• Games make learning fun.games image by Ewe Degiampietro from Fotolia.com
  
  Kids naturally know how to pretend to be someone or something else, but they must be taught how to act. Rather than overwhelm your young thespians with tedious practice and rote memorization, why not use games to help them master the craft of drama while having fun? According to David Farmer, author of "101 Drama Games and Activities," drama games "help make rehearsal periods more creative" and can "often lead to new ideas for staging a scene."
  
  

Stage Direction Draw

• Divide a stage into a nine-section grid, like a tic-tac-toe board. Each area is to be labeled with its name, for example upstage right, downstage left, or center stage. (For an example of what this might look like see the stage directions sheet provided by the Northfield Arts Guild). Remember stage directions are always given from the actor's point of view. On slips of paper write the names of the different stage areas. There will be nine all together. Place the slips of paper into a container and allow the kids to take turns drawing the slips of paper and going to the area of the stage on the slip. After a round of this, remove the labels from the stage area and play again.
  
  After the kids are familiar with the stage areas, add another level to the game by asking kids to take position on the stage in relation to each other. For example ask one kid to stand upstage right from another kid. Or ask one kid to stand upstage right and face downstage left.
  
  

Elephant Walk

• Instruct the kids to form a large circle and begin walking. As you call out the name of animals, the kids will start walking like the animal named. Choose animals that will be fun to portray such as elephants, monkeys, cows, penguins, and chicken. Have the kids describe how the animal moves and sounds as they walk. Point out kids who are doing a particularly good job at portraying the animal. This game can also be played using emotions such as sad, happy, and angry or characters such as elderly man, drill sergeant, little girl, and ballet dancer.
  
  

Hello!

• Divide the group into two teams with an equal number of kids. Line up each team on opposite sides of the stage. Instruct the one person from each team will take turns crossing the stage and saying hello to each other and continue walking to the other side of the stage. They will say hello according to your direction. They can only say the one word. Begin by telling the first two students to say hello as if they are in a big hurry. Allow all the kids to do the same. Then have them say hello as if they are dear old friends who haven't seen each other in a long time. Continue like this, changing the way the kids say hello each time. After the game talk to the kids about how the way they said hello changed its meaning each time. Explain that the way an actor says a line is just as important as the words he uses.
  
  

Pass the Prop

• Seat the kids in a circle. Hold up an object such as a box, pencil, or other familiar object. Talk about how the object feels. Allow the kids to pass the object around the circle. Then have the kids pass an imaginary object around the circle. Talk about the size, weight, and surface of the object. Play the game several times, changing the object each round. Talk about what it takes to realistically pantomime taking, holding, and passing an imaginary object.
  
  

Pass the Face

• Divide the group into two lines. The kids will face forward, so each kid is looking at the back of the person in front of her. Make a face at the person at the front of each line. The facial expression may be silly or may convey a particular emotion. The first person in line turns around and makes the same face at the next person in line. The kids continue like this until the face is successfully passed to the last person in line. Allow the kids to determine if the face was passed correctly. Talk about how making the right facial expressions is important to conveying a message.