How to Warm Up for Improv

When you warm up to do Improv there are three very important "muscles" to stretch: 1) your spontaneity in reactions 2) your physicality and 3) your concentration. There are literally hundreds of different exercises you can perform to warm up but here are three easy ones that will get you warmed up.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A group of improvisers

"8 things" warm up exercise

1. Form a circle with your team.
2. One improviser should say to one of her teammates to list 8 things that fall into a certain category, real or invented. These categories should not be simple, such as colors, but a bit more challenging, such as: "Give me 8 kinds of future political campaign slogans." or "Give me 8 names of famous American League pitchers".
3. The second improviser should yell out her list of items as fast as she can with the rest of the group counting loudly after each one.
4. If the second improviser doesn't know correct answers to the category, she should just make something up.
5. When she is finished with her 8 things, the second improviser should give the next improviser a category to provide 8 things for.
6. Continue until everyone has had a turn.

"throwing the ball" warm up exercise

7. Still in the circle, one improviser should form an invisible ball. Make it a specific size and shape, and throw it to another improviser with a sound and specific motion.
8. The receiving improviser should catch the ball in the exact same style as it was thrown, a complimentary movement and sound.
9. He should then physically change the shape of the ball and throw it, with a new movement and sound, to a third improviser, who will change it again.
10. The first ball should continue to get tossed around, constantly changing, as one or two other improv balls are thrown into the mix. The goal is to have three balls going at once and have none get lost.

"counting to 21" warm up exercise

11. Form a closer circle and put your arms over your two neighboring improvisers.
12. Everyone should look at the ground.
13. With out looking up, the group should count to twenty-one, one person saying one, the next saying two etc.
14. If any two people say the same number at the same time, you must start back at one.
15. When the group finally reaches 21, the exercise is done.

Tips & Warnings

• Listen.Have fun with the exercises.

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