The Writing Exercise for Improvisational Acting — Exercise Review
Written in 2016/12/5, Pittsburgh
1. Put cards with images on them in the order of a story
Cards with images on them were handed over to us randomly and we were asked to put the cards in the order of a story without showing others the card in hand.
I was surprised when I heard that people in CEO or manager level actually took hours to put the cards in order. The most important thing I learned from this exercise is “serving the narrative”. I think this is really important for teamwork. In order to better cooperate with each other in teams, we need lay down our ego and focus on the process and the goal rather than how to beat others, how to show off or how to be recognized as a leader. This made me realize the beauty of teamwork and helped me a lot when I was doing group projects with my classmates.
2. Say “I own this place” in a high status, low status or any status in between
We were given a card with number one to ten on it and asked to enter the door and say the sentence “I own this place” in a status according to the number: the higher the number, the higher the status should be.
This exercise made me realize how hard it is to achieve a real ten. An ideal leader is supposed to be a ten. I was given a card with number 4. I didn’t make a hard attempt to act it out, which might mean that most of the time I am a 4/5-status person in real life. And maybe, before becoming a leader, I still have a long way to go.
3. Red light green light
In the game “red light green light”, one person would be standing in one end of the room while a group of others standing in the opposite. The goal of the group of people is to approach that person, while the goal of the person is to prevent anyone in the group from reaching him. The rule is: when the person turns around and says “red light!”, nobody should move. Once they get caught moving, they get removed from the group.
The exercise taught me how a story should be structured: as someone in the group moves nearer and nearer, the anticipation in the audience gradually builds up. This helped me a lot when I was working on my portfolio site. The question that kept bothering me before is how to present each project that I have worked on. And now I start to focus on how to build anticipation when presenting my works because presenting can be very similar to telling a story.
4. Draw a face in turns
Draw a face in turns in pair. Each person can only draw one stroke fast without thinking each time. If a pause happens, then the drawing is done and the pair should move to the next drawing.
This exercise taught me to give away control, which is essential for teamwork. I was always trying to take control of the team unconsciously and it always ended up me doing all the work because I was the only one who was committed to it (since it was my idea). This semester I’m trying to give away control little by little when doing team projects and I’ve found that working in teams where everyone is willing to make commitments feels pretty good. It is just like drawing a face in turns. I learned that it is wise to accept the uncertainty when doing teamwork. It is an adventure, you never know what you will come up with until the very end.
