Improv games for co-creation, communication and camaraderie

[Ksenia]

Here are a few of my favourite fun improv games to focus on co-creation, communication and camaraderie.

Thank you statues

Setup: Have the group form a large circle. Ask a volunteer to go first. Have the individual step into the middle of the circle and strike a pose. Once he is set, another participant will step into the middle, tap the first person out, and assume her own pose. The first person will say “thank you” and take his place back in the circle. After a couple of rounds of those, the group picks up the tempo so that things move more quickly. Eventually, they stop tapping out the person posing in the centre, and just go one-by-one to the middle and take a pose that builds on those of the others already there, ultimately creating a statue. When only two people are left in the circle, ask them to name the statue that has been created.

Point of focus: Co-creation. This exercise helps the participants enhance their ability to put ideas out there without fear of judgement by peers. Instead, the focus is on supporting one another’s ideas and not getting caught up in their own.

Parts of the whole
Setup: With the group spread out in the room, suggest some item that they can organize themselves into (e.g., an animal, a truck, a printer). Have the participants use their bodies to create that shape, each individual forming a different part. Next, suggest something slightly more complex (e.g., shoppers in a grocery store, fish in an aquarium, etc).

Point of focus: Ensemble work: The exercise stresses that individuals seeking to succeed while working in a group must be willing to cede control and play their part.

Word at a time story

Setup: Gather the group in a circle and ask them to tell an original story, each contributing one word at a time. The first participant commences with a single word, the action moving in one direction around the circle. Each successive participant contributes one word to the overall narrative. The exercise plays out over several minutes, and a story develops that takes hilarious and unexpected twists and turns.

Point of focus: Yes, Anding. Individuals affirm and build in their unique way to a far more interesting story than they would probably have come up with on their own.

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