Theatre Warm-Up GameFALL 2009 (LLED 313A/434)

One Voice (Peter Wilson)

One Voice – (found on the internet in a Theatre-Based Techniques for Youth Peer Education pdf file connected to a Family Health International website – I’ve made some adaptations)

The goal of the warm-up is to have students in partners, trios or fours working together to speak as one. I’d also like to link this to a brief introduction to the lower resonator (a la Kristin Linklater) as a means of allowing the students to start with slow, simple sounds before moving to words and sentences.

In a circle I would lead the group through a few vocal exercises in opening up the lower resonator – perhaps suggesting they are a group of old trolls who happen to always talk in unison.

The class would then partner up in troll duets. Placing their hands on each other’s shoulders and maintaining eye contact, the pairs would then begin to sound out vowel sounds listening to each other as opposed to one or the other taking the lead. The partners could then start varying pitch, volume and emotion. Once mastering this, they could then shift to their normal voices and experiment with words and sentences.

Further extensions could include forming larger groups, holding a conversation between two groups, speaking on certain topics or answering questions from the other students.

The benefits of this activity would include warming up vocally, developing focus and concentration on the other, finding a balance between listening (reacting) and acting and strengthening ensemble work.

A concern would be if a student was non-verbal. A possible shift might be a mirror game where two students could physically move as one.

CARS & BUSES (Karli Raine)

Overview:Cars and Busses is a warm-up and trust activity.

Procedure:First, pair up and chose who will be A and who will be B. A becomes the driver and B becomes the car. To go forward the driver, A, taps the car, B, in the middle of their back; to go right the driver taps the right shoulder; to go left, tap the left shoulder; to stop all tapping stops; and to go backwards the driver taps B on the top of the head. The driver has their eyes open while B then closes their eyes, or puts on a blindfold. A is instructed to move their car throughout the space silently and safely without any ‘car accidents’. The only time anyone may speak is if there is imminent danger when STOP is instructed.

Benefits:Cars and Busses has many benefits that apply to theatre. I use this activity in my lifeguarding instructor courses as an introduction to my communication unit. In the theatre this fun exercise will be a challenge for the driver to be clear in their directions, to pay attention to how their car behaves, and adapt accordingly. For the car, they must trust and be in tune to their driver’s directions in order to be successful in carrying out the task of exploring the room safely. This activity warms up the actors’ senses, gives them a focus to help exercise their attention spans (that are important for objectives and listening), helps them get used to feeling vulnerable which they will feel on stage, warms up the whole body, as well as warms up the space and gets the energy moving throughout the room.

Limitations: Younger grades may have trouble closing their eyes and feeling vulnerable in front of their classmates. Being silent may be impossible (I know our cast at UCFV had trouble with staying silent). If there are students with special needs physically or mentally it may not be safe for them to participate. If the space is too small it won’t work because it will be frustrating and impossible, as well if there is too much space there isn’t any room for risk taking.

Extensions:Once or if a class has mastered a two person pair as a car, break them into groups of three or four where they become a bus. The students line up single file each closing their eyes except the driver at the back. The directions are the same; however, the message is now relayed through the bus which makes the game more fun, but more challenging as the driver has to plan ahead to avoid collisions. The benefits of Busses is fun, variety, teamwork, and concise communication, a type of communication that could translate into the theatre as picking an objective and going for it! Wishy washy communication leads to bus disasters or poor results on stage. This extension must be saved for the classes that are able and ready to move on from cars. If it is introduced too early it will be frustrating, dangerous, and purposeless.

LET ME SEE YOUR…. (ALLIGATOR) (Alana Carswell)

The "let me see your..." warm-up exercise encourages participants to get their body moving as well as using their voices and creative impulses. It is also meant to be a fun exercise that allows people to be silly with each other leading to class bonding and individuals feeling safe to take risks in front of each other. For this warm up everyone starts in a circle and the leader or instructor starts by saying "Let me see your (blank)." The blank can be any sort of animal that someone could make a gesture to go with, however it is not limited to animals. Here I will start with an alligator. The student will then respond to this by putting their hand to their ear and saying "What’s that you say?" The leader then repeats loader, "I said, Let me see your alligator," followed by the reply, "What’s that you say?" Everyone then continues to walk into the middle of the circle doing the gesture saying, "Ooh ah alligator. Ooh ah one more time." They then start walking back to their original circle saying, "Ooh ah alligator, ooh ah back in line." Other options for the blank are pink flamingo, squirrelly rabbit and hairy gorilla. The game can go on for as long as you like and there is no wrong answer to what the blank can be.

The game can be continued further by having the participants make up the blank and taking over the leader role. This role promotes creative thinking as well as letting people take ownership over their own warm-up gestures. It is possible to go around in the circle so everyone has a turn making up something for the blank, or it is possible to just have students jump in who feel comfortable taking risks and putting ideas forward. A concern to be aware of with this exercise is that as a leader you do not want to put anyone on the spot who does not feel comfortable. This could lead to somebody freezing up making them feel embarrassed as well as interrupting the flow and rhythm of the exercise. If anyone feels embarrassed then the goal of having fun, feeling silly and taking risks is then defeated.

The Trip (Gillian Gates)(aka. “My Grandmother is Going on a Trip”)

For your reference: pg. 19 in Let’s Improvise: Becoming creative & spontaneous through drama.

In this warm up, the class begins in the shape of a circle.  The first player mimes making a box, suitcase or trunk, and then adds something that they would pack for the trip beginning with the first letter of their name.  For example – Gillian’s gel insoles. 

The suitcase is then passed to the second player (the person next to the left of the first player). The second player, mimes using the first item and then places an item beginning with the first letter of their name (ex. Tina’s telephone) into the trunk.  The trunk/suitcase is passed around the entire circle with each player saying all of the previous items in order and relating to all of the objects.

The benefit of this game is that it aids in memorizing everyone’s name through repetition. In addition, it expands the students’ imagination by coming up with extraordinary items, and thinking of ways of using/miming them...it’s also a good laugh.  If this exercise proves too difficult for the participants, I would substitute the players’ names and replace them with going through the letters of the alphabet.  Also, I could start the players off in smaller groups before trying to incorporate them into the full group.  Another variation for this exercise in order to make it more difficult is to add more people to the circle or by giving them a specific location (ie. country or city) that the item has to be related to.  For example, the trip is to Africa – “Mike’s mosquito net”.

 

The Counting Game (Lori Kokotailo)

Gather the students into a large open circle and tell them the objective of this game is to count to 21. The trick is that none of us can speak at the same time – we have to count to 21 without overlapping voices. It’s basically speaking one number at a time, and one person at a time. No eye signals or attempts to control the group is allowed. Whenever someone speaks at the same time, the whole group has to start over again. In order to be in tune as much as possible, have the group stand shoulder to shoulder in a huddle. If you do speak at the same time, there is no blame – we simply start over because it is up to the group to successfully reach their goal, not any individual; everyone has to be in tune and be supportive of one another in order for the group to reach 21.

To make this game harder, simply increase the number you are counting to, or increase the group size. Or another way to make it harder is to add vocal variety – the group has to count to 21 starting from a low octave and gradually go higher…Or counting backwards!

To make it easier, make the group size smaller or the target number lesser.

Adaptations – if anyone is in a wheelchair, it may be better if everyone sat in a chair to be on even playing ground.

Objective – this game encourages people to work together; it also keeps the focus outward (keeping people out of their ‘heads’) as they have to be open to what is going on around them, and be aware of one another’s intentions/breathing. It is also a great tool for focusing a group.

COWBOY, NINJA, BEAR! (Heather Babcock)

Cowboy, Ninja, Bear is, in many ways, similar to basic rock, paper, scissors. Replacing the small hand gestures are the full body gestures of the Cowboy, Ninja, and Bear.  In this incarnation, Cowboy shoots Bear, Bear mauls Ninja, Ninja high-kicks Cowboy. Players start in partners, facing away from each other.  They count out loud to 3, and then at the same time, turn to face each other in their chosen character. When portraying their character, each player must both make an enthusiastic body gesture (a common one for the Cowboy is two finger pistols at the hips in a classic dueling position), and an appropriate noise.  The more committed and enthusiastic the portrayals, the better. Partners can play against each other for many turns and then exchange partners with other students. Keeping score of who is winning can make the game exciting, but is not necessary.

Near the end of playing this game, players can have a Cowboy, Ninja, Bear tournament, lining up in two lines.  The front people of each line would start, the winner of the round remaining while the loser would join the opposite line. Once a player has lost for a second time, they would sit out, and the last player left standing would be crowned Cowboy, Ninja, Bear champion. The competitive aspect of the game can raise the energy level as people compete and cheer on their classmates, but is not necessary to enjoy the game or gain the benefits. In some cases, if the final battles are drawn out, or the class is quite large, it can lower class energy if too many students are sitting on the sidelines rather than participating.

Cowboy, Ninja, Bear asks students to use both vocal and body elements to create a character quickly.  While the three portrayals are somewhat simplistic, needing to be created in a few seconds, students are encouraged to be creative in the sound effects and poses they choose (and are encouraged to have a dramatic death scene when they are out-matched). The energy of the game provides a good warm up for students who may be lethargic after their earlier classes. But, above all, the game is fun and encourages everyone to participate.

At a higher drama level there is even an element of observation, as students may start to notice patterns or preferences in their partner's choices.  Higher level students can also be encouraged to make more esoteric or varied choices in their representations of the three characters. The three character options can also be changed to keep the game interesting, make the portrayals more challenging, or make the game appropriate for a different class (for example, using historical figures for a Social Studies class).

Mutual Interview (Alec J Ross)

For my warm-up activity, I have chosen the “Mutual Interview” activity. In this activity, I will separate the group into pairs, and then have the students ask questions to their partners, in order to obtain knowledge about them for 1 ½ minutes each. Once they have interviewed each other, the students will come back together as a group, and will introduce their interviewee to the class.

The benefits of this activity stem from the fact that autobiographical telling of one self can be boring and intimidating to the student, and can be delivered in a monotonous voice, in a very timid manner. By asking questions to another student, the student does not have to come up with his own facts about his life, and this can take some of the pressure off (i.e., favourite food, favourite movie, favourite sport, and so on). This could also ignite a creative spark in some students by allowing them creative license with their questions.

This activity could be limited if one of the kids in the interviewing process is very shy and is not capable of asking creative questions, then we will know less trivia of certain kids. However, if I give a set of mandatory questions that the students need to ask, then the group will still know a good overall knowledge of everyone in the class.

EMOTIONS DIALOGUE 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5,6,7,8 (Dean Hamaura)

“It’s not what you said, but how you said it.”

SummaryThis game focuses on listening abilities, characterization and purposeful action for students. Skills include: attitude, intention, character, listening and speaking. The goal for this exercise is to help students realize the power of emotions/attitudes attached to a single word.

MaterialsNone

Process-Students form 2 equal lines facing each one person opposite them-Line A will only speak the words for the numbers “1, 2, 3, 4”-Line B will only speak the words for the numbers “5,6,7,8”-Before students speak the teacher will choose and emotion/attitude (sad, happy, embarrassed, angry, remorse, excitement, discomfort, hungry, etc.-Students will be far enough from each other so when the teacher gives the emotion/attitude prompt, students will take one or two steps forward to meet their partner-Upon meeting, students will then express/display the “said” word to their partner speaking on their numbers -Interaction times could be set at the discretion of the teacher-Teacher can repeat the exercise with as many words as s/he wants to based on student behaviour/engagement

Concerns/Limitations-Students should be reminded of noise levels based on their environment-Students may be partnered with a “dominant” performer speaking more than listening-Students may not understand what the word means (ESL learners) Extensions-Debriefing students on their experience related to: what words were powerful, challenging words, listening challenges/successes, real life connections-Students could repeat the activity where only one partner speaks at a time to improve on listening by the other partner -Students can perform exercise without any words while using only non-verbal cues for expression

Objects Move Actors (Dunja McCrae)

Objective: team-building activity that involves working cooperatively in a small group to mime objects without using sound

Description of warm up: Divide the class into groups of six. The groups are to physicalize large inanimate objects without any preplanning or use of words during the activity.

Go through a series of objects in parallel play (All at the same time). Have each group select one to share with the entire class at the end.

Some good ideas include: revolving door, hot air balloon, elevator, roller coaster, sailboat and a car wash.

Talk about neutral positions for inanimate objects, whereas the characters in the scene have life, animation, reactions. Ask students to think of person/people on the sailboat, in the revolving door, taking the elevator… what are some possibilities to show moods/ personalities/ situations?

Benefits: This is a good team building activity and allows students to imagine being inanimate objects, as well as characters with emotion. This is a great activity to implement into science/social studies classes with vocabulary words, or even French class.

Extensions: Having the group create an idea of their own to share with the class can extend this idea.

Concerns: ESL students may not know the objects, but this would be a great way to learn vocabulary words in an ESL classroom.

Fruit Basket or Spice Rack or Heart Throb (Shelly Green) Basic Drama Rules • Explain to students that safety is very important in Drama  • Everyone participates it produces benefits for all students• All students are included regardless of levels of experience, ability, or language. • For Fruit Baskets assigned each student as an Orange, Apple or Pear (or Spick Rack for Social Studies or Heart Throb (Emotions) for Social Responsibility • Form a circle with students sitting on chairs• Divide group into three things (i.e., Apples, Bananas, Watermelons) • It stands in middle• It calls out a fruit and those whose fruit it is change places and the last one standing

is the new IT• If a Person calls FRUIT SALAD everyone switches chairs

REMEMBER * No pushing or shoving the first bum in the seat wins.

HUMAN KNOT (Amanda Johnson)

In this exercise students are asked to form a close circle and put one hand into the centre. Students will grasp one hand of someone across from them. Once everyone has a hand, they will use their free hand to grasp another hand, preferably of a different person. Without letting go of hands, students will be asked to undo the knot they have created by going under, over and through the space until everyone is standing, untwisted in a circle still holding hands. This exercise works with up to 10 people and so in a class small groups may need to be formed.

The benefits of this exercise are the team work and focus required to complete it and the necessity to communicate with one another. This exercise would be great for students who might not know the language well. Also, it does not require performing in front of peers so for those who might be shy this could help to make them feel more comfortable. A few concerns might be the close proximity of students and some might feel uncomfortable with the requirement to hold hands. With younger grades this exercise might be difficult if students become frustrated or argue with one another about what to do next. A solution might be to only do this exercise with students in grade 11 or 12 and even then, a time limit might be helpful. If the exercise has not been completed then they might try again next class.

A variation of this exercise might be to appoint one student as the spokesperson, and have all others remain silent. Another variation might be to appoint one student as the spokesperson, and have all other students close their eyes and work only by feel and listening to the spokesperson verbal directions. Students working in groups could also compete with one another to see who can finish first in a friendly competition or compete with other classes.

What are you doing? (Morgan Haigh)

Description: The class/group gets into a line at the edge of the playing space. A person enters the space and begins to mime an activity. A second person enters the space and says “What are you doing?” The first person answers by saying anything other than the activity that they are

actually miming (The first person must not stop miming the action until her or she has answered

the question) When the second person hears the answer, he/she must immediately begin to

mime the activity that the first person has said The first person then exits the space and the next player enters and asks “What are

you doing?” …..and so on until everyone has gone As a pointer the answer to the question should not be anything that remotely looks

like the action that is actually being mimed

Extensions: Change the answer to the questions to “ I’m _______ with a _______.” Later it can become “I’m ____ with a ______ while ______.” The answers do not have to make sense, but are meant to be fun and to make the

actor think on their feet. Sometimes the more absurd the better, for example "I'm painting the barn with a codfish while snorkeling." 

The second person must begin to act as soon as her/she hears the first part of the answer and will have to adjust the action as each additional detail comes to light.

This game could also be played as a tournament with two people bouncing answers to the questions back and fourth until someone is “out” because they repeat themselves or answer by saying what they are actually doing etc.

These mimes could also be extended into improvised scenes.

Benefits: This activity is great for working on miming skills and for strengthening

improvisation. It forces students to think on their feet and it is also lots of fun in its absurdity.

Concerns/Limitations: Language could be an issue for some, if they do not understand the answer to the

question then they cannot act it out. Some students may not like getting up and acting alone. This could be remedied

by having two or three students go at a time. This game could be frustrating for people who have trouble coming up with

answers on the spot. And I think that in this game, like in all others, students should be able to say “pass”.

YES (Cathy Hoang)

Procedure:

1. Form a circle2. One person starts (usually the teacher). This person will look at (or extend one hand

toward the person he or she is making eye contact with) a random person. When eye contact is made, the chosen person will say "Yes".

3. Once the chosen person says "Yes", (and only then), the chooser (person that is seeking eye contact or doing the hand gesture) will move towards the spot where the person being looked at is standing.

4. The chosen person now becomes the new chooser and he/she doesn't get to move to a new spot until he/she has made eye contact/gesture with a new chosen person who says "yes".

Benefits:

This activity helps get students moving around to different parts of the circle. Students will be able to move from their comfort zone (beside a friend, favourite spot, etc).It also builds affirmation and positive energy as participants are only allowed to say "yes" when they are being invited. This activity also teaches participants how to make and maintain eye contact, and therefore, help students practice being focused and attentive. ESL students and students who are not verbally strong will also benefit from this activity.

Limitations/concerns:

Students may need practice. This activity seems very simple, but may cause some confusion for some participants (adults included!). Some people may feel discouraged ifthey don't get it right immediately. Hence, make sure that only the person being chosen can speak, and the only thing that person can say is "yes". Tell students that this activity requires attention and focus...if not, it will not work!

Extensions:

I have used this game for a French class. Students say "oui" instead of "yes". A targeted phrase can be used instead of the word "yes".Instead of saying anything, participants can nod. This becomes a non-verbal activity and requires students to use other means of communications (eye contact, nodding, winking, etc) to succeed in the activity.

I’m Ground, Introduce myself! (You Mi Kim)

How to do this game People sit (or stand) around the circle. (or students can sit at their own desks in

the classroom, they don’t need to move to do this game) People clap 4 beats their own thighs with hands (1), their hands (2), right hand

(3), left hand (4). Person who starts first says peer’s name and number from 1 to 4. (For instance,

You Mi 4) Then the person called (e.g., You Mi) should say her name 4 times according to

the beats. After that, the person also should say another peer’s name and number from 1 to 4

(For example, David, 2) Then David should say his name twice according to the beats and call another’s

name and number.  It continues like this. If someone misses their name or fails to the beats, s/he should follow rules people

set already, say, singing a song or write their own name with hip etc. (people can decide whatever they want.)

Extension: To make it difficult, there are 8 beats instead of 4 with speed!

Strengths: People are enforced to memorize names, and it is FUN. Much space is not needed. They don’t need to move around.  Sense of rhythm or beats and ability to react instantly are needed.

Limitations: There might be someone who is not called, or popular one may always be called. People might call the same name to avoid getting caught.     (So, I set the rule such as people should call new name that is not called yet but it

sometimes lose fun.)

 Tact game (this is simple and fun, so I’d just like to let you know ^______^) People set the number according to the number of members, say 16. People should call the number from 1 to 16. But no more than one person should

call the same number. If two people call the same number at the same time, they failed and follow the

rules. Also the last person who says last number, 16, should follow the rules, too.

The Karate Chop (or Battle-Axe) Game (Jaime Beck)

Participants stand in a circle. One person begins by raising their arms in theair, palms together, and vocalizing a martial arts sound. This player must hold this position until the two people beside him/her karate chop (with vocalizations) towards the player’s sides. Then the player is free to finish his/her karate chop, passing it on to someone else in the circle by pointing the karate chop in another player’s direction, with vocalization, while making eye contact. The person receiving the karate chop must then repeat the procedure of raising his/her arms (with vocalization), waiting for his/her two neighbours to chop (with vocalizations), and then throwing the karate chop to someone else (with vocalizations).Gameplay will be slow and a bit stop and start until players get the hang of things, ‐ ‐then it will gradually build speed and energy.

SafetyYoung players should be reminded that this game does not involve any physical contact and that they need to maintain their place in the circle during gameplay.

Extension Players can elaborate their karate chop to include high or low poses‐ Vocalizations can be made more specific to practice a variety of tones or pitches‐ Increase speed to increase group think‐ ‐

BenefitsThis game is cooperative and works to promote group awareness. Players must not only be ready to receive the karate chop but be ready to support their neighbours when they receive it. This game is also a great vocal and physical warm up.‐

Sanford Meisner Objective Exercises (Aaron Spouler)

A brief history: Sandy Meisner was an influential actor and director during the 1930’s to 50’s and was a founding member of The Group Theatre (New York), along with Lee Strasberg. He followed the Stanislavski School of acting and methodology, and eventually was one of the Group who gave birth to the American reincarnation of it which was to become widely known as “Method Acting”. This is the method of attempting to “live truthfully under imaginary circumstances”, and to react to stimulus as truthfully as possible.

Silverberg, Larry. The Sanford Meisner Approach: An Actor’s Workbook. New Hampshire: Smith and Kraus, Inc., 1994, p. 9.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanford_Meisner, October 2, 2009.

No Pinch, No Ouch

This works best with a smaller group of students, preferably with ones preparing for a performance because they will be most likely to react as truthfully as possible. You can also get them to react as their character, or as themselves. Gather students in a circle facing inwards, standing nearly shoulder to shoulder. You start the game, explaining as you demonstrate. Reach out, to the left or right, and act like you give a big pinch to the student next to you. They should react in pain as if you really pinched them hard (give them a real pinch if they’re not reacting). The student next in order reacts to the situation by laughing at the student in pain. The one who was pinched reacts in anger and pinches the one who was laughing at his pain. This sends a series of actions, reactions, and reactive reactions around the circle. If you’re feeling chaotic, pass more than one pinch at a time around the circle.

Walk Like You Mean It

Keep students in the same circle. This game is non-verbal, and works off of eye contact. When two students make eye contact with each other across the circle, they must walk across the circle and trade places. Simple enough. Your job as the facilitator is to call out different emotions or objectives of walking. Examples: Hurried, annoyed, exhausted, easy-going, spritely, angry, defeated, eager, etc. Continue until students are warmed up or dizzy.

Purpose: Establish a situation where students can begin to react honestly, either in character or out. It also emphasizes the need for a performance to flow from one reaction to another as a living entity, not a series of disjointed vignettes.Limitations: Students may feel the need to overact to get a response, therefore not being truthful. Repetition might be necessary to extract a truthful reaction from your students.