Hoopla teacher Rory Vieyra share his favourite warmup games.

Here are Hoopla teacher Rory Vieyra's favourite improv warm-up games and what they help with. 

Mimic

Everyone stands in a circle and someone says something. It can be a movie quote, song lyric or something from real life. The next person in the circle observes the person saying the quote and then mimics exactly what they saw to the next person in circle. Over time it will change and get weird. They key is to copy the person next to you and not anyone previous.

Good for being silly, listening and getting physical.

Mind Meld

The goal is for two people to say things together until they reach the same word. It begins by one person saying "one," the second person saying "two," and then both people counting to three together. They then say anything at all - a person, place, idea, concept, phrase: anything. Then we think what the thing between those two things or associated with those two things would be. We repeat the one, two, three and try to use the two previously stated things to arrive at a third, common one. You free associate together, attempting to reach the same word, then everyone shouts Mind Meld and does a dance.

Good for forming a group mind, listening and building on others ideas.

Two Penises

Is a fun game where everyone in a circle starts chants 'Two Penises, two penises, what would you do with 2 penises?' The first person says 'The first one i would XYZ.' then the next person tries to rhyme with the final bit of the previous statement with the second penis 'The second one I would XYZ.'

E.G. 'The first one I would throw in the fire, The second one I would give to a liar.'

Then everyone chants 'Two Penises, two penises, what would you do with 2 penises?' together before repeating the game with the next people until you get bored or everyone has had a turn.

It's good for being silly, listening to the other person and embracing the failure.

8 Things

Can be done in pairs or as a group. Someone jumps into the circle and then someone on the outside says '8 Types of X.' It can be anything Dogs, Cheese, space pirates it doesn't matter. Then the person in the centre lists 8 things in the category while the people on the outside count them off.

Good for getting your mind in the zone, positivity and support

I'm a whisk

The players stand on the stage/around the room. Player A goes to the middle, strikes a pose and says who or what they represent. For example, he lifts his arms over his head and says 'I am a tree.' A second player arrives, adds to the picture, and also says who or what he is. A third player 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 other player stays on the stage and repeats their sentence (without changing their pose) As a result he offers a suggestion for a new scene.

This exercise can take place with any number of players.

Good for physicality, supporting and Yes And-ing

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Rory regularly teaches at hoopla as well as performing.  You can see him in improv action in Music Box.  www.hooplaimpro.com

Meet Hoopla Teacher Andrew Gentilli

Hi Andrew, what got you into improv in the first place?

I trained as an actor and always found the improvised scenes to be more alive, and improv exercises left more room for creative play and silliness - which is closer to my sensibilities. So once I finished the course I went hunting for improv meet-ups online and the breadcrumb trail led me to Hoopla.

What do you think makes a good improviser?

Someone who listens intently and is always ready to yield, but strong and committed when making offers. Above all, they make sure they're having fun - which is what it feels like when you're creatively free.

What’s your favourite exercise and why?

'You Look, You Seem'. It crystallises the notion that The Scene Is In The Eyes Of Your Partner. You are constantly making endowments based on close observation of your scene partner, they in turn run with your endowments to generate more content for you, do this for a few minutes then switch. It's very simple and very easy but becomes a two-person treadmill of incredible creativity and energy which seemingly takes off on its own. Afterwards, you're a bit 'what just happened?' while the class has just witnessed a wonderfully bizarre but emotionally truthful rollercoaster.

Who are your favourite improv acts?

Parallelogramophonograph, Dummy, The Improvised Shakespeare Company.

What does improv training help you within the real world?

It builds muscles of trusting your intuition, confidence on the fly, and never getting too precious. It frees you from your own head!

What advice would you give to people wanting to get into improv?

Trust that intuition. Jump in. It taps into a deep need we have to live in the moment and create, free from judgement. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't massively benefit from improv.


Thanks Andrew!  See you at Hoopla @ The Miller soon :D 

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Andrew can be seen performing in Music Box & Beings. He teaches the Beginners and Performance courses at Hoopla.  www.hooplaimpro.com