Over the years, and with the help of the internet, I have created a repertoire of theatre games that I like to play with my casts and in my classes. To give some insight into my thinking as a theatre educator, I’m writing a series of articles about my favorite theatre games and more importantly, why I do them. It’s important for the students to understand the why behind the games, so they can be more thoughtful about their choices.

Three Pictures

How it works:

Divide the actors into groups of 3 to 4. You could have larger groups if necessary, but I’ve found that 3 to 4 works well. Explain to the groups that their job is to tell a story in three pictures using just themselves and maybe a chair or table if available. The pictures do not move – the actors must be totally still and they cannot speak. Give them 5 to 10 minutes to create their story. I usually walk around the room, giving feedback and reminding them their pictures cannot move (that’s the one element that seems hardest for them to grasp). Then each group shows each of the three pictures to the rest of the class. Each picture should advance the story and the audience should be able to describe what happened.

Example:

The easiest example and one I’ve seen done many times is the baseball player hitting a home run. The first picture shows the pitcher, the catcher and the batter all ready for the pitch. The second shows the pitcher having just thrown the ball and the batter swinging the bat. The third picture shows the catcher and the pitcher watching the ball fly and the hitter starting to run the bases.

The Why:

This exercise teaches students a number of important skills.

1. They have to tell a story visually, no words, which emphasizes that theatre is very much a visual art form. Actions matter and we can communicate a lot with just our bodies and facial expressions even if we never speak a word.
2. They have to work together to tell the story. Creating a play requires trust and teamwork.
3. For aspiring playwrights, it demonstrates very clearly the need to have a beginning, a middle and an end to a story.

One of the elements of this game that I like a whole lot is the immediate feedback it provides. If the class doesn’t understand the story, that’s very obvious and tells the actors they need to work harder next time. I usually have them tell 3 or 4 stories with the same groups so they can practice the skills and improve.

Next up: Freeze and Justify