Over the years I've learned and I've created hundreds of theater games. In every game there is a goal and almost always a few rules. Unlike in the world of sports, my games are rarely competitive activities with winners and losers. Furthermore, most theater games are played with everyone on one team and without an audience. Even in the games in which some players are watching, those watchers usually are active observers whose insights are a vital part of making the game increasingly engaging and challenging.
Fifty years ago a psychiatrist specializing in "transactional psychology" named Eric Berne published a book for adults called Games People Play that quickly became a bestseller. Catchy title, hm? Even as 14-year-old I found it easy reading. In framing adult interactions by breaking each role one might play into one of three categories, Parent, Child or Adult and giving each "game" a catchy title ("See What You Made Me Do" and "How Awful"), Berne re-enforced a grown-up stereotype that kids' games are good fun, while games between adults are hidden-agenda ways we try to get what we each want by manipulating another. According to Berne, a game stops being a game when at least one person in the interaction takes on the role of adult.
And then there is the (adult) use of "game" as pretending an activity is real when it isn't, as in War Games. While I enjoyed playing endless rounds of the board game Diplomacy while in high school (as the action revolved around making secret pacts and alliances with the other players), I'll admit to being saddened seeing one of my favorite words being used by the military to mean their practice in making war.
Let me share with you a basic theater game as a first example. I will follow up in an upcoming post with a couple more examples of various kinds of games.
First, the classic Mirror Game.
• Everyone picks a partner. (There are lots of fun, practical ways of doing the simple activity of pairing up!)
• The leader asks each pair to decide who's A and who's B.
• This game is played in silence, at least to start out.
• Leader asks A to start out leading and B to start out mirroring.
• Stand opposite one another, about five or six feet apart (less for smaller kids).
• On "Go!" each pair begins to move together in mirror image.
• GOAL: to make it very difficult for an observer to see who is leading and who is following.
• Every so often, at the leader's discretion, pairs are asked to "Switch!"
• Here the sub-GOAL is to continue whatever movement is happening at the switch moment without a pause or hesitation as leader becomes mirror and vice versa.
• Throughout the game, the leader provides "side coaching" by moving about the space and giving encouragement and constructive help in a non-interrupting manner.
• At a moment intuited by the leader and without interrupting the ongoing mirroring, all pairs are asked to both lead and follow simultaneously. Again the mirror pairs are reminded that it should be invisible from moment to moment who is leading and who is following.
I've been playing and leading this game practically my whole life. No matter whether I'm with small children or experienced actors or dancers, the Mirror Game never gets old. The more you play it, the more you can get out of it. And this basic game forms the basis for many more individual and group games, including The Moving Star, Double Dutch and Mirror Echo.
I'm not going to tell you now what this game might be good for or why I find it an endlessly fascinating activity. Use your wits and your imagination to figure out why. Next time I'll tell you about a couple of new games I invented along the way.
I'll leave you with this: a good leader not only knows how to play the game, but also has the experience to know how NOT to introduce or play it.
Ain't we got fun?