Musical theatre is all about storytelling, creativity, and collaboration. Engaging students in theatre games not only builds confidence and stage presence but also enhances their improvisation skills, teamwork, and vocal expression. Whether you’re warming up for rehearsal or looking for ways to break the ice, these five musical theatre games will energize your students and set the stage for success.
1. Pass the Emotion
Objective: To help students connect with emotions and react authentically on stage.
How to Play:
- Have students stand in a circle.
- One student starts by choosing an emotion (e.g., joy, sadness, excitement, fear) and expressing it through a simple phrase (e.g., “I can’t believe it!”) using exaggerated facial expressions and body language.
- They then “pass” the emotion to the next student, who must amplify or adapt it slightly before passing it on.
- The game continues until it reaches the last student, who performs the emotion at its peak before resetting with a new emotion.
Why It Works:
This game helps students explore a wide emotional range, understand how emotions can be expressed physically, and develop stronger reactions in their performances.
2. Lyric Charades
Objective: To reinforce musical theatre knowledge and encourage quick thinking.
How to Play:
- Write down lyrics from well-known musical theatre songs on slips of paper.
- Divide the class into two teams.
- One player from each team draws a lyric and must act it out without speaking while their team tries to guess the song.
- Set a time limit (e.g., 30 seconds) for each round.
- The team with the most correct guesses wins.
Why It Works:
Lyric Charades builds familiarity with musical theatre repertoire while strengthening students’ ability to express meaning physically, an essential skill for musical performers.
3. The Vocal Rollercoaster
Objective: To develop vocal control, projection, and storytelling through voice.
How to Play:
- One student starts by delivering a simple phrase (e.g., “It’s showtime!”) in a normal tone.
- The next student must repeat the phrase with a variation—changing pitch, volume, tempo, or adding a different emotional tone.
- The game continues, with each student making the phrase bigger, wilder, or more expressive.
- Encourage students to experiment with whispering, shouting, singing, or even mimicking different characters.
Why It Works:
This game builds vocal awareness, helps students break out of monotone speaking, and encourages them to use their voice as an expressive storytelling tool.
4. One-Word Story (Musical Edition)
Objective: To develop quick-thinking, teamwork, and storytelling skills.
How to Play:
- Students sit in a circle.
- One person starts by saying a single word (e.g., “Once”).
- The next person adds another word to continue the sentence (e.g., “upon”).
- The story builds one word at a time, and students must create a cohesive narrative.
- To add a musical theatre twist, have students include occasional song lyrics or character names from popular musicals.
Why It Works:
This game enhances creativity, collaboration, and improvisational storytelling—important skills for any performer. Adding the musical theatre element keeps students engaged and reinforces knowledge of shows.
5. Improvised Musical
Objective: To improve spontaneity, rhythm, and storytelling through song.
How to Play:
- Divide students into small groups.
- Give each group a simple scenario or theme (e.g., “lost in a haunted theatre” or “auditioning for a dream role”).
- One student starts by singing an improvised line, making up lyrics and melody on the spot.
- The next student continues the song, building on what the first person created.
- The scene unfolds through spontaneous singing, with students reacting to each other’s lyrics and actions.
Why It Works:
Improvised Musical strengthens musical instincts, helps students overcome stage fright, and boosts their confidence in making bold creative choices.
Final Thoughts
Musical theatre games bring energy, excitement, and valuable learning to any classroom or rehearsal. Whether you’re working on emotions, voice, improvisation, or collaboration, these five games offer dynamic ways to enhance students’ performance skills while keeping the process fun and engaging. So next time you’re looking for a warm-up or a creative break, try one of these games and watch your students light up with enthusiasm!