Insert tennis pun here, such as “you’re sure to love this game,” or “this exercise will set you and your ensemble up for success…”
The Basics
Players work in pairs and spread through the rehearsal area to claim their own tennis courts. A game of tennis is mimed. With each hit of the imaginary tennis ball, the featured player must name a new item in a category provided by the facilitator. If players are unable to return the volley with an appropriate and new item, their opponent scores a point, and a new serve begins. The facilitator should change the category several times when the prior offering becomes exhausted.
Example
Players A and B face off as their classmates do the same. The category of “fruit” serves as their inspiration, and A prepares to serve with a sweeping motion. As the mimed ball passes over the mimed net, they announce…
Player A: “Watermelon.”
Player B follows the path of the fast ball and reaches out with their mimed racket and replies…
Player B: “Grapes”
The ball is returned high into the sky, giving A a second longer to formulate their response…
Player A: “Banana…”
The Focus
This warmup promotes spontaneity, physical (and mental) commitment, and embracing the loss alongside the win. I often teach it in lessons focusing on listening skills as the acoustics of multiple pairs playing simultaneously can prove challenging but ultimately feasible if everyone really tunes into their own designated partner.
Traps and Tips
1.) Commit. My mimed tennis is no better than my real tennis, which I imagine is the case for most of us! Regardless of your prior experience or skill level, be sure to really attack the physical component of the game. In doing so, it will serve as a good active warm-up while also preventing you from making it a purely intellectual affair. In terms of vocal energy, you’ll want to commit as well; it’s difficult to play freely if you’re constantly struggling to hear your opponent’s offer.
2.) Commit. There can be a temptation to stall or slow the action to enable you to find that next elusive item on the list, but endeavor not to bend the laws of nature and physics when it comes to the tempo in which you return each volley. If you’re facing a gentle lob, sure, take that extra second to determine your reply. But if you’re facing a breakneck serve, make your choice quickly, come what may.
3.) Commit. To that end, when your wits fail you – which they likely will often – don’t grind the match to a half standing and stalling and postponing the inevitable. Take the loss with abandon and grace, ideally with your best effort at a new entry on the given list, even if it’s a repeat or completely nonsensical. Don’t let the momentum and joy of the game become subverted by the presence of real (as opposed to performed) competition.
In performance
All going well, your rehearsal hall will erupt with great energy. Insert a closing pun here, such as “this level of playfulness will be hard to match…” I’ll often ask for the final scores to close out the warm-up. Some pairs will manage to keep tally, but it’s telling that most players tend to give into the silly fun and thus forget scoring entirely.
A thought that I’ve yet to apply but will do so when I next play this in my Improv I classes: I usually offer up predictably big categories to maximize the likelihood of success and longevity. However, if you’re working with an ensemble that generally struggles to lose (graciously, strategically, and joyfully), then it could serve to deliberately put some stumpers into the mix, such as car engine parts, or Nobel prize recipients (in physics!), to further encourage bold, brave losses.
Search the ever-expanding list of games and exercise in the ImprovDr Game Library here.
Cheers, David Charles.
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Photo Credit: Olivia Skvarenina
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