Warmup

A Context Awareness Competency Practice

In the moment when a group gathers — maybe for a class, session, meeting, or a rehearsal — each person arrives with a different “warmup.” Whatever happened to them before comes with them into the gathering space. Maybe one person had a delightful time, another was terrorized on the way there, and a tired third is coming from working many hours.

Physical readiness is the idea to Warmup the body rather than begin strenuous exercise immediately. The key components of a physical Warmup are: Pulse raising, Mobility, Stretching, Dynamic Movements, Skill Rehearsal. Theatre Games often include these components.

Psychological readiness is the idea that a person and a group can Warmup the mind, heart, and spirit to be or work together. Everyone becomes aware of the context of where they are and who they are within this group. People ‘warmed up’ to the task and each other will accomplish much more in shorter periods of time.

Emotional readiness occurs when Players can recognize and adjust their own Warmup to a person or situation. Players who recognize and respond to others’ Warmups encourage more skillful management of emotional exchanges in relationships.

Warmup is an extremely important overture for creating group cohesion.

Facilitator Instructions and Other Applications

• How To Facilitate Warmup Theatre Games (pending) provides more information and games to Warmup a group to their task and to each other.

• In Audience (pending) there is a discussion about how the Players must gather all the individual attendees’ preoccupations and warm them up to being the audience for the production.

• In Children’s Plays, the teaching module Theseus, Ariadne and the Minotaur gives specific suggestions of Theatre Games as Warmups for each scene of the play.

Cool-Down

A cool-down brings closure to the time together and creates energy for leaving the space. Using a ‘cool-down’ lets go of the session and readies everyone to move back into the world.

It can be as simple as standing together, taking five long breaths, waving at each other, or ‘passing a pulse’ by hand from one to another in the circle — and when the circle is complete, breaking hands and leaving.