Quick Description
Knife and Fork. Players in pairs change change their body to create representations of pairs of things when called out.
How to Play
Have the players get into pairs.
Let them know it’s a non-talking game.
Their job as a team is to create body shapes that represent the two things called out. For example when knife and fork is called out, one of them becomes a human sized knife and the other becomes a human sized fork.
Ask for questions.
Start calling pairs of things. Keep the pace quick.
Debrief as necessary
Notes
Prepare a list ahead of time. The list does not have to be physical objects, it can be fun to introduce concepts. For example: Good and bad. Democracy and Communism. Diversity and Inclusion.
I always end with the same pair I started with; Knife & Fork. It has the bookend effect of ending where you started.
Keep the pace quick so they don’t talk during the game. You want to get them to make choices and commit to them.
It’s a great game for early in a workshop.
Debrief questions I like: What was your strategy? What did you do when you were unsure of what to do? What if we stopped after each one and identified the best pair of the group?
Variation
When leading this game for Applied Improvisation with a corporate client, I will include industry pairs. For example: If it’s a tech company from Silicon Valley: Facebook and Twitter. Cloud and Server. Newspaper and News Feed.
Origin
I learned this game from Wade Jackson (New Zealand) at BATS Improv years ago. It quickly became one of my favorites. Thank you Wade.
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