Last night we did a fun exercise in The Clinic, which is our advanced improv class. I’m just writing it out here so I don’t forget how it goes. The group stands in a circle, and claps to set a beat. They chat:
D…O…W…N… This is how you get down!
This is how you get down!
D…O…W…N… This is how you get down!
This is how you get down!
and then one person chooses someone (we’ll call him Kevin) and has this dialogue while everyone claps:
Person: Hey Kevin!
Kevin: Hey what?
Person: Hey Kevin!
Kevin: Hey what?
Person: Show us how to get down!
Kevin: No way!
Person: Show us how to get down!
Kevin: OK!
and then Kevin does a dance :dance: while everyone chants and claps:
D…O…W…N… This is how you get down!
This is how you get down!
The rest of the group copies the dance :boogie: and chants simultaneously:
D…O…W…N… This is how you get down!
This is how you get down!
Then Kevin gets to start it over again, picking a different person. It continues until everyone has done a dance. It’s a really great exercise to warm people up to be physical in scenes, as well as teaching some physical/verbal coordination. It also breaks down a lot of inhibitions because it forces you to do and say silly things in front of the group. At first, people were a little hesitant. But by the end of it, everyone was really into it. I’ll have to do this in a workshop some day. :nod:
that sounds so cool! i know i’d be super uncomfortable at first but then again i know i’d have fun afterwards =)
yeah i think everone in the circle groaned when the exercise was explained to them, but by the end everyone was grinning and laughing.
aaaa… orientation volunteer training weekend flashbacks!! *hides*
the “d–o-w-n, this is ou you get donw, HUH!” cheer was like the favourite of many. Me, I’m rather anti-cheer 😛
our version was slightly different. People like to go “huh!” and add in a pelvic thrust… and when they go “hey OVs!” and we got “Hey what!” and they go “hey OVs!” and we go “hey what?” they say “we want to see you GET DOWN!” and we just have to do it. Or we can yell back “ONly if you do it with you.” And it’s a set dance..but with like 600+ people it ay be hard to have one person dance and theneveryone else copy 😉
anyhow…yah… boo on cheers 😛 😉
cheers are good with crowds of people who don’t know each other that well. Then all the tention and exiety and negativism just goes out while you yell something obscene and feel so much easier ’cause “everyone’s doing it!”