Like the 5 Things warm-up? You'll love this one. Or so you will if you're like I was when exposed to this warm-up tonight by Matt Newman. Looking for a nice in-your-head out-of-your-head patterns-on-patterns warm-up?
Like the 5 Things warm-up? You'll love this one. Or so you will if you're like I was when exposed to this warm-up tonight by Matt Newman. Looking for a nice in-your-head out-of-your-head patterns-on-patterns warm-up?
Personal Games are the focus of the base Mirror, Action, Object warm-up exercise. Engaged in either how they feel about themselves, how they feel about what they're doing, or how they feel about a mimed object, players build progressions of emotional reaction triggered by active endowments. As examples: A player loves his outfit, and as […]
Aaron Grant once took the stage across from me, making eye contact but planting his feet firmly just beyond the stage right wing. I mirrored him on stage left. He mimed the classic flirtatious fishing move. I played his fish but broke his line bashfully, the stage's distance remaining between us. I danced as someone […]
I sat with across from an executive. It was a benign conversation - a check-in meeting. Neither of us was all that engaged. Looking down at his desk, I noticed he'd arrayed files on his desk in the order of a rainbow - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple (though Roy G. Biv forever, squad). I […]
Here's an annoying song my baby likes: Herman The Worm Here's the thing... It makes for one fun group warm-up with echos of One Person, To The Ether, Help Desk and Hey Everybody game patterns. Give it a try!
"World Building" is a noble pursuit in long form improvisation. It can focus our creativity to try to link our scenes to a single location, time or conceit. The Chicago-based People of Earth, for example, placed all of their scenes on the same train. Horse Apples set an entire long-form in a future where everyone […]
As a warm-up exercise or a short-form performance game, Four Corners is a fun way to explore two person scenes and subsequent beats. Check out this wonderful example from The Coalition Theater's class showcase. I am particularly fond of the players' choice to enthusiastically agree and trust in the power of emotion alone when met […]
Mirroring/repeating language, details and rules heightens a group’s work while keeping it cohesive. INVOCATION – Players stand in a half circle. On the count of three, a “god” appears before them that they will worship in three phases: First, they will describe it physically; “Oh, God, with your fowl beak.” Second, they will address its […]
"Welcome to Crappy Car Mountain." "The mountain's top is held on with duct tape." "Cellophane bushes rustle in the wind." "This one side is a different color than all the rest of it." Looking for a fun warm-up to get your ensemble playfully building a world together? Here's one!
USSR 1730... Vladimir Toma invents a heating device... "Yah, so, this I call...vodka..." The difference between one actor delivering all three of those lines and three improvisers delivering one of those lines apiece is huge in terms of audience reaction. When the audience sees that a player is accepting a choice given to them - […]