The third class was all about give and take, listening and awareness. We started off with George and Zip Zap Zoom to warm up. Then we passed around imaginary balls that helped us to focus and pay attention to what others are doing. Wow… then we played the mirror game. I love the mirror game because it is so simple, but it really illustrates give and take very well (it gets you out of your head and into the “zone”). Then thinks started to get weirder and weirder. We passed a move and a sound around in the circle. Then one person had to go in the middle and make a move and a sound, give the focus to another player, who had to copy the move and sound and then go to the middle and morph into a new move and sound. We played two other variations of this game. In the first everyone copied the person in the middle and at any point anyone could take the lead and change the move and sound into something else. In the second variation we didn’t stay in a circle and anyone could take the lead. These exercises feel weird when you do it the first time, but if you can let go and really pay attention to what others are doing and once again make them look good (in this case accept whatever they are doing and do it with them) it is a wonderful experience of connecting with others and being in the moment. We ended the class with Monster talk (Speaking in unison) scenes which is also a great exercise in active listening and give and take.
Key concepts:
Give and take – It’s all about giving up and taking control, and sharing and taking the focus. To do this well, you have to be aware and present so that you know whether the situation requires of you to take or give up control/focus.
Listening and awareness – In Improv often referred to as being in the moment. It requires you to be present, pay attention to what is happening around you and to focus. To do this you need to let go, get out of your head and into your body.
Thanks again to everyone’s whole hearted participation. Please share some of your thoughts here.
Last night I realised I had a choice, either let go or have a crummy evening and regret that I didn’t let go…and I did…let GO.I think everyone did. I love getting to know myself and others like this.
Again, looking forward to next week.
I really enjoyed the mirroring exercise… Especially when we both took the lead and followed at the same time. It felt kind of strange to be so connected and yet free. When I had to lead I ran out of ideas and when I just had to follow I felt more restrained.
This week, for me, was about letting down your shield that protects your “image”!
When introducing myself during our first class I said that I’m looking for a ladder so that I can get out of my own head. These classes have really become a great ladder for me. I’m learning to connect again with my body and use ways, other than my intellect, to express myself and connect with people around me. I think we are a great group – everyone else’s commitment to the games really make it easy to LET GO!