I am a Tree

    🚀 Warm-up / Exercise
    ⭕️ Circle

    Categories:
    • Agreement & Accepting
    • Justification
    • Listening
    • Spontaneity
    Lesson Plans:
    Propose ChangesClone Resource

    A very popular exercise, suitable for beginners of improvisation

    Setup

    The players stand in a circle.

    Player A goes in the middle, strikes a pose and says who or what they represent. For example, they lift their arms over their head and say "I am a tree." A second player B arrives, adds to the picture, and also says who or what they are. A third player C enters the scene and completes the suggestions from A and B.

    Now that the scene is finished, player A leaves the stage taking one of the other players with them. The remaining player stays inside the circle and repeats their sentence (without changing their pose). As a result, they offer a suggestion for the next scene.

    This exercise can take place with any number of players.

    Examples

    A: I am a tree. B: I am the dog who's peeing on the tree C: I am the man whom the dog belongs to. A: (leaving the stage with C) I am a tree and I'm taking the man with me. B: I am a dog.

    It automatically occurs that not only images are portrayed, but also figurative representations of abstract concepts.

    A: I am a tree. B: I am acid rain (Player B symbolizes rain falling on Player A). C: I am conservation (Stretches an umbrella over Player A). A: (concedes) I am taking Conservation with me. B: I am (acid) rain. (Player B remains standing in the middle)

    Tips

    • Encourage the players to not "leave players hanging" in the middle for a long time
    • Encourage player C to come in and "yes and" both offers so far, rather than only adding to player A's offer

    Variations

    • This game can also be extended when building images with multiple players. Then the exercise goes on to build into a machine. For example, a machine that fells a tree and processes it to pencils.
    • Another variation is to have the players build a full tableau. People can keep adding to the scene, but all objects should aim to be complementary, increasing the specifics of the scene without compromising the reality of it. Once no-one else wishes to add to the scene, everyone simultaneously states what they think the scene is: "We are a tree in an orchard"