I’m starting a new quasi-regular segment this week. On select Mondays, I’ll be posting warm-ups that you can use at the beginning of improv classes or to prepare for an improv show. If you have found these warm-ups to be personally useful, please leave a comment below! Hot Spot is a fun singing game! With [&hellip

I’m starting a new quasi-regular segment this week. On select Mondays, I’ll be posting warm-ups that you can use at the beginning of improv classes or to prepare for an improv show. If you have found these warm-ups to be personally useful, please leave a comment below! Hot Spot is a fun singing game! With [&hellip

Building an ensemble out of a motley crew of students is a sizable challenge. This is the formula that was used in my first improv class, and only now am I beginning to realize its genius

Electric Company is a word association game, named for the 1971 television series and parodied in this Nike Shox commercial. While in a circle, the group snaps to a steady beat. The first person starts by making eye contact with the person on their right or left and saying a word. That person then responds [&hellip

Also see Part I and Part II To demonstrate the effectiveness of “Yes, And” and how critical it is to good scene work, we use the following exercise on the first day of a new level 1 class. First, we get two volunteers who are “ready to fail” to get up in front of the [&hellip

With everyone standing in a circle, the first improviser begins the pattern of “Zip, Zap, Zop” by clapping their hands at someone and saying “Zip.” The person that they indicated will then clap at someone and say “Zap.” Then the third person will do the same but say “Zop.” After this, the next person starts [&hellip

Everyone stands in a circle. One person starts by making eye contact with the person next to them, and then both of them clap at the same time. The second person then turns to the next person, and they clap together. The “clap” is passed in this way around the circle until a pair does [&hellip

Go is a great way to focus the group at the beginning of a workshop. Start out with everyone standing in a circle. One improviser begins by making eye  contact with another person in the circle and pointing to them. When that person says, “Go,” the first person starts walking to their spot, and the [&hellip