Who Am I, What Do I Want?

• Assess improvisation and monologue abilities with a group game. Pick a starting student and have the rest of the students sit down and observe. Write down a role for the starting person to play, such as "a farmer who is about to lose his farm." Include what the character wants, such as "keeping his farm" and a list of words that the actor cannot use in his performance. These words should pertain to the role and should include words that would be giveaways to the actor's role. The actor then improvises a monologue, attempting to express the character's emotions and desires in a believable and credible manner. The other student's have to guess the role after the performance is over.
  
  

Facial Expression Recreation

• Your actors must have the ability to express a wide range of emotions using facial expressions. Sit down with your students one at a time. Show them a picture of a facial expression you want them to recreate. Take a picture of their facial expression after they have made it. Go through about 10 to 15 different facial expressions using this method. Bring in another student and continue taking pictures. Print out the facial expressions and assess each student's expression making ability. Show each student their pictures and their grades. Give them a second chance to mimic the facial expressions more closely.
  
  

Block and Stop

• Blocking is the art of moving properly on stage, including showing your body properly and not getting in the way of other actors. Play this game on a stage or in a large open area. Place tape stage directions on the floor, such as "move forward five steps" and "turn to face the crowd." Pick three students to walk through the blocking properly without making any mistakes. Say "stop!" during the game to freeze the actors. They cannot move until you say "block." Let them practice a few times and then remove the tape to let them try it without. Cycle through your whole class in this method.
  
  

Read Those Lines

• Use this game to help assess and improve your actors' memorization abilities. Give each actor a small paragraph of dialogue to memorize. Make sure the paragraphs are different for each actor. Give them half an hour or so to memorize the lines. Let the actors recite their lines to you one at a time. Follow along on a guide sheet, and grade each actor. Give actors a second chance to recite their lines to the group after everybody else has gone. Play this game regularly, increasing the number of lines and words that must be memorized each time you play.