Freeze and Justify http://www.childdrama.com/warmups.html The Granddaddy of 'em all. Just about everyone who has ever had an acting class knows this one, so I'll be brief. How To Play The group sits or stands around the acting space. Two people enter the space and begin to improvise a scene, with dialogue and as much physical action as possible. At any moment, anyone else in the group may shout, "FREEZE!" The actors freeze instantly and exactly. The person who stopped the scene taps one of the actors on the shoulder. The actor sits down and the new person takes his or her position exactly. The new person must now initiate a new and DIFFERENT scene. The scene must flow naturally from the positions of the two bodies, and it is the new person's responsibility to communicate to his or her partner and to the audience what the new scene is about. At any moment another person may shout, "FREEZE!" and it begins again. Pointers With some groups it is necessary to make a rule that no one may freeze a scene until the situation has been clearly established and both actors have contributed. With groups of kids I sometimes have them take turns saying, "Freeze!" In other words, as a scene goes on, only one person is allowed to freeze it. Then when he does, the next person is allowed to freeze it, and so on. If you have a reticent student, you can shout "Freeze!" for him and then coach him as necessary
Freeze and Justify http://www.childdrama.com/warmups.html The Granddaddy of 'em all. Just about everyone who has ever had an acting class knows this one, so I'll be brief. How To Play The group sits or stands around the acting space. Two people enter the space and begin to improvise a scene, with dialogue and as much physical action as possible. At any moment, anyone else in the group may shout, "FREEZE!" The actors freeze instantly and exactly. The person who stopped the scene taps one of the actors on the shoulder. The actor sits down and the new person takes his or her position exactly. The new person must now initiate a new and DIFFERENT scene. The scene must flow naturally from the positions of the two bodies, and it is the new person's responsibility to communicate to his or her partner and to the audience what the new scene is about. At any moment another person may shout, "FREEZE!" and it begins again. Pointers With some groups it is necessary to make a rule that no one may freeze a scene until the situation has been clearly established and both actors have contributed. With groups of kids I sometimes have them take turns saying, "Freeze!" In other words, as a scene goes on, only one person is allowed to freeze it. Then when he does, the next person is allowed to freeze it, and so on. If you have a reticent student, you can shout "Freeze!" for him and then coach him as necessary
Freeze_and_Justify.docx