Improvisation is one of the greatest clubs a school can have. I have personally experienced this. Two years I started a club at our local middle school and it had over 40 students sign up. What made this experience interesting was the number of boys. I’m sure many middle school directors who are reading this have noticed that their drama clubs are flooded with girls. This had the opposite effect. Ninety-five percent of the middle school improvisation club actors were boys.
After heading the school’s drama club last year, I decided to switch to an improvisation club. The club: “Get in the Act Improvisation,” will focus in on having fun, yet learning unique acting skills. I have decided to limit the number of kids who can join. Working with a large number of children takes away from valuable acting time that the students seek. Thus, the first fifteen students who return their permission slips will get in.
Below are a number of resources that I will use. I urge you to take a look at their descriptions. They are perfect for school improvisation clubs and classroom use.
This book of acting games and improvisations will assist students in developing their creative abilities. For everyone, all of the essential elements of acting and character development are explored.
This book is a complete improvisational curriculum program divided into workshops. Each workshop contains exercises designed to help students focus on one aspect of a character's personality.
Students will learn both improvisational and structured drama by using sequential workshops and plays. This is a valuable resource for any beginning acting class or as a supplemental resource.
