Student Blog: 3 Theatre Games for Students

Theatre games are what make the world go round. It sounds funny, but the skills practiced during drama club games are greatly beneficial to developing a young performer’s skills, on and offstage. Next time you are leading a drama club or theatre camp, try these games to warm up your students before rehearsal. 

A theatre game that was first introduced to me during my freshman year at Lewis and Clark High School is called “Common Ground”. This game is perfect to introduce students to each other and help form community. When I led drama clubs in my junior and senior years of high school, we played this game at the beginning of each semester.  

To play Common Ground, everyone begins standing in a circle, with one person starting in the middle. The person in the middle begins with “My name is ______ and I share people with common ground who ______.” Everyone who agrees with whatever is said runs into the middle of the circle, then finds another spot in the circle. Basically, musical chairs. The last person who can’t find a spot is the next in the middle, and the game continues. Typically, before the game starts, I set a number of rounds, usually 10-12 rounds before ending the game. Common Ground is more fun when you have a theme, ‘what you did over the summer’ or ‘musical theatre’ are great choices. Common Ground is exceedingly simple and easy to catch on to, making it a great choice for the beginning of the school year or for teaching younger kids. The game is an easy way to learn names and create a sense of community in your space.  

The next game is the theatre game to end all theatre games. You know it, you love it, Zip, Zap, Zop. While the game’s origin story is unknown, its legacy will live on forever.  

To play Zip, Zap, Zop once again, everyone begins standing in a circle. Someone begins the game by saying “zip” and gesturing towards someone else in the circle, usually with a clap or point. The selected person repeats, while saying “zap” and choosing someone else in the circle. The next person says “zop” and so on. If someone stutters, says the wrong ‘z’ word, or takes too long, they’re out of the game. If you want to make the game a little more challenging, try playing with no gesturing towards the next ‘zip, zap, zopper’ and instead only use eye contact to indicate who’s next. The game continues until there is one person left. This game is a classic that anyone in theatre should know. It exercises your reflexes and helps with listening, both very important when it comes to performance. 

Finally, one of my favorite theatre games is Poison Dart Frog. A game of mystery and teamwork that students are sure to love. 

To play Poison Dart Frog once again, everyone begins sitting or standing in a circle. In this game, you have one host, typically a teacher or student leader. The host begins by choosing a detective; everyone knows who the detective is; it’s not a secret. The detective must leave the room as soon as they are selected, while the host chooses the poison dart frog. There are two options for this game, everyone knows the poison dart frog, or no one knows the poison dart frog. Either is fun, try both and see what works best for your group. If you are playing with no one knowing the dart frog. Everyone in the circle closes their eyes, then the host selects one student from the frogs to become the poison dart frog. Only the host and the poison dart frog know who the dart frog is; no peeking! Once the poison dart frog is selected, call the host back into the room. The poison dart frog must secretly take out all the frogs by sticking their tongue out at a frog while making eye contact with them. Trying to take out each frog one by one until there are none left. The game is practically the same if everyone knows who the poison dart frog is, but it takes the team of frogs to make sure the detective isn’t suspicious of who the poison dart frog is. The detective has three guesses on who the dart frog is. If they don’t guess correctly by the third guess, the frogs win. If they do guess correctly, the detective wins. Poison Dart Frog is a fun game that exercises teamwork and quick thinking that students are sure to love.