What’s in the Box? (A Merry-Go-Round Improvisation Game)

Students sit/stand in a large circle.

The teacher tells them that there is a magic box in the centre of the room and asks questions about it. -Do you see the box? What shape / colour/ size is it? etc..

Then, the teacher goes into the centre of the circle and opens the box. (Of course, in mime!) He pretends that there is something unusual in the box (snake, for example)

For a while (1-2 min at most) the teacher talks to himself/to snake about what to do and then invites another student to go and open the box. “He MUST name that CHARACTER.” e.g. “I must go and get my brother. I’m sure that he know something about it.”

They talk about the snake and the first person (the teacher, in this case) FINDS AN EXCUSE and LEAVES the room. Then, the second person (brother) repeats the routine and fetches someone else from the group (a neighbour, for example) and they play “the neigbour and the brother” The neighbour, in turn, will name and fetch someone else after the brother finds and excuse and leaves the stage.

So, NO MORE THAN TWO CHARACTERS on stage at any one time!

This is how we did it in Exeter 🙂