Participating in theater is a fun and rewarding endeavor for people of all ages, particularly children. By participating in the performing arts, kids learn empathy by putting themselves in the position of others; they can also gain confidence and improve their self-esteem. Other benefits include improved creativity, patience, and collaborative skills.
However, performing on stage in front of others might seem challenging or intimidating to some children. These eight fun and engaging theater games and warm-up activities can help kids become more comfortable and express themselves with confidence.
1. Voice It
Being able to express yourself verbally with proper pitch and confidence is of critical importance in drama. Voice It is a fun activity that helps kids improve their clarity when speaking and learn to use gestures, facial expressions, and body language to convey different meanings. Teachers can start by writing common phrases on pieces of paper and handing them out to children in the group. They can prompt the children to use their words and body to say the phrase with three different emotions (e.g., sad, happy, or mad). Common phrase examples include, “Please,” “Excuse me,” or “How are you?”
Another way to play this game is to split the kids up into pairs and have them express different meanings while engaged in conversation. Teachers can also have kids practice tongue twisters (“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” or “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”) to improve their precision and clarity when speaking.
2. Pantomiming
In contrast to Voice It, pantomiming is a great activity for kids to learn to tell a story without using their words. This exercise prompts them to use their facial expressions to convey meaning, which is especially important for the theater. Teachers can either provide students with a piece of instrumental music to act out or have them create their own stories. The students then act out the story with exaggerated body movements and facial expressions.
3. Zip Zap Zop
Children should be positioned in a circle for this game. The game starts with one child saying “zip.” That child is then supposed to select someone else to say “zap” by making eye contact with them. The child who got “zapped” then has to send a “zop” to another child by making eye contact. This process repeats until a child either misses their cue or says the wrong word.
When doing this exercise, teachers should encourage children to act as quickly as possible to stay alert and engaged. This isn’t just a fun warm-up activity—it also helps children learn the importance of paying attention to the verbal and physical cues of others.
4. Write a Play
With this activity, children can experience the entire scope of theater by writing a play and performing it in front of others. This doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking. The play can be as short as necessary—even just a handful of lines.
Teachers can also give students some guidance by giving them a list of four characters (e.g., rock stars, police officers, or clowns). Students can come up with their own stories for these characters and how they’re connected. This can be taken a step further by having children create their own set designs.
5. Star Search
Star search is an activity that emphasizes individual expression, allowing students to highlight their creativity and become more comfortable performing in front of others. Students can either perform a song and/or dance or deliver a comedy routine.
6. Chain Story
Chain story is another fun game that encourages creativity. Kids can either stand together in a line or sit in a circle. One child begins the story with just one word and each child adds another word until they form a coherent sentence. They continue the game until the story is complete. A teacher or an older student can write down the words as they’re spoken and read them back to the group when the story is complete. For an added challenge, the students can act out the story.
7. Speak Up
Voice projection and inflection are particularly important for stage performances. Speak Up helps teach children how to raise their voices so that even audience members in the back of the theater can hear them.
To start, teachers can place three items, such as stuffed toys, about 10 feet apart, from the front of the room to the back. They should then position the child 10 feet from the first item and have them look at the object and speak a short sentence. The teacher should then instruct the child to repeat the sentence to the second and third items while increasing the volume of their voice, ensuring that it reaches each object. Kids can try standing in the spot of each item to hear how speaking volume must change to reach that spot.
8. Yes, And
Similar to creating a chain story, the Yes, And game promotes collaboration in storytelling and teaches improvisation. The teacher starts by giving the students a phrase, such as “There’s a hungry bear in the forest.” Each student has to build upon the prior sentence by starting with, “Yes, and.” For instance, one might follow the bear sentence with, “Yes, and he’s climbing up a tree,” and another might add, “Yes, and there’s a bird in that tree.” This plays out until the kids create a scene. They can even act out the scene afterward.