Theatre games

The theatre games tradition is a method of training actors that was developed in the 20th century by practitioners such as Viola Spolin and son Paul Sills, Joan Littlewood, Clive Barker, Keith Johnstone, Jerzy Grotowski and Augusto Boal. Theatre games are also commonly used as warm-up exercises for actors before a rehearsal or performance, in the development of improvisational theatre, and as a lateral means to rehearse dramatic material. They are also used in drama therapy to overcome anxiety by simulating scenarios that would be fear-inducing in real life.

Examples

Participants may pass nonexistent ball, mirror a facing person's movements, hold hands and squeeze a "pulse" around a circuit, or otherwise socially construct and procedurally manipulate invisible elements.

See also

• Group-dynamic game
• Theatre of the Oppressed