A) Introduction circle

1. First round: Ask everyone (including your collaborators) to sit in a circle. Briefly welcome everyone. I always ask three of the same questions in the introduction circle:

• What is your name and occupation?  
• What is your passion, what drives you in your work? 
• What are your expectations from this theatre work? 

You, as the creator of the work, start by yourself answering all three questions in the given order. Then move to the next member of the group. When one speaks, everybody else just listens without adding any comments or asking additional questions. Continue until everyone in the circle has given their answers. 

2. Second round: When the question round is completed, ask all members to state three words they remember from what was just said in the group. Again, you will start and continue until everybody in the group says three words. People are generally surprised by how much they remember. This experience exemplifies the concept of “extreme listening”,which means paying attention to what is going on at any single moment.

3. Neutral position: Before we move to the warm-up games, let’s define what the “neutral position” means. It is a position without any expression, gesture or movement whatsoever. You will refer to it quite often. Here are the instructions: Now form a circle. Open your legs to hip-distance apart and imagine that there is a thread pulling you up to the sky. Ground your feet firmly, keep your arms at your sides, unlock your knees and open your shoulders. No tension in your body. With your inner eye find the centre of gravity below your belly button. Check the whole of your body to understand if there is any tension. Get rid of it. Do not forget to breathe. This position will always be our starting point. Let’s try it for a moment. (3 min)