Grandmother’s Footsteps
Grandmother's Footsteps is a classic children's game adapted as a warm-up in which one player faces the wall while others creep toward them. The player at the wall turns around periodically, and anyone caught moving is sent back. The game builds physical control, patience, and the ability to freeze convincingly on command.
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Related Exercises
Cat and Mouse
Cat and Mouse is a physical warm-up in which one player chases another through and around a group. Variations add rules about how the group can help or hinder either player. The exercise raises energy, builds spatial awareness, and encourages playful physical interaction.
Duck Duck Goose
Duck Duck Goose is a classic children's circle game adapted as an improv warm-up. One player circles the group, tapping heads and calling out "duck" until choosing a "goose" who must chase them around the circle before they can claim the vacated spot. In improv contexts the game is used to raise physical energy quickly, lower inhibitions through familiar childhood play, and establish a physical permission structure early in a session.
Foot Soldiers
Foot Soldiers is a physicality exercise in which performers focus attention on their feet and how different footwork patterns create distinct characters. Changes in stride, weight, tempo, and contact with the floor transform a player's entire presence. The exercise demonstrates that character begins from the ground up.
Greetings
Greetings is a warm-up exercise in which players walk through the space greeting each other in various styles, emotions, or character types. The facilitator calls out different modes of greeting (formally, shyly, aggressively, lovingly, as royalty, as old friends) and the group adjusts their interactions accordingly. The exercise loosens social inhibitions, generates quick character choices, and establishes a playful, physically engaged atmosphere at the start of a session. Greetings gets every participant moving, making eye contact, and interacting within the first minutes of a workshop.
Bunny Bunny
Bunny Bunny is a rhythm and focus game in which players pass energy around a circle by chanting "Bunny Bunny" with accompanying hand gestures while neighbors provide synchronized support sounds. The pace escalates until players break rhythm and are eliminated or the group collapses in laughter. The exercise trains concentration, timing, and ensemble cohesion.
Run Around
Run Around is a physical warm-up exercise in which players move through the space and respond to commands called by the facilitator. The exercise builds spatial awareness, group attentiveness, and physical readiness by requiring participants to shift direction, speed, or movement quality on cue.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Grandmother’s Footsteps. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/grandmothers-footsteps
The Improv Archive. "Grandmother’s Footsteps." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/grandmothers-footsteps.
The Improv Archive. "Grandmother’s Footsteps." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/grandmothers-footsteps. Accessed October 14, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.