Aimee’s Three Favourite Theatre Games

I am very lucky. I get to run the theatre components of CuriousWorks’ AllAroundYou program. I wish everyone got the chance to play as much as me. It is something very natural in us that is so often squashed or sadly forgot… So - I would like to share the game!

Here are my three favourite theatre warm-up games for you.

Perhaps there will be one fine day where people will propose ‘game-breaks’ at their next board meetings or conferences - to awaken the body’s senses and juicy-up the mind!

Please use the following with reckless abandon:

1. The Amazing Chair Game!

This is a spiffy warm-up game. A good workshop starter that gets you thinking with the whole body!

Put all of the participants on chairs spaced randomly - but somewhat evenly - throughout a space. The chairs should be facing all different directions and should not be moved from this position.

One participant gets out of their chair and moves to the opposite side of the space, furthest away from their empty chair.

This person is in.  Lets call her Ezmarelda.

Ezmarelda’s objective is to plant her bottom on that empty chair.  However she can only walk very, very, slowly.

All the other participants (Errol, Dylan, Camille and Nadia) want to prevent Ezmarelda from sitting down on any empty chair.  They must not do this by tackling, biting, head-butting or injuring Ezmarelda in any way… the only means that the other participants have to prevent Ezma from sitting down in that empty chair is to sit in the empty chair themselves. Yes!  But you see, that will prevent her for only a moment, because by sitting down in that empty seat you have now left your original seat EMPTY! oh no!
That’s right.
Ezmarelda is slowly making her way towards your original seat.
Because Ezmarelda can win by planting her bottom in any empty seat.
Quick Errol! go sit in that newly vacated seat!
Take that Ezma!
Remember to stay nice and slow there Ezma - don’t get too excited.
Oh! Now someone needs to get into Errol’s seat! Go Camille!!!…

So… you get the idea.  Keep Ezmarelda on her feet. She musn’t find a seat. If she does get a seat then the last person to move from their chair becomes in.

To raise the difficulty up a notch, the participants must not verbally communicate - so that the game is played in zen-like silence.

For another notch add the rule that if your bum raises off the seat ever so slightly then you MUST leave your seat and find a new one. You MUST NOT return to your original seat or sit back down. In other words, you must follow through with your impulses.

2. Truth Telling

Being able to connect to a story and tell it with conviction is one of the keystones of good theatre.  But how convincing can you be when the story isn’t your own?  Can you tell when someone is being honest with you or making something up?

Get the participants into groups of three.  Each group needs to secret themselves away and covertly plan….

Now in their groups, one of the three will tell a true personal story to the other two members of their group.  The story needs to be something that has happened to them (as opposed to some guy called Yusef that they know) - keep it personal.

For example: when I was five I used to live on a big farm and we had lots of chickens.  There was big red shed out the back where we kept all the animal food and one day I imagined that I was this famous chef like on TV ….(etc. etc.)…. horribly ill and my brother was in the loo for two whole hours but he kept yelling at me from there inbetween the vomiting.

The other two members of the group need to be paying attention to the story and taking in all the details - because in a moment they will be telling it to all the other participants as though it’s their own story.

Allow some time for people to get their details right, then bring all of the participants back together.
Three chairs are placed ‘on-stage’ and one group of three goes to sit in them. One at a time each member of the group tells the same story as though it is their personal story.

The others participants must observe as a cunning audience and look out for signs of falsity.

When the three have completed the story telling ask the audience who they think the real ‘owner’ of the story is.
Once the audience has deliberated ask the storytellers to reveal themselves.  You may be quite surprised at the answers.

Discuss the results with everyone.  What was the body language like? the eyes? Why did you think one person was false and another honest? What indications were there? etc.

Now bring on your next group of three for the next story!

I love this game because you’ll always get some really funny and insightful stories emerging.

3. Snake

Darken the space, all eyes are closed…. all you can hear is its hisssss…

Prepare to get very immersed in this game - and very scared!  This one is great for firing up the imagination, listening with the body  and investigating ‘objectives’.

Start by marking out a large space for the group.  You need to have something soft and tactile around the boundaries of the space - gym mats are great for this.  People will be running around with their eyes closed so the space needs to be clear and safe and the edges of the space entirely marked out with something that the feet can feel as soon as one is heading out of bounds.

Shoes off is best.

All the participants should enter into the marked out space and with their eyes still open familiarise their feet with the touch of the boundary-line (if no gym mats you could use rope laid on the floor, towels or rugs etc.)

You’re about to choose the snake. Get everybody shoulder to shoulder in a circle, inside the marked space, heads down and eyes closed. Darken the space - turn off lights, close blinds etc.

Tell the participants “I am about to choose the snake.. mwhaahahahahah! I will give you a light tap on the shoulder and you will be the snake. don’t tell anyone!”

Everyone MUST keep their eyes closed (if people are having trouble keeping their eyes closed you can use blind-folds)

Once you have chosen the snake, tell everyone “keep your eyes closed, the snake has been chosen. Stay calm and stay still for now. Snake, you are after your prey - to attack your hand must squeeze a persons’ shoulder.  People, if your shoulder is squeezed by the snake, you must die a most loud and horrible death!  Once you are dead you can open your eyes and come to the boundaries of the space with me to watch and sometimes guide the others still left in the game.  Snake - you can move only if you are hissing at the same time.  Snake - you may be still and silent, or move and hiss towards your prey.  All of you can start to move now.”

This is an amazing game to be watching from the sidelines.  People become quite terrified by the hissing, people huddle together in fear, arms reaching out, heads angled to best catch all the sounds.  Keep an eye on the safety of participants. Make sure they keep moving - don’t let people hide in a corner for to long.

Don’t be afraid to let this game play out for a while - the participants will become increasing absorbed.

Afterwards, allow the snake and the last person to be caught to extrapolate on their experiences, also talk about what it looked like from the sidelines - there will be lots of close shaves! Those who died early would have seen some really interesting ’scenarios’ played out in the space just through this game.