I Give You Holy Grail
Theatrical warm-up that trains portraying emotions and personality traits
type: energizer
purpose:
- to have an easy, entertaining warm-up
- to get comfortable with getting into a role
- to realize the range of emotions available
- to play with portraying emotions and personality traits
no. of players: 4-15
time: 5-20 min
prep time: –
materials: none
RPG: no
Activity
1) Facilitator gathers people to stand in a circle.
2) Facilitator explains the activity:
- The 1st person (possibly the facilitator) acts as if they held a big goblet and approaches a random 2nd person in the circle, saying: “I give you the Holy Grail” This sentence is said in an emotional voice (fearful, triumphant, disgusted, suspicious…).
- The 2nd person accepts the Holy Grail and says: “I have the Holy Grail!” with the same emotion, but they make it more intense.
- The two people next to the 2nd person say: “She/He has the Holy Grail!” and they mimic the same emotion, but they make it even more intense.
- The 2nd person approaches another random person in the circle and delivers the Holy Grail by saying: “I give you the Holy Grail” with a different emotion in their voice.
- The cycle is repeated until the facilitator stops the activity.
For facilitators:
- Make sure people don’t spend too much time thinking. This activity should be quick, energising, and people should be ready to react.
- Encourage people to be silly, to get over-the-top, and be more energetic. They can get as intense as possible. The more intense and silly, the more fun the activity is.
- It might be useful to check people’s pronouns before starting the activity.
For reflection:
- How was portraying emotions for you?
- What was easy/hard for you?
- What helped you to portrait emotion successfully?
