Join-Ins- Short Pantomimes
Join-Ins are short pantomimes in which one student starts an action and another student, or a succession of students, joins in the pantomime. The actors are not allowed to talk during this exercise. The important skills in this activity are communication, cooperation, quick thinking, and improvisation.
I prefer to write down ideas on index cards, and have volunteers pick one from a hat. The volunteer begins to pantomime the action. As other students understand what she is doing, they can one-by-one enter the scene.
It is important to instruct students to think about ways they can help or positively enhance the action on stage. Otherwise, many scenes will end up as some form of combat (for example, shoveling snow will turn into a snowball fight.)
It is also good to remind students to show everything they can in their pantomimes. For example, if a girl is shoveling snow but does not seem cold, perhaps she is shoveling dirt or coal. As the students repeat this exercise, you can expect to see improvements.
Here is a list of possible Join-In suggestions; feel free to use these and add your own:
* Painting a mural
* Flipping pancakes
* Building a fire
* Giving a speech.