Games

Falling in a circle

2002-05-24T02:35:58Z

Close eyes, fall in tight circle

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Form a tight circle around someone, all standing, middle
shuts eyes and allows themselves to fall. Catch them and stand up to fall
again.

Away/Close, or Equidistant

2002-05-24T02:38:15Z

Run around - close to one - away another

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Move around the room, pick two partners, one to get
close to, the other to keep away from - but don't tell them. Run around trying
to get close to the first, and keep away from the second.

Variations:

Try and keep equidistant from the partners, or between them.
Pick one or two to relate to / copy, who aren't
necessarily relating to you.

Works well with "Extinction"

Extinction

2002-05-24T02:50:19Z

Pick a dependee - die 10 seconds after they do

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Everyone picks a person that they are dependent on, when
that person "dies" you wait 10 seconds and then "die". This illustrates
the chain of dependency.

Variations: it would be more dramatic if you depended on two people, also
more likely that everyone is in the chain.

Warm up - directive options

2003-12-29T10:42:43Z

The core idea is to allow people to dance freely, but make suggestions as to what they focus attention on, its particularly good for breaking habits. Suggestions include:

Verticality

Spatial exploration - whole of physical space we are in

Body Parts for a focus

Speed and Acceleration

Initiator - what part of the body initiates

Gibberish

2003-12-29T10:46:37Z

Speaking in Gibberish - i.e. a made up language - allows for breaking away from thinking and also helps when working with other attributes - e.g. gestures. Some simple examples include:

A Gibberish presentation - e.g. describe a broom, how you use it, why you would want to buy it

Hold a conversation with someone else in gibberish

Three person story - A, B, C. A starts story in gibberish, B translates into english, C continues in gibberish, A translates etc

Warm up talking

2003-12-29T10:48:44Z

You often need a way to get people loosened up a couple of alternatives:

Two minutes stream of consciousness, for example with one or two listeners.

Talk about an object, e.g a fire extinguisher, an exit, a piece of wood. Keep talking for a few minutes, find things to say about it, explore its textures etc

Wubble wubble

2004-01-30T23:21:25Z

In a circle - one person waggle hands + people on left and right do movement. Say "wubblewubble....wubble" Shoot energy to someone else (see longer description).

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Sit in a circle, one person waggles hands by ears (think
big flappy ears), person on right does same with left hand only person on left
with right hand (wish i had a photo !).

Person in middle goes goes (fast) wubblewubblewubblewubblewubble (maybe for 1
second) then shoots the energy across the circle to someone else (e.g. point
hands).

That person - and the people on left and right - pick up the movement.

Its fast and noisy ....

Knot untangling

2005-07-17T03:22:09Z

Untangling a knot of people and hands

]]> Participants in a circle, eyes closed
Place both hands into the middle, grab hold of another (just one) hand. Make sure you've got a good grip.
Open eyes, anyone still with a free hand raises it and grabs another free hand.
Now untangle without letting go.

This can be easy, or take a surprisingly long time, I did this once with about 100 people and it took over an hour to get untangled, but noone wanted to stop, I think because they wanted to succeed.

Have you Ever

2008-10-17T06:59:21Z

In a circle - "Have you ever ...."

]]> Sit in a circle, one fewer chairs than people.

Person in the middle says, "Have you ever ..." and adds something. The only rule is that it has to be something they have done, so for example, depending on the group it could be as harmless as "Have you ever - been to Sydney" or as risque as "Have you ever - made love on a beach."

Everyone who has done this has to switch to another seat - and not the seat next to themselves.

The person in the middle has to try and get to one of the seats first.

The hidden rule - that you don't tell at first - is that if NOONE moves, then the person in the middle has to tell the story - this will hopefully be interesting since its something noone else has done.

Stories on a theme

2008-10-17T07:04:05Z

Tell a story based on a theme or question.

Tell a story of witnessing a religious ritual in another country

Tell a story of something you got away with.

What was your favorite film and why

Go around the table - each person tells the story, or answers the question - very broad interpretation of the question is fine, you can pass - BUT come back to those people after you've been all around the table. ]]>

Yes and / Reminds me of

2009-12-18T05:38:46Z

Someone starts to tell a short story,
At any point the next person interrupts with ...
* Yes and ..... (expands the story, or a different aspect)
* That reminds me of .... (and tells a related story)
* No .... ( and corrects)

This works either as an improvisation when the stories could be real or made up, or as a collective memory where participants in a group, or a family jump in with real stories.

3 chairs

2009-12-18T05:41:53Z

Simple physical impro exercise -
3 chairs facing the audience each with a person in it.
People play with
* standing or sitting
* looking - e.g. at each other, straight ahead

Clear precise movements,
Sometimes a pattern emerges, or something not in the score which the facilitator can either allow or not as seems appropriate
Ding a bell or a clap or something to signal 30 seconds to find an ending.

Al Wonder - Theatre of the Ordinary - The Wonder of Improvisation

2009-12-18T05:44:27Z

Al Wonder was the 2nd impro teacher I studied with, and I highly recommend his workshops "Theatre of the Ordinary"- mostly in Melbourne. He has a book out "The Wonder of Improvisation". He blend improvisation and physical theatre, and encourges each performer to find their own style.

Parlour Games for Modern Families

2009-12-18T05:49:18Z

Myfanwy Jones & Spiri Tsintrziras have put together a comprehensive guide to all sorts of games - paper, cards, dice, guessing etc - all kinds of things to keep families or friends entertained without the "box".

Parlour Games for Modern Families

Facing Placing Spacing - Dots Lines Clumps

2009-12-18T05:57:52Z

Two very similar impro games, work well with small or large groups.

The groups start off stage (sides) and people come on and play with either:
Facing; Placing; Spacing
or Dots / Lines / Clumps (how they are grouped on stage).

Simply come on stage, move to position, wait, at some point move again etc

Sounds simple, but emergent behaviors are fun to watch.

Make sure some of the group are witnesses, either cycling in and out of the work, or by splitting the group in two.