Gesture Name Game

In a circle ask each person to think of a gesture that represents who they are.
Go around the circle one by one with each person saying their name and showing their gesture.
Go round the circle again and each time after someone shares their name and gesture the whole circle must repeat it together.
This time go round the circle with the whole group doing each persons name and gesture. The person who is having their gesture done must stand still and not show them. (The name can be dropped at this stage if you like - Put it in your pocket)

Progression
You can play a game where someone must show their gesture and then pass it to someone else by doing theirs as well.
That person then does their own gesture and passes it to someone else and so on.
When someone is unable to do this for whatever reason then they must sit out.
The winner is the last person left in.

Group people together who have similar gestures or even gestures that contrast in an interesting way.
This group must present some kind of movement or drama using each of their gestures.
You could also give the group a well known story/nursery rhyme to act out and each of their gesture must be contained within the story.

Comment: I have used this many times and it is an excellent way to get a group to learn each others names and open up to one another. I tried this with a group of ordinands recently and although the group new each other quite well, individuals revealed things about themselves through their gesture that they had never previously shared.
No matter what the person shows always accept their gesture, although at times you may need to reflect it back to them or accentuate something they show you to make it clearer.

Stroboscopic Image

In a group of 4 tell one another a personal story about yourself.
As a group agree on 3 images for each story
The narrator (and author) of the story sits on a chair to the side but cannot speak while the remaining 3 perform the image for each part of their story.
Rehearse the sequence so that moving from one image to the other becomes seamless.
The leader (Joker) instructs the audience to close their eyes whilst the first image is being made and then to open them to view it.
This is repeated for each image

Ask the narrator how they felt whilst their story was being shown?
Ask the audience how they felt watching he story? What was it about?

Swapping places

Stand in a circle and look at who's in the circle.
Observe what you see
As you catch someones eye agree with them and swap places
(Nb This may require quite big body gestures)

Ask- What "ing" things were needed for this activity to work (Really spend time teasing them out as there is a lot of non verbal contact in this game)

Progression
Look, agree and swap places with someone but keep eye contact until you cross one another
Repeat this but keep eye contact all the time
Repeat above but agree for one of you to close there eyes so the other has to direct you verbally
Look agree and met in the middle, create a shape, then return to your place. (You can ask what the group saw or noticed in the middle. Any interesting shapes.)

Look up, Look down

In a circle everybody look at the floor.
The leader then clicks fingers or says "Look up!" and everyone must look at somebody in the circle.
If two people are looking at one another they can sit down or step back from the circle to show they are out
The leader then says Look Down! and everyone looks down and on the Look up command the process is repeated.
The object of the game is to get out first so you want to get eye contact with someone.
Emphasize that once you have looked up you cannot change your focus onto someone else.

At the end of the exercise it is good to ask everyone how they felt playing the game.
Was there any anxiety about not catching peoples eyes?
How did it feel when you connected with someone who was looking back at you?
Did anyone find the game uncomfortable? Why?

Progression
see Swapping Places

7 up

Sit the group in a circle
Count around the circle 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. On each number the person simply points with their hand in the direction the count is going.
On 7 the person must point in the same way but with their hand above their head.
If they want they can also reverse the direction.

Progression:
You can get the group to keep counting upwards and the hand must then be raised above the head on 7 and multiples of 7
You can introduce fists on 5's or multiples of 5, which can be holding both fists out in front of your body and this can be used to reverse the direction.
Fists and pointing must be done with one fist out and a hand pointing above the head where you get a number that is both a multiple of 5 and 7.
The game can also be played silent (not counting out loud) with only the hand gestures.

Balloon Games

Sit on chairs or stand in a circle.
Introduce a balloon and instruct the group to pass it around the circle without holding it and without it touching the floor.
Introduce another balloon and tell the group that at any time a person can take hold of the balloon and walk to someone in the circle say their name and hand it to them after they have too said their name back.
You can add more balloons to the circle and if the passing of the balloon around the outside is too difficult to sustain at the same time then people can simply walk with the balloon to someone else and say their names.

Once there are a number of balloons in the circle the challenge can be given to the group to keep all the balloons up in the air without holding them for any time. Each time a balloon is batted up into the air the person calls out their name.

Variation
Have only one balloon in the circle and like the game above someone bats the balloon up into the air but then calls out someone elses name in the circle. They must then come in and stop the balloon hitting the floor while calling someone elses name in the circle and so on..

Oppression - Group sculpture

In a group of 4 or 5 each person take it in turns to sculpt the group into an image of oppression.
You should have 4 or 5 images to show
Rehearse linking up each sculpture to create one piece of images
Show your composition back to the rest of the group.
Feedback through the following stages
1. Objectively - Ask the group literally what they see i.e Miles is reaching out towards Lily with his knees bent. Lily's eyes are closed.
2. Subjectively - Interpret what you see, The relationships between individuals, What emotions are evoked by these relationships or some of the images and shapes.
3. Create a scenario or story from the images before you. hat is happening? Who is who? Where are they? etc.