’s online shop. Or to take part in the National Theatre’s Connections programme, applications can be made online here.
The play finder on Nick Hern Books’ ‘Plays to Perform’ catalogue is a collection of over 1,000 plays, from ground-breaking new plays to popular classics and literary adaptations The useful tool enables you to select scripts matching a variety of criteria such as age and gender of performers or size of group, as well as genre, theme or length. You can access the resource online here.
At Trinity, we believe that creating dramatic work in groups is a fundamental part of an actor’s development. This is why the majority of our drama syllabus specifications have pair, group and In Production exams as options, find out more in our free guide to group assessments. Developing collaborative communication skills fundamental to group performance work will help to prepare students for their wider lives, further education and employment.
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