Theatre Education: A Resource of Practical and Project-Based Warm-ups/Theatre Games for K-12

Do You Like Your Neighbor?

Where we learned it: Creative Drama at NU
Age: 2nd grade and up
Materials: large, open space

Process:

1. Stand in a circle with one person in the middle.
2. Person in the middle asks someone in the circle, “Do you like your neighbor?”
3. The person can reply, “No.”  At that point, the people standing on either side of the person who said, “No,” have to switch places.  The person in the middle tries to steal one of the spots.  If she is successful, there is a new person in the middle.  If she is unable to get a spot, she asks another person in the circle, “Do you like your neighbor?”
4. The person can reply, “Yes, but…” and they add a descriptive statement just as, “Yes, but I do not like people wearing pink,” or “Yes, but I do not like people who have been to Canada.”  At this point, anyone who meets this description must leave her spot in the circle and try to find a new one.  Again, the person in the middle tries to locate a vacant spot so that she is no longer in the middle.
5. It is important to remind all the players that these statements are just for the purposes of the game and the players do not really dislike their neighbors or those people wearing pink or who have been to Canada or whatever the statements might be.