book of improv games

7/30/2019 Book of Improv Games

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Funny! Improv Games

SUGGESTION GAMES

Party Quirks 4 to 5 players

Level: Beginning

Est. Time: About 3-7 minutes

One actor is the host of a party, to which the remaining actors are his guests. The host steps outside,while the audience gives each guest a special quirk/character. The host is then brought back in to set up

his scene. The guests then enter one by one, each portraying who they are without saying it explicitly.

The game ends when the host guesses who they all are correctly.

Wacky Newscasters

4 players Level: Beginning

Est. Time: 5 minutes

Four actors are part of a news team: Anchor, Co-Anchor, Sports and Weather. Each (Except the

Anchor) is given a quirk/character, which they have to portray while giving whatever branch of news

they are assigned to. The anchor usually starts off with some kind of humorous story, and introduceseach branch by giving them a name.

Genres 2-4 players

Level: Beginning/Medium


The audience is told to shout out various film genres, and the MC writes down whichever he hears andlikes best. Next, the actors are given a scene to act out. At random times, the MC will yell 'Freeze!' and

give out a genre. The actors must now continue the scene while fitting the criteria of whatever genre is

said (Western would have cowboys, Romance would have love, etc)

Press Conference 3-5 players



One actor is the host of a press conference, with the remaining actors being reporters. The host steps

out, and the audience gives suggestions for what quirk/character they'll be. The host then comes back in

and the reporters ask him questions, which give him clues as to who he is. The host must alwaysanswer the questions and the game ends when he correctly says who he is

Scenes From A Hat 4-8 players

Level: Medium/Expert

Est. Time: 5-15 minutesThe actors split up into two groups, one on each side of the stage. The audience, by this point, has

written down scenes they'd like to see (If birds didn't have wings, what Tony Stark does in his spare

time, etc) on pieces of paper. The MC draws the good ones out of a hat and says them aloud, where the


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actors then step forward one at a time (They can request additional actors to help them) and say/do

something witty pertaining to the given scene.

Cashier 3-5 players


Est. Time: 5-10 minutes

One actor is a cashier at a store, the remaining actors are customers. The customers step outside and areeach given some kind of item they're returning. Once all have been given something, they are brought

back in and line up behind the register. Each must guess what they're returning, with the cashier giving

them clues.

Lines 3-4 players


Est. Time: Varies on # of lines given, usually 5 minutes

The actors are each given slips of paper with lines on them, all written by audience members. They

then act out a scene. At certain times, they take out a slip of paper and say whatever is written on it, andmust relate it to the scene somehow. All the lines must be used before the game can end.

Dating Game/Let's Make A Date 4 players

Level: Beginning


One actor is a contestant on a dating show, and the other three are bachelors/bachelorettes. Thecontestant steps outside and each actor is given a quirk/personality. When he comes back in, the

contestant asks each bachelor a question, which they then answer based on who they are. At the end of

the game the contestant guesses who each bachelor is

ACTOR GAMES

Summary 3-4 players

Level: Beginning


The actors are given a scene/movie to act. After two minutes, the MC will call 'Freeze!'. They will then

have to re-do the same scene, but in only one minute. This continues on until it gets to 30 seconds, then15, then 7, then 2

Superheroes 4 players

Level: Beginning


One actor is given a bad superpower and a dilemma. During the scene, they call in another actor, givingthem a superhero identity. The new actor then has to become said superhero. One by one each is called,

with the person before them giving the next person their identity. They must find a way to solve the

problem, then each finds a reason to leave (in the reverse of when they came in)

Foreign Film Dub 4 players


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Est. Time: 2 minutes per pair

Two actors are each paired up. One actor is in the scene, the other on the sidelines. Two actors will actout a scene/film, but will speak in gibberish. After each actor says a line, their coinciding partner will

say their 'translation' (Usually completely unrelated to the scene). The pairs can then switch off after

each scene is done.

Arms 4 players


Est. Time: 2 minutes per pair

Two actors are each paired up. One actor will have his arms behind his back. His partner then stands

behind and acts as their arms during the scene. However, the partner cannot talk. The pairs can then

switch off after each scene is done.

New Choice 2-3 players

Level: Medium

Est. Time: 3-6 minutesOne person, usually the MC, acts as a caller. The actors will act out a scene given to them. At random

times, the MC will call 'New Choice!'. The last thing the actors said/did must then be changed intosomething completely different. If the MC calls 'All previous choices', the actor(s) must use all the

things they re-did.

Hollywood Director 4-5 players

Level: Medium

Est. Time: 4-6 minutesOne actor is the director, and the remaining actors are his actors. The actors will act out a scene, but

after about a minute or two the director will come in, yelling 'Cut!'. He will berate the actors, then tell

them to re-do the scene but with something different (They're all monkeys, do it as a mystery, etc).Two-Headed Actor

4 players

Level: Medium


Two actors are each paired up. One pair must always say one word after another ('We.' 'Are.' 'So.' etc),

the other pair must always say the same words at the same time. Note that even though it's two actors,you must always refer to yourselves as one person.

Two Line Vocabulary 3 players

Level: Beginning/Medium Est. Time: 3 minutes

Two actors are each only allowed to say two lines. The third actor can speak freely. The scene is donewith those two actors only saying their given lines; however they are encouraged to change their tone

when saying them, based on what is happening in the scene.

Stand, Sit, Lay 3 players

Level: Medium



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Three actors all start out in three positions: one sitting, one standing, one laying. As the scene goes on

they continue to change their positions to one of these three. They must always have these three

positions done during the scene. Best when one person keeps changing positions.

Instant Replay 4-6 players


Est. Time: 6 minutesTwo actors begin acting out a scene. At one point the MC will call their scene, then send one of the

actors outside. Another actor (Also outside) will then come in and do his own scene. The actor who

stayed will re-do his scene in its entirety. This goes on until the first person who left comes back in anddoes their scene.

Who Has It Worst? 2 players

Level: Medium


Two actors will begin a scene (Usually something involving dating). One will mention somethingnonchalantly, to which the other actor will reply 'At least you have...', then they'll make up something

about themselves that makes them seem worse. (Ex: At least you can see, I've been blind since birth).

The two go at each other until the scene ends.

Questions 4 players

Level: Beginning


The actors will be split up, two on each side. Two actors will start out their given scene, and they're

only allowed to ask questions. If they don't use a question or can't think of one in time, they're out andtheir partner takes their place. Questions like 'Why?' are not allowed

Switch! 2 players

Level: Beginning


Two actors will begin a scene, each with radically different personalities. At random times, a caller willshout out 'Switch!'. The actors will then need to take each other's personalities and change up the scene.

Song Titles 4 players



The actors will be split up, two on each side. The two starting actors will start their scene, but can only

speak using song titles. Lyrics from the song are not allowed; only the actual titles. If they don't use asong title, or can't think of one in time, they're out

Freeze As many players as wanted (Minimum 5)

Level: Any

Est. Time: 5-10 minutesTwo or three actors will begin their scene, using two given audience positions. At any time, any of the

players are allowed to call 'Freeze!'. They then go in and tap someone out, taking their place. Now, the

new actor must make a completely different scene. Double and even Triple Freezes are allowed.


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AUDIENCE GAMES

Dead Bodies

3-4 players (2-3 audience members) Level: Medium


Audience members are called up and told to sit down in chairs. One actor will then kill them somehow,and must continue the scene by trying to act as if they were still alive (Carrying them, moving their

lips, etc).

Sound Effects 4 players (2 audience members)


Est. Time: 2-4 minutesTwo audience members are called up and given each a microphone. Two actors will act out a scene.

The audience members will provide the sound effects for them, to which the actors will respond basedon how well they do it.

Puppets 4 players (2 audience members)



Two audience members are called up. Two actors will be standing up. The audience members will be

responsible for moving their arms, legs, and heads in however they wish. The actors will act out theirscene and will respond to however they are being moved.

PROP GAMES

Props 4 players



Four actors are split up, two on each side. Each one is given some kind of prop. The scene will thenshift to each pair as they come up with as many jokes/scenes for the prop as possible.

Hats 4 players



Four actors are split up, two on each side. Each is given a box of crazy hats, wigs, and masks, and taketurns sitting down on a stool. They then come up with puns based on their hat


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Helping Hands 3 players

Level: Medium

Est. Time: 5 minuite

Two actors are behind a table. The table is covered with props. Like in Arms, one actor acts as theother's arms. The third actor is on the side interacting with them. The two actors are typically giving

them instructions on how to do something, using all the props on the table. Because one is acting as the

other's arms, things tend to get messy.

Infomercial 2 players

Level: Medium


Two actors are given a box full of props. Their task is to try and sell the audience a new miracle

product. They reach into the box and randomly pull out a prop, and then need to come up with anexplanation for how that prop pertains to the product.

Multiple Personalities 3 players



Three actors are each given a prop. With each prop comes a personality. While acting out their givenscene they are encouraged to switch props as often as needed, so each one has a chance to become each

personality. It's allowed, and even recommended, to sometimes give one person two or all props. This

actor then has to combine all the given personalities into one.

MUSICAL GAMES

Hoedown 4 players (One person on piano)

Level: Expert


Four actors all line up in a straight line. They are given a topic, and must sing a 4 verse song to the tuneof Hoedown based on their suggestion. Very hard to pull off well

Irish Drinking Song 4 players (One person on piano)

Level: Medium/Expert Est. Time: 3 minutes

Four actors all line up in a straight line. They are given a topic, and each sings one verse to the tune of

Irish Drinking Song. After 8 verses are sung, the chain starts again with the next person in line starting.

Greatest Hits 4 players (Various on musical instruments)

Level: Expert


Two actors will be sitting down, the other two standing off to the side. The sitting actors will begin


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advertising a CD set based on a certain theme (Prohibition, Skydiving, etc). They will give out a certain

band's/genre's song on the CD set, and the standing actors and musicians need to come up with a song

in the style of said band/genre, pertaining to the theme.

Improv Warm-Ups

CzechoslovakiaIn a circle, everyone will follow the rhythm of the leader. They will then follow them as they say'Czechoslovakia, boom sh-boom. Yugoslavia, boom sh-boom'. The leader will show them the rest. After

doing it once, they do it again, this time getting faster and faster each time.

FormIn a circle, everyone follows the leader's movements. Starting quietly, they chant 'Form banana. Form,form banana', then to 'peel banana' and finally exploding with 'GO BANANAS!'. This is done again

with various fruits and items (Orange, mullet, etc)

Ships n' SailorsThe leader acts as the caller. Everyone stands around, following the commands of the leader as he callsit. The commands are:

Ships: Run to the left

Sailors: Run to the right

Sharks: Run to the back

No Sharks: Run forward

Beluga Whale: Lay down on your stomach, bring your legs back to your head and makeraspberries

Man Overboard: One person crouches down with binoculars, the other stands pointing above

their head

Three Men Rowing: Three players get into a line and begin rowing

Four Men Playing Cards: Four players get into a huddle and pretend to play cards

Five Men Eating: Five players get into a huddle and pretend to be eating

Nemo: Shout 'Sharkbait, Hoo-ha-ha!'

Mermaid: Grab your leg, wave and say seductively 'Hey sailor'

Captain's Coming: Everyone stands at attention. If you move, laugh, or do anything else you're

out.

Workshops

Setting Up Your Scene:-A scene is given (Ex: Carnival). Everyone is encouraged to go up there and begin setting up theenvironment. Make sure they remember where everything is.

CROWT:

-One person walks on, and begins pantomiming. A second person walks in and establishes what isgoing on.

-Two people are given a random word. One person, using the first thing that comes to mind based on

said word, steps forward and starts the scene.

book of improv games

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