Drama games

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YEE-HA!

Everyone stands in a circle. One person shouts: “Yee-ha!” At the same time, they make a fist and push it in one direction around the circle. The next person must then shout: “Yee-ha!” and push their fist in the same direction. This continues in the same direction until it has travelled all the way around the circle.

Dependent on the age and ability of the group, begin to introduce new rules to the game.

Hoedown: arms brought up like a barrier. This sends the “Yee-ha!” in the opposite direction.

Hay barn: hands in a house shape above the head. This skips the next player and play continues in the same direction. Lasso: pretend to lasso someone across the circle and change places.

Barn dance: everyone grabs a partner, swings them round and changes places to shuffle the circle up.

You cannot use one rule against another (eg, you can’t hay barn a hoedown). Wild west accents are not obligatory, but are much encouraged.

“SORRY I’M LATE, BUT…”

Ask the group to pretend they are at work in an office. One of the group is the Late Employee, one is the Boss. The rest of the group are colleagues.

The Late Employee and Boss are sent out of the room while the group decides on an excuse as to why the chosen employee is late. The more imaginative the better! Once decided, call the Boss and the Late Employee back into the room.

The Boss must stand with their back to the colleagues, who are pretending to do their office jobs. The Late Employee stands in front of the Boss but is still able to see the colleagues.

When the Boss’ back is turned, the colleagues must act out the excuse. The Late Employee must explain to the Boss why they are late based on what they think is being acted out behind them.

If the Boss turns around and catches any of the colleagues not working, they are fired from the game. The aim of the game is for the Late Employee to successfully explain why they were late to work.

To spice things up, the group can choose a different job type (eg zoo keepers, carpenters or ballerinas!).

ANYTHING BUT

You will need: a few different objects

Stand in a circle with an object in the middle. One person goes into the middle and uses the object as anything apart from its actual use. For example, they might use a hairbrush as a remote control or a microphone. Get them to use the object until someone else has another idea and takes over. There is no right or wrong in this game.

Make sure the confident members of the group don’t end up hogging all the limelight! After a few rounds, encourage those who haven’t had a go to give it a try (if they want to). If you have time, switch objects once ideas for the original one have dried up.

THE EXAGGERATION GAME

Sit or stand in a circle. Someone starts by making a small gesture. The next person must do the same gesture but slightly exaggerated. The following person must exaggerate that gesture even further. Sounds can be added as the gestures get bigger. By the time it gets around the circle there should be some pretty large and ridiculous movements and sounds going on!

STICKY HANDS

Finally, to bring chaos back into order…

Split the group into pairs. Encourage the leaders join in, particularly if there is an odd number. The partners, labelled A and B, must face each other. In silence, the As must put their hands up, with the palms facing the Bs. The Bs then mirror this image. When you say go, the As must move their hands slowly and the Bs must follow them, like a mirror. If they’re feeling adventurous and in sync, the As can move around the room with the Bs still mirroring their movements. Once this has been done for an appropriate amount of time, swap the As and Bs over.