Freeze Frames: Emotions at the Movies

Child development / Drama games / Freeze frames

Freeze Frames is a creative drama game where children use body language and facial expressions to show reactions to different types of films.

By creating and adjusting freeze frames, they explore how small changes in posture and expression can completely transform a scene.

How to play

1. Form groups

Divide the children into small groups and explain that each group is sitting in a cinema, watching a film.

2. Create a freeze frame

Ask each group to create a freeze frame showing their reaction to a specific type of film, such as a tragedy (very sad), a comedy (very funny), a thriller (petrifying), a toddler film (very boring) or a musical (very exciting).

3. Observe and discuss

Look closely at each group's freeze frame one at a time, noticing body language and facial expressions.

4. Adjust the frame

Give the group 30 seconds to change their body language and facial expressions slightly, without moving out of their pose.

5. Re-examine

Observe the freeze frame again and discuss how the small changes completely transform the scene, showing how expression shapes the story.

What it teaches

Physical storytelling
Facial expression
Ensemble work
Emotional clarity

Variations to try

Ask groups to change genre without moving position.
Add a narrator to describe what the audience is watching.
Challenge groups to make very small changes with a big emotional effect.

Principal's notes

This is a powerful way to show how storytelling lives in physical detail. Children learn that even tiny changes in posture or facial expression can completely alter the meaning of a scene, building strong ensemble awareness and expressive control.

Lucy Quick, Principal of Perform.