1.1: Building a Team

Teamwork is the most important ingredient in theater and is the foundation of devising a production. When you put on a play all of the cards are stacked against you (budget, time, etc.) and it is a miracle that any show is successful and the only reason shows are successful is because of teamwork and a shared belief in the importance of the production. Your team is your family and like all families you will have disagreements and fights but if you build and maintain trust within the team you can overcome any adversity and transform obstacles into opportunities.

The first week of any collaborative process should be dedicated to building trust and creating a team. Relationships are built on shared experiences, achieving success, and recognizing each other's strengths. So you will need to use your time to structure activities and projects designed to encourage meaningful interactions, allow people to collaborate and successfully create something, and above all understand and recognize each individual's strengths.

In any endeavor each individual’s contribution is important. My father was a football coach and he once told me that “every play is designed to to score, but it takes everyone doing their job to make it happen and that is why it is so difficult.” Everyone in the production also needs to know their job, how to do it, believe in themselves, believe in each other, and work together to reach the goal, otherwise the whole thing falls apart. You also have to create a culture where people are encouraged to take creative risks and understand that failure is not fatal. When something fails in rehearsal we learn, correct, and try again. You never fail, you learn and you grow. Success is always more meaningful when paired with growth.

Work on having your team put their egos aside and take the time to appreciate each person on the team. Remember that the deck is stacked against you and the only weapons you have to win, are the people you create with. Create for each other. Create to prove the world wrong. Create a family.

Team Building Activities

High Fives

Exercise

• Begin by having the class move throughout the space for about thirty seconds to one minute so that the group feels comfortable navigating the space without collisions.

• Next, have each member of the class hold up one hand and continue moving throughout the space, but each time they make eye contact with someone in the group they must give each other a high five and say “hey!” in an enthusiastic way.

Purpose

• This activity forces the group to acknowledge each other and interact in a positive way. When someone looks at you and gets excited and you are met with an enthusiastic high five you immediately feel accepted and you get a small confidence boost. You will notice within thirty seconds how the energy in the room shifts and how forced smiles that occured in the beginning of the activity will turn into genuine smiles of happiness.

Name Game

Exercise

• Have everyone in the group gather into a circle.

• Have each member of the group introduce themselves by saying his/her name and offer a few interesting facts about themselves.

• Create a movement/dance move based on one interesting fact and perform this move while saying the student's name.

• Have everyone in the group repeat the movement and name several times.

• Repeat with each member of the group.

Purpose

• This activity allows the group to learn each other's names quickly by connecting the name to a physical movement while also providing information that can help students connect through shared interests or experiences.

Ground Rules

Exercise

• Break the class up into pairs of two and have each pair create four rules that they feel the class should follow throughout the semester/camp. Some examples include: Treat others with respect, no favoritism, etc.

• Once each pair has agreed on the rules have them merge with another group and form a group of four. Each group must share the rules each have created and select only four to agree on together. This will narrow the rules from eight to four.

• Once each group of four has agreed on which four rules they feel should be adopted by the group, have two groups of four merge into a group of eight. In this new group each previous group must share the rules each have created and select only four to agree on together. This will narrow the rules from eight to four.

• Once each group of eight has agreed on which four rules they feel should be adopted by the group, have two groups of eight merge into a group of sixteen. In this new group each previous group must share the rules each have created and select only four to agree on together. This will narrow the rules from eight to four.

• Repeat this process until the class is back together forming one large group. Decide which four rules will be adopted by the group and then write the rules down.

Purpose

• This exercise provides many wonderful outcomes. Each student is allowed to contribute rules and ideas that address fears they carried into the group. Each student also must listen and collaborate with other members of the group to agree on rules that address both students’ needs. This allows the student to feel confident speaking up for his/her needs, understand compromise and think about the overall needs of the group. This also secretly has the students create their own culture of respect and trust while verbally creating the culture of respect and trust.

Spotlight

Exercise

• Place a chair in the front of the room.

• Have each member of the class or group sit and face the chair.

• One at a time, have each member of the class come up to the chair and sit down and let the audience look at them for one minute.

• In order to pass the time the student is allowed to answer one of the following questions. This question is selected by the instructor and the student receives only one question. The student is not required to talk, the question is there to help the student take their mind off of being stared at for a period of time. The point of the exercise is to gain experience being themselves in front of a group and allowing the group to see them, not to answer a question or entertain the group.

• Questions

  • What are your dreams?

  • What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?

  • Who is your hero and why?

  • If you could go back in time and relive any day of your life to experience it again, what would it be? Why?

  • What gives you strength and what is your greatest fear?

  • What was the happiest day of your life? What was the worst day of your life?

  • What was an obstacle you were forced to overcome?

  • What was the time you were your most vulnerable?

  • What was a time you helped someone and a time that you betrayed someone?

  • If you could go back in time and change one thing in your life what would it be?

  • What was a time you felt helpless and a time you were on top of the world?

  • What would your best friend say about you? What would your worst enemy say?

  • What do you hope to be and what do you hope you never become?

• Once the minute has passed the student is thanked and the next member of the class goes to the spotlight.

• Once everyone in the group has participated, gather the group into a circle to discuss the experience.

Purpose

• This is without question one of, if not the best team building exercise I have ever witnessed. The activity not only provides the experience of being the center of attention, it forces the student to confront the most terrifying aspects of stage fright by having them be the center of attention while also being unprepared. The student is then offered the ability to escape the uncomfortable situation by sharing an experience in his/her life that is true. Great acting requires truth and you will never be able to connect truthfully to a character or another human being if you cannot be comfortable being vulnerable in front of a group and connecting to a true part of yourself. Being vulnerable is what makes us human, yet human beings are so uncomfortable admitting weakness that we pay actors to be vulnerable in front of us so that we do not feel alone. Once a fear is confronted and conquered, acceleration can occur.

• There is another magical quality about this exercise. All friendships and meaningful relationships occur when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable with another person and share something true about ourselves that asks the other individual not to judge us. When the other person listens, does not judge, and shares something in return we have a strong foundation on which to build the relationship.

• In the discussion, you will find that people feel more connected with each other and that people will share how they now feel bonded with others who share the same struggles.

Statues

Exercise

• Begin by having the class move throughout the space. Once they are able to establish a flow where they can navigate the space safely announce that you will yell out an object or profession and each person must immediately freeze into a statue of whatever comes to mind as soon as they hear what was yelled out.

• The choices can and should vary based on each individuals life experiences. In the beginning, you will see small and safe choices. Remember to emphasize “going big” and taking risks.

• Examples: Pirate, Cowboy, Opera Singer, Dancer, Wrestler, Soldier, Parent, Teacher, Super Hero, Dinosaur, etc.

Purpose

• This exercise allows the students to build off of the skills and knowledge gained from contact improvisation and has them use big movements to create a larger than life character. This exercise also teaches students to follow their impulses and commit to creative choices.

Walking on Different Surfaces While in Character

Exercise

• Have the class move throughout the space and introduce new surfaces for them to walk on just as in the previous exercise. However this time have them create a character to inhabit the world where this environment exists.

• Example: If the surface is ice, the student could possibly be a polar bear, a penguin, abominable snowman, explorer, or any character his/her imagination creates.

Purpose

• This activity is building on the skills created throughout the previous lessons and is combining them and tying them into storytelling. This exercise also introduces character development and motivation or objective.

Creating Characters and Having Them Interact

Exercise

• Have the class move throughout the space. You as the instructor will call out a character trait or profession, similar to the statues exercise, except in this exercise students will greet the next person they run into as these characters.

• Examples: Best friends, Cowboys in a showdown, Celebrities fighting over media attention, etc.

Purpose

• This builds upon the lessons of the previous exercise and moves the character development out of the self and into the acting partner in order to create a deeper, more complex, and ultimately more fun world.

Safari

Exercise

• Heave everyone in the class vote on a location to have an adventure. This can be a real location like the moon or a fictional location like Hogwarts, Middle Earth, or Pandora.

• As the instructor create a fictional character that will serve as the Safari Guide throughout the adventure.

• Example: Under the Sea. As the instructor I create a Austrailian Safari Guide and address the group. (Note: The class will act out each element that the Safari Guide is narrating) Safari Guide: “Alright Class are you ready to go on an adventure? Well no you are not because I can see you haven't got your safari packs with you. Well...go get them. Hurry, hurry put them on. Let me see, ah yes looking good. Now everyone step into the submarine that will take us under the sea. Can you open the hatch? Good everyone in. Is everyone in? Lets close the hatch to keep us safe. Please push that red button and we will be on our way. (Begin to shake) Whoaaaaaaa and now we are off. As you can see we are going deeper and deeper. Oh no there is a large squid that thinks we are its food! Quick someone grab the steering wheel and get us away! Turn Left! Turn Right! You push the big button that says do not push! Just do it!! Whoaaaaaaa we are going so fast we are out of reach. Quick someone pull the emergency anchor! Whooooooooa. Is everyone alright? That was close. Oh wow everyone look outside it is a sunken ship. Maybe it has treasure. Want to go check it out? I bet you do. Grab your safari packs and inside you will find your scuba suits. Put them on. Quickly! Alright let's head out through the hatch. Alright is everyone out? Lets go explore. Everyone come here. Let's be very careful moving through the ship because sometimes these old ships fall on you. Let's go into this first room. Everyone in your safari pack you will find your flash lights and anything else you will need. Let's look around. Everyone gather round do you see that treasure chest? Let's open it. Who can open it? Nice! Look at all that money! Everyone grab some and put it in your pack. Shhhhhhh! Do you hear that? It sounds like Sharks!!! Swim away! Grab out your harpoons! Fire! I think we scared them off. Oh no look at our ship! It is damaged! What are we gonna do? Wait do you see that above us? Dolphins!! Everyone grab a lasso out of your pack. Swing it and catch a dolphin. Lets ride it back home. Yeeehawwwwwww! Alright we are back on shore let's gather up. Is anyone injured? Good.

• Following this adventure bring everyone into a circle to discuss the experience.

Purpose

• Acting begins in the imagination. If you cannot imagine it, it cannot happen. This exercise forces its participants to immerse themselves into their active imaginations and commit to inhabiting a collective imaginary world. The exercise builds upon each previous exercise and culminates in a fun interactive experience that allows everyone to explore a world in which they have never been.

Mirror Exercises

Exercise

• Break the class up into pairs of two and have each pair face each other and make eye contact.

• Have the pair decide which one is Partner 1 and which one is Partner 2.

• Have Partner 1 be the mirrored image of Partner 2 and mimic every movement in unison with Partner 2. This goal is to move so well together that an outside observer would not be able to distinguish which partner is leading and which is following. Make sure that the partner leading the exercise is moving slowly and the goal of both partners should be to move in perfect unison.

• Once the pair move well together, have the leader switch and now Partner 2 is the mirror image of Partner 1.

• Once both parties have gone, sit down as a group and discuss the experience.

Purpose

• This exercise is about connection and responding more to your partner than to your ideas. When you are able to make your partner the most important person in your world the exercise is successful.

Interviews

Exercise

• Break the class up into pairs of two and have each pair interview each other and find 3 things they have in common. Give them 3 minutes to complete this exercise that they do not have in common, but that they find fascinating and wonderful.

• Keep repeating the exercise until everyone in the group has partnered up with each other.

• Have each person share what they learned about their team members.