Exercises
PHYSICAL BEFORE VERBAL - Players make an effort to take on a physicallity or do a physical action; cook, clean, sports, chew gum, deal cards, anything... do that before either of them talk. This way they both can ease into the scene instead of speaking out of fear and saying something that'll kill the scene immediately.
YES AND - This is based on the belief that there's a flash that happens. For everything you hear, it conjures up something unique to you, because your experience, what that means to you. So, they'll say a line to you and you say back "That makes me think of..." You're just reporting what happened when that line got said. So, someone said that line to you and it brings up the image of a high school cafeteria from your past.
"That makes me think of my high school cafeteria where there was this woman who used to shake. When she brought the fries to the plate, you'd lose half the fires, because she shook so much."
Then you develop a fictional line that uses that specific information of yours.
IMPOSSIBLE ACTIVITY - Give two players an occupation that they have no idea how to do, but force them to mime doing that job competently while carrying on a scene, not realated to that job. It's a way to stop doing scenes about not being able to do the job.
INTERVIEW/SCENE - Two players are interviewed. There relationship is created thru their responses. More questions build their reality. Then afterwards they do a scene with those characters. Usually the scene is related to the topics discussed.
SERIOUS SCENE/SILLY SCENE - Players perform a very serious scene about death, or being layed off, etc. Then they replay the scene exactly the same except death ore being layed off, is replaces with something silly or juvenile or nice.
SECRET TRAIT ENDOWMENT - Players do short scenes for a few minutes, then the coach endows them with secret traits that they must use for every scene they do after that. If a player is seen to talk too much in their beginning scenes, the coach might tell them that from now you you can only have one word responces. Or if someone only plays nice guys, from not one they must play bastards. etc.
BAG -
BECOME -
MIRROR -
6 LINE SCENE -
YES AND - This is based on the belief that there's a flash that happens. For everything you hear, it conjures up something unique to you, because your experience, what that means to you. So, they'll say a line to you and you say back "That makes me think of..." You're just reporting what happened when that line got said. So, someone said that line to you and it brings up the image of a high school cafeteria from your past.
"That makes me think of my high school cafeteria where there was this woman who used to shake. When she brought the fries to the plate, you'd lose half the fires, because she shook so much."
Then you develop a fictional line that uses that specific information of yours.
IMPOSSIBLE ACTIVITY - Give two players an occupation that they have no idea how to do, but force them to mime doing that job competently while carrying on a scene, not realated to that job. It's a way to stop doing scenes about not being able to do the job.
INTERVIEW/SCENE - Two players are interviewed. There relationship is created thru their responses. More questions build their reality. Then afterwards they do a scene with those characters. Usually the scene is related to the topics discussed.
SERIOUS SCENE/SILLY SCENE - Players perform a very serious scene about death, or being layed off, etc. Then they replay the scene exactly the same except death ore being layed off, is replaces with something silly or juvenile or nice.
SECRET TRAIT ENDOWMENT - Players do short scenes for a few minutes, then the coach endows them with secret traits that they must use for every scene they do after that. If a player is seen to talk too much in their beginning scenes, the coach might tell them that from now you you can only have one word responces. Or if someone only plays nice guys, from not one they must play bastards. etc.
BAG -
BECOME -
MIRROR -
6 LINE SCENE -