From action.RAN.org

WARMING UP

• I messed up: mistakes should be celebrated, practice applauding when people mess up.

• Standing ovations: practice applauding big and loud for everyone.

• Walk around- Name: write your name with leg/shoulder/eyelash etc.

• Circle name game: names are said along with an adjective or fruit that starts with the same letter as their name and a movement which everyone repeats.

• 13 joints warm up: everyone moves each joint around, following a leader.

• 5 4 3 2 1: in a circle, everyone shakes out their left arm, right arm, left leg then right leg to a count of 5 4 3 2 1 for each limb, then repeats all four limbs with 4, 3, 2, 1, each, then 3, 2, 1 and so on until it gets down to 1.

• Opening meditation: everyone is invited to take 5 breaths with their eyes closed.

• Move around: slow, fast, high, low, in water/wind etc.

• Move around: freeze as flower/bird/person who ate too much etc. …tag for secret thoughts

• Yes Lets: walking around, people take turns calling out what they want people to do “Lets climb a tree” then everyone says “Yes lets!” and pretends to climb a tree.

• True about me: like musical chairs, they move if the statement of the person up is true for them.

• Objective game: in two facing lines, the people at the end of the line face come together and one person tries to get something from the other (can be an object or something more abstract) after the objective is established they go to the end of the line, and the next pair are on.

For Pairs

• What are you doing?: two people are “on stage” A asks B, “what are you doing?” B responds with an action, ie. “ I’m flying a kite, what are you doing?” A then has to instantly start pantomiming the action, in this case flying a kite while responding by saying they are doing something totally different, which B then has to do and so on, back and forth until their brains freeze.

• Hypnosis: partners take turns moving around, following their partners hand with their nose.

• Mirrors: in pairs people mirror each other, switch leaders/ both lead.

• Dialogue with ball: no talking, dialogue happens through how the ball is shared, not shared, thrown etc.

• Dialogue –“yes” “no”: person A says “yes” only, person B says “no” only, then switch.

• Complete the Image: pair makes an image, then one person gets out of it and makes a new image, using the image of the frozen body, then that person gets out and makes a new image and so on.

• Blind walk with sound: one person leads the blind other by a sound which they become familiar with before they start.

• Blind walk with textures: one person leads the blind other by holding their hand and guiding them around the room, taking them to different textures, smells, etc. then you switch.

• Blind walk with photos: same as blind walk with textures, except you add the ability for the guider to tell the blind person to open and close their eyes, taking a momentary “picture” of something in front of their face.

• Blind handshake: participants shake hands, then close their eyes and really get to know the other hand. Then they walk either a few steps back then forward, or walk around the room, then at your signal start trying to find each other again, but with their eyes closed.

• Dyad storytelling: each person takes a turn telling their partner a story, real or not, with a beginning, middle, and end. Anyone who wants to can share their story to the group.

• Tour guide: each person takes a minute to think about where their story takes place, with a lot of detail, and then takes their partner on a tour of that place.

• Projection: using a short script for two people, pairs get on opposite sides of the room and practice their scene 20 feet away from each other. They can only say their line after they have heard the other person say theirs. For less noise, have the pairs perform one at a time.

For Small Groups

• Alphabet soup: in groups of 3, take turns thinking up all the words that start with a letter you give them, while the other two mime out their ideas to help.

For Half of the Group (can also be whole group)

• Bus driver: as people get on a bus, everyone else on the bus adopts the new persons crazy personality.

• Party guest: someone is hosting a party, everyone else is a guest at the party with a secret identity/occupation that the host has to guess.

• Environment: one person walks on stage doing something that gives clues to everyone else about a place, then when people think they know where the 1st person is (in the rain, at a circus etc.) they join in.

• Power chair: everyone is labeled with a secret number on their backs. A number is called out, and people are told that the person with this specific number has everything in the world that you most want, but you can’t talk or touch them. Numbers are switched often. The only thing in the space is a single chair.

For the Whole Group in a Circle

• Guess the feeling: take turns in a circle having a feeling and people guess what it is.

• Circle work: pass the clap/sound/movement/imaginary object/ball/ pencil (that becomes something else around the circle.

• Silly sound and movements: do some really ridiculous words, sounds, movements etc. that everyone copies simultaneously one at a time as fast as they can around the circle

• Word association: in a circle, say a word to someone on your left, then they pass on the first word that pops into their head after hearing the word that was passed to them, then the next person passes on whatever pops in their head. ie. frog, pond, dragonfly, cloud, fly, bird…. etc.

• Machine: people create a machine by adding a repetitive movement and sound one by one to the middle of the circle.

• Find your mother: in a circle, the person to your left is your mother, the (on person to your right is your child. Each person makes a sound that their own personal mother must memorize- then the group breaks off and blindly tries to find their family.

• Switch: one person in the middle of the circle, who wants to join the circle. People make eye contact with each other around the circle in order to silently signal a switching of places while the person in the middle attempts to take one of the now empty spaces. If the middle person succeeds, the person left is now in the middle.

• Elephant: the group learns how to model an elephant using three people in the circle. One person in the middle points to someone who becomes the elephant trunk while her/his neighbors become the ears. If they succeed they stay, if they mess up, the person who messes up goes in the middle. Then add a rabbit, horse, wizard etc.

• Pattern Game: someone steps to the center of the circle and holds up an object (pen) another person comes in and holds the pen, then another, after everone has held the pen, repeat with the exact same order of people holding the pen. Practice again, then say a color to someone, who says a different color to someone else who says it to someone else creating a second pattern, practice that pattern once, then combine the first two patterns together. Keep adding new patterns until it becomes impossible (you can add animal types, sounds, ball tossing etc.).

• Sound of the Movement: a volunteer starts a repetitive movement in the middle of the circle and adds a sound to it, everyone on the outside copies. That person then moves to face someone in the circle who replaces his or her place in the middle. This new person continues copying the first person’s sound and movement, and then slowly starts adding their own flavor to it, eventually morphing into a totally different sound and movement, meanwhile everyone is still copying, after the new sound and movement are established they move over to another person who replaces them.

For Whole Group Filling the Space

• Flocking: the group is a flock that always follows who ever is in the front who does some movements, ending with turning the flock to face a new person.

• Grouping: moving around, people are asked to group according to shirt color, pants, shoes, height, etc. then asked at the count of three to say the one thing they have in common.

• Dancing serpent: everyone gets in a line facing towards the head of the serpent, and following the movements of the person in front who moves to the tail after 10 seconds.

• Enemy Protector: walking around the space, everyone secretly chooses one person to be their enemy, and one person to be their protector, who they must try to keep constantly between them and their enemy.

• Walk, Stop, Run, Sit: after walking around, some people stop every once in a while, then run every once in a while, then sit, then lie down etc. but all of the previous instructions must still be happening by at least a few people simultaneously.

• Greek Chorus: balance in the round –1-1/1-2/1-6 etc.

• Chorus: group divides into 3 or more different sounds. Someone conducts them changes speed, volume, quality of sound for each group.

• Swamp: one blindfolded person tries to walk through a swamp without stepping on any puddles (represented by sweatshirts/backpacks etc.) with the help of verbal directions from the rest of the group.

CLOSINGS

• Evaluation: people call out what they liked, what they want more of, what they want less of.

• Thank you circle: everyone says one appreciation to the person on their left either simultaneously or one at a time so everyone can hear.

• I am somebody!: you say loudly “I am somebody”, they repeat, you say “I am _______!” fill with some nice adjective, ie courageous, everyone repeats. Then it goes around the circle, each participant chooses a different adj. to fill in, and then everyone repeats them. Close when it gets back to you with “I am somebody!” 3X.