Theatre games are improvisation and revolve around a who, what and where. They have just 3 rules:
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1. Always take your first thought (don’t edit)
2. Accept the offer (When another player presents an idea, go with it!)
3. No creative blocking (If you or another player establish a who, what or where don’t contradict it)

Example:
1st Player: “I love the dessert – the heat and the sand between my toes.”
2nd Player: “Are you crazy – we’re standing on a snow bank!”
The second player engaged in creative blocking and also did not accept her partner’s offer. This might get an immediate laugh, but neither the players or the audience know where they are and what could have been a scene that builds and grows falls flat. Worse – the audience sees that the players are competing rather than working together. As with most theatre, it mimics real life!

There are many books on the market that describe a variety of theatre games including my book, We The Storytellers, the second half of which is an acting course.





 
 
 
 
 

1. Do not memorize “words”. The actor first “memorizes” the thought progression of each scene. Memory work must always include scenes as whole units, not isolated lines or speeches.
   
   
2. When working with some one else, memorize cues as well as lines. Again it is more important to know what is happening than what is being said.
   
   
3. Break down each subdivision or thought change of your text into individual beats titling them with a central core verb (For instance, “Making a phone call or “Questioning William about last night”). This will also help you memorize the thought progression of the scene.
   
   
4. Some actors find it best to memorize lines without trying to put any emotion or interpretation behind them. This will help the actor avoid “rehearsing” interpretations which may make your delivery wooden and keep you from thinking about what you are saying. Your interpretations may change and grow as you work on your text.
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5. All memory work should strive for word-for-word exactness. Do not allow paraphrasing or ad libbing, even at early off-book rehearsals. It will invariably end up being memorized at some level. (This is a highly subjective statement, but seems proven in practice.) Know that you will have the skills of improvisation to fall back on, if necessary, in performance as your audience has not seen your script.
   
   
6. Memorize lines in a short amount of time – never more than a week. Set deadlines and keep them. Long rehearsal periods of “getting off books” results in an uneven finished product and large gaps in character development.
   
   
7. I find memorizing a text in chunks or paragraphs helpful. A paragraph may include more than one beat. Learn paragraph one then two then one and two together then three then one, two, three together and so forth. This gives me confidence that I am progressing with the memorization of the text.
   
   
8. In your final stages of rehearsing do it on your feet and out loud. Some actors find it helpful to rehearse in different spaces so as not to become reliant on visual cues in the rehearsal space unless the rehearsal space is also the performance space.
   
   

Most important when presenting memorized material – keep breathing deeply. This literally helps the memory by providing increased oxygen to the brain. And while breathing keep your body “alive” – move, use pause as if you intend it and focus on what is happening in your story or monologue until the words return (and they will!)