Hey Everybody Games: The potential for trouble in a “Hey Everybody, get out here” initiation is high. Players may rush out on stage to support the initiation with disparate reactions that then battle for dominance; chaos ensues and awkwardness follows. Or, though players may rush out on stage to support the initiation, they await to take their cues from the initiator who becomes the facilitator in a stiff and slow series of interactions that typically revolves more around thinking than feeling. Hey Everybody game mechanics allow a group to quickly build a focused direction out of disparate parts.
Suggested Exercises:
HEY EVERYBODY – A player initiates to bring a crowd on stage; “Team, take a knee.” Players join and players make choices quickly in succession – reacting, agreeing, emoting – to establish the sequence of contribution. The initiating player restarts the next sequence by heightening through the filter of their initiation. Players contribute in the order of the initiating sequence, heightening through their personal filter.
Lessons:
- Don’t wait; react – wait and nothing will happen or you’ll be stuck negotiating. The sooner a player reacts, the sooner they’re taken care of, and there’s one less player to “figure out.”
- Facilitate, don’t dictate – the game’s facilitator is just another player, who happened to start the scene. The facilitator can and should find a personal filter and not feel the need to speak any more than anyone else.
- Play your part – trust that if you continue heightening through your personal filter at your established place in the group’s sequence then an edit will be found. You may not be “the funny one” this time, but your consistency will allow what is funny to pop.
Variations:
- For more than contrived scenes – any scene where a group needs to focus chaos can be aided by Hey Everybody dynamics. Have one player initiate a scene with a Self Contained Emotional Statement and have a crowd join that scene quickly, and quickly establishing a sequence of contributions. Restarting and repeating a sequence of contributions can focus even the most disparate parts.