Theatresports™ is a form of competitive improvisation first introduced in the 1970s by Keith Johnstone. Games structures are known as ‘handles’, usually played in teams of four, with scoring based on players demonstrating technique, narrative and entertainment. Theatresports™ is an effective tool for building improvisation skills in the drama or theatre classroom. – Justin Cash
Theatresports and Drama Games Resources
Excellent resource from the Improv Encyclopedia with nearly 500 games! Download the pdf file of all the games, neatly listed under 27 categories, then alphabetically with instructions.
Improvisational website Learn Improv with over 200 games, exercises and warm-ups. Includes some excellent teaching advice for running the games.
Awesome Theatresports pack from Girls’ Brigade Australia with easy-to-understand explanations to over 300 games each categorised into areas such as acceptance, association, concentration, trust, etc. Great for the Drama classroom.
A detailed glossary of improvisation terms. Great for classroom use.
Fantastic resource The Living Playbook from Seattle-based Unexpected Productions has nearly 350 games and exercises.
A useful selection of fun drama games from Drama Toolkit suitable for most younger students, detailing ability levels, group size, duration etc.
Excellent training manual for teachers and students outlining the ten commandments, basic gameplay rules and a glossary of key terms. Handles are divided into 1, 2 and 3-minute games with stimuli provided to assist. Includes suggested warm-up exercises and games.
An easy-to-understand curated selection of improv games for actors from young and old from Stage Milk.
A useful list of about 100 games and 60 exercises with descriptions from Sheer Idiocy.
A great list of over 150 drama games suitable for younger children, each explained and categorised into ensemble games, warmups, breakout games, focus games etc.
A small selection of imagination-based drama games for younger performers, fully explained.
A great resource kit with about 75 drama games for younger students from Big Foot Arts Education. Games are divided into categories such as vocal warmups, team building, getting to know you, cool down etc.
A detailed explanation of a handful of drama games for younger performers.
25 improv games for students, mostly with YouTube clips showing how they are performed.