In “You,” a group cohesion warm-up, participants enhance their communication skills and connection by passing a single word around the circle.

Game Type: Group Cohesion

Age Range: 10+

Number of Participants: 4-10

Materials: None

 

 

How to Play

  1. Participants stand in a circle.
  2. One person starts by gesturing towards someone else in the circle and saying “You.”
  3. That participant then gestures and says “you,” passing it to another person in the circle. There is no particular order or sequence for the “you”, but the energy of the gesture and volume of the “you” increases with each pass.
  4. The increasing energy continues until one participant achieves such energy and volume that the person to whom she is passing the “you” realizes that he cannot top it.
  5. The energy and volume then begins to decrease with each pass until the gesture disappears and the “you” is not heard, only mouthed.
  6. From there, the mouthing stops, the “you” is passed with movement of the eyes.
  7. The decreasing continues until eventually nothing happens to indicate who has the “you”, but it is still being passed around the circle.
  8. It may get lost very soon after this point; that’s when the exercise ends.

Notes: This game is especially good for small cast plays to try with each other.

At the end of the game, the participants often react with “wow!” and sometimes feel as if they have had a psychic connection with each other. The more secure and closer actors feel with each other, the more risks they will be able to take in rehearsal.

 

TIPS

This game is especially good for small cast plays to try with each other.

At the end of the game, the participants often react with “wow!” and sometimes feel as if they have had a psychic connection with each other. The more secure and closer actors feel with each other, the more risks they will be able to take in rehearsal.