Getting and Giving

Getting and Giving

To begin this exercise make sure the participants have a specific space that they can walk freely in.  That is define the boundaries of their space.  If there are lots of participants, divide the group into smaller groups of about 8-10.

Have participants walk the space freely.  Call out “Freeze” and “Unfreeze” to get participants used to getting still.  After several times, call out “Freeze” and explain that you will unfreeze one participant at a time to walk the space.  Unfreeze one person and let them walk around for a few moments before re-freezing them and unfreezing another participant.  Make sure everyone has the chance to walk the space alone with others frozen.

When the final person has been re-frozen, explain that they, not you, will give the signal to move.  They will do this without speaking or touching.  Only one person may move at a time.  Let them do this until everyone has moved once.

In reverence, talk about what it was like giving and taking movement.  How did it feel to give someone movement and know they were taking yours?  Was it hard to give away?  Was it worth it?

Adapted from:

McKnight, Katherine S., and Mary Scruggs. The Second City Guide to Improv in the Classroom: Using Improvisation to Teach Skills and Boost Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008. Print.

Great for the themes of: Generosity, Liberation, Freedom, and Hospitality.

Basic Warm Ups

Basic Physical Warm Up

1. Reach up and wiggle your fingers, reach down touch your toes (repeat 2 or 3 times)

2. Roll shoulders back and forward

3. Put your hands on your hips. Stick your chest out like you are Superman. Suck it in like you are trying on pants at the mall. Superman, Pants, (Repeat several times)

4. Hula Hoop hips in both directions

5. Stand on one foot, stick the foot that is up out front and make little circles with your toes. Hop on that foot. Switch feet.

Basic Vocal Warm Up

1. Do Sirens. Start high pitch and go as low as you can. Use your finger and start high and as you go down take your finger to the floor.

2. Start with your finger low and your voice low and go up.

3. Massage your face. Make sure to get your cheeks, chin, jaw, eyes and forehead.

4. Squish your face like you just ate a sour lemon and say "Ewwww"

5. Open your mouth wide like you are eating a big watermelon and say "Awwww"

6. Repeat 4 and 5 several times.

7. Do some tongue twisters. For example:

   • Rubber baby buggy bumpers.

   • Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers / If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers / How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

   • What a to-do to die today at a minute or two to two,
     a thing distinctly hard to say but harder still to do.
     for they'll beat a tattoo at a quarter to two:
     a rat-ta tat-tat ta tat-tat ta to-to.
     and the dragon will come when he hears the drum
     at a minute or two to two today, at a minute or two to two