I put together a few acting exercises for improvisation class on a Perchance page as well as a number of other exercises. Click the image below to got the Perchance page with 84 different exercises.

Movement Acting

Choose a bit to act out. Use a prop, if available. Improvise a line or two of dialog, if you want.

• Lift a heavy object.
• Repair a machine.
• Light and smoke a cigarette then crush it out.
• Act drunk or hungover.
• Stage a sneeze.
• Serve a tennis ball with a racket.
• Search for something you normally carry in your pocket.

Advanced Movement Acting

• Stage a punch with another actor.
  • Plan it first. There should be no surprises! If it’s a punch in the face instead of to the stomach, there’s no need for the punch to even come close to connecting. The victim should react strongly but not fall down, unless a crash mat is available.
• Stage a grab-and-shake with another actor.
  • Plan it first. The rule here is that the victim is in control. The aggressor grabs the victim and merely hangs on while the victim does the shaking.

Walking Acting

Choose a character type and walk around the space like that type of character.

• Fashion model
• Dancer (don’t dance, just walk like a dancer)
• Famous actor
• Football player
• CEO of a company
• Soldier
• Petulant teenager
• Professional wrestler
• Tourist
• Spy
• Police officer
• Burglar

In the end, improvise a statement to make as that character, commenting on their day.

Overacting Acting

Take a prompt for a stock character and improvise a few lines of dialog while wildly overacting. Use voice, gesture, and full-body movement. Choose despair, anger, indignation, bitterness, or pain. (Not joy.) Start modestly and ramp up quickly to full ham.

Basic Emotion Acting

Go thru the Jim Varney emotion chart and enact similar exaggerated expressions for various emotions.

Advanced Emotion Acting

Mix two of the above emotions together.

Impression Acting

Choose a famous scene to do an impression of and improvise around. Focus on emotions and physical mannerisms and not a vocal impression per se.

• Rutger Hauer as “Roy Batty” in Bladerunner: I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.
• Julia Roberts as “Erin Brockovich” in Erin Brockovich: First of all, we have more than 400 plaintiffs. They may not be the most sophisticated people, but they do know 20 million dollars isn’t shit when you split it between them. Second of all, these people don’t dream about being rich. They dream about being able to watch their kids swim in a pool without worrying that they’ll have to have a hysterectomy at the age of 20 or have their spine deteriorate. [on the woman reaching for a glass of water] By the way, we had that water brought in special for you folks. Came from a well in Hinkley.
• Joe Pesci as “Tommy DeVito” in Goodfellas: [on Henry’s “You’re really funny!”] Whaddaya mean I’m “funny”? You mean the way I talk? Funny how? Like I’m a clown? I’m here to amuse you? [on Henry’s reaction] I almost had ‘im! I almost had ‘im!
• Meg Ryan as “Mary Haines” in The Women: Steven and I are splitting up. He’s been having an affair. Yeah. I had myself convinced that it was no big deal. Just a little chapter, not the whole book. And if I just put the old blinders on and rose above it, everything would work itself out. Bull! It’s not like I was deliriously happy every single day of this marriage, but did I screw around? No. I could have, by the way, because men have come on to me plenty. Alright, once or twice. But I thought about it!
• Humphrey Bogart as “Rick Blaine” in Casablanca: Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine. [to Sam the piano player] What’s that you’re playing? [on reply] Oh, stop it; you know what I wanna hear. [on protest] You played it for her; you can play it for me. [on protest] If she can stand it, I can! Play it!
• Keira Knightly as “Elizabeth Swann” in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End: Listen! The brethren will still be looking to us–to The Black Pearl–to lead, and what will they see? Frightened bilge rats aboard a derelict ship? No, they will see free men and freedom! And what the enemy will see is the flash of our cannons, and they will hear the ringing of our swords, and they will know what we can do by the sweat of our brows and the strength of our backs and the courage of our hearts! Gentlemen, hoist the colors!
• Robert Shaw as “Quint” in Jaws: Y’all know me–know how I earn a livin’. I’ll catch this bird for ya. But it ain’t gonna be easy. Bad fish. This shark’ll swallow you whole. Now, we gotta do it quick. That’ll bring back the tourists and put all your businesses on a payin’ basis. I value my neck for a lot more than three thousand bucks, chief. I’ll find ‘im for three, but I’ll catch ‘im–and kill ‘im–for ten.
• Rachel McAdams as “Regina George” in Mean Girls: Let me tell you something about Janis Ian. We were best friends in middle school. I know, right? It’s so embarrassing. I don’t even– Whatever. Then in 8th grade, I started going out with my first boyfriend, Kyle. And Janis was, like, weirdly jealous of him. Like, if I would blow her off to hang out with Kyle, she’d be like “Why didn’t you call me back?” I’d be like “Why are you so obsessed with me?” Then, for my all-girl’s pool party, I was like, “Janis, I can’t invite you, because I think you’re a lesbian.”

Character Acting

Choose a stock character and improvise a few lines of dialog for them that tells their story.

• The Hyperactive Child: Children are often funny, regardless of how active they are, but hyperactive children can be frustrating, bizarre, embarrassing, and surprisingly insightful. Examples: Amy Pohler’s excitable Kaitlin (SNL) and Michael McDonald’s difficult Stuart Larkin (MadTV).
• The Desperate Man: Desperation breeds big emotions and eccentric mannerisms, and that can be very funny. Examples: Chris Farley’s homeless motivational speaker Matt Foley (SNL), Molly Shannon’s clumsy singer/dancer Mary Katherine Gallagher (SNL), and Bill Hader’s club kid Stefon (SNL).
• The Scary Psychopath: Psychos are scary and unpredictable. They might show sparks of anger, try to be suave and soothing, and also be insulting and dismissive–maybe in rapid succession. Examples: Bill Hader’s war-traumatized puppeteer Anthony Peter Coleman (SNL) and John Belushi’s Samurai Futaba (SNL).
• The High-status Idiot: Idiots can often be dismissed, but high-status ones can be overbearing, judgmental, and insulting, which can make them very funny to an audience sitting outside the situation. Dana Carvey’s Church Lady, Enid Strict (SNL) and Eddie Murphy’s claymation has-been Gumby (SNL).
• The Cheerful Boor: Boors are overbearing, opinionated, often rude, and generally unpleasant to be around, but one who’s at peace with their awfulness can be very funny to watch take all the air out of a room. Examples: Al Franken’s Stuart Smalley (SNL), Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer (SNL), and Teran Killam’s 1860s newspaper critic Jebidiah Atkinson (SNL).
• The Opinionated Drunk: Intoxicated people ramble, complain, clumsily explain conspiracy theories, and slur words–a source of comedy for thousands of years. They could be drunk, high, or crazy. Examples: Bobby Moynihan’s Drunk Uncle (SNL) and Cecily Strong’s Girl You Wish Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party (SNL).
• The Huckster: The huckster just wants to sell you something–a product, a service, an idea, whatever. He talks fast, tries to convince you he’s legit and economically priced, and that you desperately need what he’s selling. Examples: Dan Aykroyd’s Super Bass-o-matic ’76 Salesman (SNL) and Jon Lovitz’s Pathological Liar, Tommy Flanagan (SNL).
• Pure Clowns: Pure clowns are those that are just plain weird, crazy, or dumb–all ingredients for a funny character. This is kind of a catch-all for characters with funny voices and eccentric behavior. Examples: Martin Short’s Ed Grimley (SCTV & SNL) and Gilda Radner’s Roseanne Roseannadanna (SNL).

Voice Acting

Invent two different silly voices and use them to describe the character.