Games

Falling in a circle

Thu, 23 May 2002 19:35:58 -0800

Close eyes, fall in tight circle

Away/Close, or Equidistant

Thu, 23 May 2002 19:38:15 -0800

Run around - close to one - away another

Extinction

Thu, 23 May 2002 19:50:19 -0800

Pick a dependee - die 10 seconds after they do

Warm up - directive options

Mon, 29 Dec 2003 02:42:43 -0800

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

Mon, 29 Dec 2003 02:46:37 -0800

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

Mon, 29 Dec 2003 02:48:44 -0800

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

Fri, 30 Jan 2004 15:21:25 -0800

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).

Knot untangling

Sat, 16 Jul 2005 20:22:09 -0800

Untangling a knot of people and hands

Have you Ever

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:59:21 -0800

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

Stories on a theme

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:04:05 -0800

Tell a story based on a theme or question.

Yes and / Reminds me of

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:38:46 -0800

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

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:41:53 -0800

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

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:44:27 -0800

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

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:49:18 -0800

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

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:57:52 -0800

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.