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

Give and Take

Where we learned it: Acting class at NU
Ages: 4th grade and up
Materials: None

Process:

1. Start by asking the students to find their own space in the room and freeze in an interesting physical shape that they can hold for a while.  Emphasize making shapes on different levels.
2. Ask for one volunteer to unfreeze and move around the space.  That one person has the focus.  The rule of this game is that only one person can have the focus (the movement) at a time.
3. The person moving can now “Give” the focus (the movement) to another person.  She may “Give” in a variety of ways, e.g., touching, eye contact, energy transfer.  Once she “Gives” the focus, she freezes immediately and the new person with the focus moves around the space.  Practice “Give” until the group is comfortable with it.
4. Now introduce “Take.”  When someone has the focus, ask her to keep moving and not to “Give” the focus to anyone.”  At this point, anyone in the group may “Take” focus.  They “Take” by starting to move and the person already moving has to be aware enough to realize that a new person has taken the focus and immediately stop moving.  Remember only one person can have the focus at a time.  Practice until the group feels comfortable with “Take.”
5. Allow the group to use both “Give” and “Take.”

Variations:

1. Encourage the students to move in way other than walking and a way that no other person has used so far, e.g., leaping, rolling, slithering, spinning.
2. Ask students to make a vocalization (sounds or words) that matches their movement when they have the focus.
3. Create a theme for the game so that every movement and vocalization matches that idea, e.g., if the theme is school the movements might be brisk walking, slumping, stretching, etc and the vocalizations might be talking excitedly about upcoming dance, moaning about a test, yawning.