Double Blind Freeze
Double Blind Freeze is an intensified version of Blind Freeze in which neither the entering player nor the frozen players know each other's physical positions before the scene begins. Both sides discover the physical arrangement simultaneously: the entering player calls freeze without seeing the frozen tableau, and the frozen players do not know who is about to enter or what scene they will create from the positions. The mutual unknowing produces a more radical version of the commitment required in standard Freeze tag.
Structure
Setup
Two or more players begin a scene. A pool of players waits in a position where they cannot see the stage and where the stage players cannot see them.
The Freeze
When an offstage player calls "freeze," all scene players freeze immediately in whatever physical positions they occupy. The offstage player then walks onstage without having seen the frozen tableau.
Discovery
Both the frozen players and the entering player discover the physical arrangement at the same moment: the entering player sees the tableau for the first time as they arrive at a position within it, and the frozen players see who has entered only after the freeze is called. The entering player then begins a new scene based purely on what they find when they arrive.
Continuation
The frozen players unfreeze and follow the entering player's scene initiation, playing from the positions and the reality the entering player has established.
Conclusion
The game continues until each offstage player has entered at least once.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Double Blind Freeze targets the extreme version of physical initiation commitment: the entering player must build a scene with no information about what they will find, and the frozen players must follow a scene built with no awareness of who initiated. The exercise trains pure improvisational response -- the ability to make something from absolutely any physical starting point.
How to Explain It
"You're going to call freeze without looking. When you get there, you won't know what you'll find. Find yourself in a position in the tableau and start a scene based on what you see. The frozen players have no idea who you are or what scene is starting -- they follow you."
Common Pitfalls
Entering players who peek before calling freeze defeat the exercise's purpose. Frozen players who try to signal or communicate with the entering player also undermine the mutual discovery. The value of the exercise comes entirely from the genuinely unknowing commitment of both sides.
How to Perform It
Cast Size
Four to six performers: two starting, two to four in the offstage pool.
Staging
The offstage pool must genuinely be unable to see the stage, and the stage players must genuinely be unable to see the pool. Physical separation (a backstage area, turned chairs) establishes this.
Worth Reading
See all books →
Theater Games for the Lone Actor
Viola Spolin
Improvisation for the Theater
A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques
Viola Spolin
Theater Games for Rehearsal
Viola Spolin
Theatrical Improvisation, Consciousness, and Cognition
Clayton D. Drinko
Mask Improvisation for Actor Training and Performance
the compelling image
Sears A. Eldredge
The Improvisation Game
Discovering the Secrets of Spontaneous Performance
Chris Johnston
Related Games
Group Freeze
Group Freeze is a variation of Freeze Tag in which the entire ensemble participates simultaneously rather than tagging in one at a time. When a freeze is called, all performers stop in position, and any player can initiate the next scene from any frozen body in the tableau. The group format creates a faster pace, a wider variety of stage pictures, and greater collective responsibility for the game's momentum. Every performer is always on stage and always available to initiate.
Blindfolded Scene
Blindfolded Scene is a scene game in which performers play a scene while blindfolded, unable to see their partners, the audience, or the space. The restriction heightens all other senses and forces players to listen, communicate position verbally, and trust their partners completely. The game reveals how much performers normally rely on visual cues.
Blind Freeze
Blind Freeze is a variation on Freeze Tag in which waiting players face away from the scene and cannot see the current physical positions. When they call "freeze" and enter, they must initiate a new scene based solely on the body position they discover upon turning around. The element of surprise produces bolder, more instinctive initiations.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Double Blind Freeze. Retrieved September 29, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/double-blind-freeze
The Improv Archive. "Double Blind Freeze." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/double-blind-freeze.
The Improv Archive. "Double Blind Freeze." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/double-blind-freeze. Accessed September 29, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.