A first week should balance fun icebreakers, skill-building, and a little bit of performance so students feel confident and excited. Here’s a 5-day progression plan you could adapt for either a drama class or an after-school club:
🎠First Week Drama Progression Plan
Day 1 – Break the Ice & Build Comfort
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Warm-up: Name & Gesture Circle (learn names, get moving).
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Game: Zip, Zap, Zop (energy & focus).
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Activity: Two Truths and a Tall Tale (storytelling & bonding).
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Wrap-up: Share one word about how they felt doing drama today.
👉 Goal: Create a safe, playful environment where everyone feels welcome.
Day 2 – Explore Voice & Body
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Warm-up: Emotion Walk (moving through space with feelings).
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Game: Pass the Sound & Movement (one student makes a sound + gesture, others copy and pass new ones around the circle).
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Activity: Emotion Scenes (in pairs, act out a short neutral line like “I forgot my homework” using different emotions).
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Wrap-up: Quick group reflection—“Which emotion was hardest to play?”
👉 Goal: Build vocal and physical expression skills.
Day 3 – Teamwork & Imagination
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Warm-up: Group Counting (everyone counts aloud from 1–20 without overlapping—if two speak at once, restart).
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Game: Group Tableau Challenge (students form frozen pictures in groups).
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Activity: Gibberish Conversations (pairs “talk” using nonsense words + tone, then the group guesses what they were saying).
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Wrap-up: Applaud each other—celebrate “big choices.”
👉 Goal: Encourage collaboration and creative risk-taking.
Day 4 – Intro to Improvisation
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Warm-up: Zip, Zap, Zop (with silly variations to loosen up).
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Game: Yes, Let’s! (leader suggests an action—“Let’s pretend we’re surfing!”—group responds “Yes, let’s!” and acts it out).
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Activity: Short-form improv games:
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Bus Stop (one student waits; another enters as a funny character).
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Party Quirks (one student hosts, others have silly quirks).
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Wrap-up: Group cheer—everyone does a silly “theatre bow.”
👉 Goal: Learn “Yes, and…” acceptance in improv.
Day 5 – Sharing & Reflection
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Warm-up: Energy Circle (pass a clap or sound around, build group rhythm).
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Game: Machine Game (students one by one join to create a moving, sound-making “machine”).
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Activity: Mini Performances
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In small groups, students create a 30-second scene using:
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A random location (school bus, zoo, haunted house)
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A random emotion (excited, scared, proud)
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Wrap-up: Applause for each group + a short reflection:
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“One thing I loved this week”
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“One thing I want to try next week”
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👉 Goal: Give students a sense of accomplishment and community by ending the week with a mini-show.
Then introduce some short scripts or monologues from Freedrama.net!
