Theatre Education: A Resource of Practical and Project-Based Warm-ups/Theatre Games for K-12

Minefield

Where we learned it: Version #1—Theatre for Social Change at ASU; Version #2—Creative Drama at NU
Age: 3rd grade and up
Materials: Small or large objects

Process:
Version #1

1. Stand in a circle and ask each person to place a small object in the center of the circle.
2. We have just created a minefield in the circle and the goal is to guide someone across the circle without letting her touch a single item on the floor.  The catch is that this person must close her eyes and keep them closed (it might be a good idea to have a strip of fabric to tie across that person’s eyes).
3. The people on the outside have to work together to find a way to safely bring the blind volunteer across the circle without deciding who will say what or planning ahead.
4. If the volunteer touches an object, the whole group yells “Ka boom,” and the volunteer returns to the circle.

Version #2

1. Using anything in the room (chairs, desks, books, etc.), create a complicated mess of items in the middle of the room.
2. Allow the students to pair up with someone that they trust.  One person in the pair will be A and the other person will be 1.
3. Ask all the A’s to stand on one side of the room and all the 1’s to stand on the other.
4. All the 1’s will close their eyes (it might be a good idea to use bandanas or strips of fabric) and all the A’s, while staying on their side of the room, will vocally guide their partners through the mess to cross the room..
5. If the 1 touches any item, she must go back to where she started and try again.
6. It is important to allow plenty of time to let each team finish.
7. Switch the arrangement of the mess in the middle of the room and allow the 1’s to guide the A’s.

      

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