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

Group Juggling

Where we learned it: Creative Drama at NU
Ages: 2nd grade and up
Materials: At least three small objects that can be thrown (Beanie Babies work well)

Process:

1. Ask everyone to stand in a circle
2. First step is to establish the order for throwing.  Toss one Beanie Baby around the circle.  It should start and end with the same person, each person should only get the Beanie Baby once and you have to say the name of the person to whom you are throwing immediately before you throw.  Emphasize that at this step, all you have to do is remember who you throw the Beanie Baby to.
3. Second step is to play “for real.”  Toss one Beanie Baby around the circle in the same exact order with everyone still saying the name of the person to whom they throw.  However, this time, if the Beanie Baby lands on the floor at all, it has to start over at the top of the order.  If a group has trouble with this stage, try to brainstorm as a group how you can accomplish this task, e.g., throwing underhand, looking at the person throws to you, saying her name nice and loud.
4. Third step is to add in a second Beanie Baby.  This Beanie Baby goes in the exact same order as the first one, but has a delayed start.  For example, the first Beanie Baby starts around the circle, then a few seconds later (or a few tosses later) the second one starts.  This time if either Beanie Baby falls, they both have to start at the top of the order.
5. Fourth step is to add a third Beanie Baby using the same rules as adding the second Beanie Baby.

Variations:

1. If your group gets very skilled with this activity, you can add more Beanie Babies, trying to toss as many as you have people in your group.
2. You can also try to throw one backwards through the order at the same time as one is going forwards.
3. You can also drop the rules about starting over if the Beanie Baby hits the floor and just keep them going the whole time (it is still important to strive for accuracy since that keeps the game going faster, but with this version it is not imperative and it does not single out someone if she really just cannot catch/throw).