Circle Switch

• Type: Focus, Ensemble Building

• Purpose: A simple game to help players develop non-verbal cues, work together and stay focused.

• Procedure:

• 1.  Ask the players to form a circle with one person in the middle.

• 2.  The object of the game is for two people within the circle to silently cue each other and trade places within the circle without attracting attention of the middle player.

• 3.  The middle player’s goal is to get to an open spot before the switching players get there.

• 4.  Whoever is left without a spot is now in the middle.

• RULES:

• -  The players must move within the middle of the circle, not outside it.

• -  More than one pair can switch at a time.

• REFLECTION:

• -  What sort of visual communication did you find works the best?

What Are You Doing?

• Purpose:  Develops focus and creativity, and reinforces concept of having an activity vs. action.

• Procedure:

• 1.  Have eight students volunteer. Two stand up facing the audience and the other six line up behind each of the two. (Two vertical lines facing the audience)

• 2. One student in the front row starts an “activity” (brushing teeth, tap dancing, swimming).

• 3.  The other person in the front row asks “What are you doing?”

• 4.  While that person continues to, for example, brush his teeth, he says “I’m washing my car”

• 5.  The asker must immediately start washing his car while the first student goes to the back of the line and the next student moves up.

• 6.  That student who just moved up immediately asks “What are you doing?”  Again the other student in front must continue to wash a car while he says, for example, “I’m curling my hair.”

• 7.  And so on. Students are eliminated if they hesitate, freeze up or stop what they are doing while they say what they are doing.

• 8.  Go until you are down to one student.

• 9.  Bring up the next eight students, etc.

• NOTE:

• - This could also be done in one big standing circle.

Freeze & Justify

• Type:  Creativity, Improv

• Procedure:

• 1.  Actors walk around the space, constantly changing the shapes of their bodies, exploring unusual poses (consider adding instrumental music to help their imagination)

• 2.  The leader at any point can call out “Freeze!” at which point all the actors freeze in their current pose.

• 3.  The leader calls out a name and asks them to “Justify” their pose. For instance, a kid posed with their arm raised high above their head might be “cleaning cobwebs from the ceiling” or “raising his hand in a classroom” or “playing basketball and just threw and 3 pointer”.

• 4.  It is the actor’s job to imagine a situation in which their pose makes sense.

• 5.  After the leader asks about 3 or 4 kids to Justify, unfreeze everyone and let them walk around again, posing and contorting some more. Repeat!

Slow Motion Emotion

• Type: Creativity

• Purpose: This is a great primer for beginning character work.

• Procedure:

• 1.  In a bowl, have slips of paper with different emotions written on them.

• 2.  Ask three students to take the stage.

• 3.  Have one of the students draw an emotion from the bowl and show it to the other two.

• 4.  As you slowly count down from 10 to 1, they are to very gradually put that emotion in their bodies and their faces.

• 5.  Have the class guess which emotion they chose and reflect on what gave away that emotion.

• List of emotions:

• Friendly Angry Sad Embarrassed Frustrated Annoyed Eager Shy Nervous Loving Confident Proud Curious Fascinated Excited Energetic Surprised Grateful Touched Hopeful Happy Peaceful