WARM-UPS
Toxic Emotions
List some toxic emotions with the group - ex: apathy, angst,
jealousy, anger, hate, envy, helplessness, etc. Write the emotions on pieces of
paper. Ask the group to choose a line from a play they have been in or a line from a
play they remember. As the leader, choose one of the emotion papers and pass it to
someone while saying the line and using the emotion - ‘as if’ you were jealous,
angry, apathetic, etc. The recipient of the paper can say their line using that same
emotion or pick up another paper and use the emotion listed.
A Crazy Cake Walk
Vocabulary
Go = walk forward
Stop = stop
Turn = make a 180 degree turn and stop in place
Jump = do a 180 degree jump and stop in place
Twizzle=do a 360 degree jump and stop in place
The group will be walking in a circle. The leader will begin calling out
directions, varying order and speed. When one participant makes a mistake, i.e.
turns the wrong way, forgets to stop, etc., the leader takes their place and there is a
new direction caller.
The Gauntlet
The gauntlet requires the class to form two straight, equal
lines about six feet across from each other. These are the walls. Two
volunteers, one on each end, are blindfolded. One individual is the hunter and the
other the prey. The hunter must touch the hunted before they reach the other side of
the gauntlet. The hunted tries to make it to the end of the gauntlet without being
touched by the hunter. This exercise defines clear objectives, explores different
tactics, and challenger the students’ sensory skills.
Shrinks
Before the class begins, write down different disorders
(serious or absurd) or problems that someone might go to a psychologist for on little
pieces of paper. Have students draw slips of paper. Split the class in
half. For the first round, group A will be the shrinks and group B will be
patients. For the second round, roles will be reversed. The shrinks can ask
the patients any questions, except What is you Disorder?, in order to guess what the
person is suffering from. If one of the shrinks guesses a patient’s disorder,
the patient can join the shrinks and begin questioning the other patients. Sample
disorders: claustrophobia, fear of bugs, nervous ticks, uses a color in every
answer, etc.
Bus Stop
Split the class into two groups for simultaneous group
improvs, or have one group be the audience and then switch with the other group.
Students improvise that they are at a bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive. As
each new passenger boards the bus, everyone on the bus adopts the attitude, personality,
accent, movements, etc. of the new arrival until the bus is full. Then begin
randomly letting passengers off the bus remembering to adopt the mannerisms of the
passenger that boarded before the exiting individual.
Black Magic
There are two main characters in this activity - a conveyor
and an interpreter. The rest of the class acts as observers. The interpreter
leaves the room while the conveyor asks the class to pick an object in the room. The
interpreter is called back into the room. The interpreter has to guess the object
according to what the conveyor says. The object of the game is for the observers to
try and figure out how the conveyer and the interpreter are communicating with one
another. Observers must look for possible physical, numerical, vocal, etc., clues
the conveyer might be expressing. However, the actual process of communication is
simple. The object that the class picks is always called after the conveyer calls an
object that is black.
Example:
The interpreter leaves the room and the class points to a book on
someone's desk. The interpreter is called back into the room.
Conveyor - Is it the
window?
Interpreter - No.
Conveyor - Is it that purse? (which is
green) Interpreter - No.
Conveyor - Is it that folder? (which is
black) Interpreter - No.
Conveyor - Is it that
book?
Interpreter - Yes!
Conveyor - (to observers) If you think you know the answer, do not
say it out loud.
Go outside with the interpreter while we pick a new object. When you return, we
will let you play first before the interpreter reveals the method.
Point, Nod, and Walk
Have students stand in a circle so they can make eye contact with
everyone. Do not talk during this warm-up. Point to someone. When they
acknowledge you with a nod, you may walk to their place. The individual that nodded
to you must point to someone else and receive a nod before they can move. Adjust
your pace so you get to the place after it has been vacated rather than while the
individual that nodded to you is still there. After the class feels comfortable, you
can speed up the pace or give students the option of shaking their heads no instead of
nodding. Explain to students that they are working as an emsemble. The object
is to accomplish tasks together regardless of difficulty.
Alternative: name cross - students must say the name of the person
who's place they wish to occupy.
Movement Warm-up
Play music during this warm-up. Stand
in a circle with enough space to move around. Begin moving your arm, then your leg,
your other leg, your other arm, your shoulders, ribs, hips, knees. Start over - arm,
leg, leg, arm, shoulders, ribs, hips, knees. Repeat 3-4 times going faster each
time. Now ask students to put all their weight in their feet and walk around.
How does it feel to move? Interact with each other. Now shift your weight to
your hips. Does it change the way you walk or interact? Now shift weight to
your chest and interact. Finally, find your own center of gravity. Walk
around, interact, and pay attention to how others carry themselves.
360 Degree Awareness
Begin by stretching your arms up and then flop
forward. Become aware of your surroundings. Look forward but adopt a 360
degree awarness. Begin walking slowly. Be aware of everyone around you and
take care of each other. When the leader claps, make a 90 degree or a 180 degree
turn and resume walking. The leader will change speeds by calling out numbers
beginning with one and continuing on up to ten. The leader may choose to freeze
students at any particular time and have them comment on their surroundings while
maintaing the same stance with eyes forward.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
All the participants pair up. Within each pair, one player(it
doesn't matter who goes first) asks the other "(their name), What are you
doing?" The second player responds
by naming whatever action comes to mind, from "I'm building Frankenstein" to
"I'm dancing in a ballet" or whatever. The first player then immediately
starts performing whatever action the other player named, and while they are doing so, the
second
player asks them, "____, what are you doing?" and enacts whatever action the
other person names. This goes very quickly, and once it gets started, both players
should
always be doing something physically. Theoretically, this can go back and forth
forever.
One great way to get everybody started is to declare an action
yourself that one
person in each group starts with, and the other will then begin the questioning.