A game from Hoopla teacher James Witt:<\/p>\n
I get my students to line up in Rolodex formation and do short scenes with varying restrictions.
\nFirst of all, we play \u201cWho, Where, What\u201d three line scenes. If the players fail to name both characters in the scene then the other players in the Rolodex sing \u201cSay My Name Say My Name\u201d.
\nThis is to drill the importance of giving each other names early in every scene. But played with a sense of fun.<\/p>\n
In the next round, we play \u201cNo Questions\u201d whenever the awaiting players hear a question in a scene they sing \u201cQuestion\u201d in the style of the lyric in the Destiny\u2019s Child song \u201cIndependent Women\u201d. Once three Questions have been asked the scene is over. The Rolodex then sing \u201cLet us see your Halo, Halo\u201d or if the players make it through a three-minute scene without asking more than two questions the Rolodex sings \u201cYou\u2019re a Survivor\u201d. I feel it\u2019s important to drill no questions really early on in a beginners course because once players start making statements and not asking questions then their scenes really take off. I find it also means that fewer scenes become confrontational and more flow more naturally. I find that often when asking lots of questions in a scene its because we are looking to our scene partner to guide the scene when it should be a collaborative journey. It also applies a lot of pressure on your scene partner.<\/p>\n
The final rounds of Beyonc\u00e9 feature \u201cno negative words\u201d such as No, Don\u2019t, Can\u2019t, Won\u2019t, Not, Shouldn\u2019t and Couldn\u2019t. When we hear any of these we sing the debut Destiny\u2019s Child song \u201cNo, No, No, No, No\u201d and the final rule is no \u201cMeh Words\u201d this includes any non commital words such as \u201cBut, Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly etc..\u201d and we sing the \u201cuh oh oh uh oh oh oh\u201d bit from \u201cAll the Single Ladies\u201d if we hear any of these non-committal words. Three in a scene and the players move to the back of the Rolodex. These type of \u201cmeh\u201d words are often defence mechanisms from the players scared to latch onto certain themes and story arcs in case they\u2019re \u201cnot good enough\u201d, but I try and drill that every idea should be embraced.<\/p>\n
We then impose all of these rules on the final round of scenes. Which turns into a mini Beyonc\u00e9 concert.<\/p>\n
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