Warm-Up Game: Emojis

Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita invented modern-day emojis in 1999, and they’ve found their place in our world as a unique visual language. Emojis can be used as a way to express ourselves when tone isn’t evident in writing. And they’re a lot of fun too!

There are many ways that you can use emojis for warm-up games in drama class. In this article, we’ll share ways for students to use emojis to express themselves non-verbally, using their bodies and faces. These warm-up exercises are great for any grade level and can also be done online in a virtual classroom setting, with cameras on. You can use these in the drama classroom or as a physical rehearsal warm-up.

To start, you might wish to print out flashcards of different emojis or project them onto the wall.

Students will then physicalize the emojis using their bodies and faces in different ways. Here are 11 prompts to get them started:

• Hold up a flashcard or project an emoji onto the wall so everyone can see it. Using their bodies and faces, students must imitate the emojis as precisely as possible in a frozen pose.
• Imitate emojis as precisely as possible using only their faces. This is easy for the face emojis, but harder for the full-body or inanimate object emojis. For example, how would students use only their faces to imitate a checkered flag or the scissors emoji?
• Using only their bodies, students must imitate the emojis as precisely as possible, while their faces must remain in a neutral expression. This may be easier for the full-body emojis but harder for the face emojis. (If you have access to plain neutral masks, they might be a helpful tool for students to use so they don’t have to think about keeping their faces expressionless while focusing on their bodies. However, they aren’t a necessity.)
• Have students imitate emojis from memory — no visual prompts.
• Have students form groups of three to recreate the emojis. Each student must be included somehow.
• Create a unique walk or movement for an emoji.
• Have students form two lines. Give each student a different emoji. Starting at the front of each line, have two emojis meet in the middle of the room and improvise a conversation.
• Have students form two lines. Give each student a different emoji. Starting at the front of each line, have two emojis meet in the middle of the room and mime a conversation — no voices allowed.
• Have a student draw a flashcard of an emoji and act it out. The rest of the students have to guess what emoji they are portraying.
• Ask students a series of questions. They can only respond silently, using their bodies and faces to imitate emojis. Guess which emojis they’re portraying.
• Play Giants, Elves, and Wizards using emojis. How will students determine which emoji beats which?

Repeat these exercises as many times as you wish!

Related Articles:
Scene & Song Analysis Using Emojis
Exercise: Mimed Relationships
Physical Warm-Up Game: Doodles