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30 A Gathering Place Awaits– Mountain Play 2020 Sunday, May 3, 2020 Sharing stories is an in- tegral part of what makes us human. Storytelling allows us to communicate emotions and experi- ences. In the process, pro- viding representation and developing compassion and empathy. This cor- nerstone is demonstrated by the Mountain Play on a grand scale. Sitting in that forested, 3750 seat amphitheatre under the same warm sun with our siblings, parents, friends and strangers, we experi- ence a shared story that allows us to feel, think, gain perspective and love through its music and narrative. It's a certain kind of magic. Deloping empathy is the founda- tion of theatre and play is the part of foundation for the actors. We want to share the joy and encourage you to play. Through simple improvisation games, you can lift your spirit with even a small group of players - it even works virtually! The only things you all have to agree to are the following: 1. Make your partners look good by giving them opportunities they can play with! 2. It's all about "Yes, and..." so when an idea is presented you go with it - and then add something new. 3. Fail Gloriously!: Al- low yourself to be wrong and make mistakes. Game 1: I am a Tree - Warms up your body along with opening up your outer goofball. You need 3+ players. First person jumps into the circle and says "I am a Tree,'' and does their ab- solute best frozen impres- sion of a tree. Next per- son jumps in with some- thing else that adds to the tree scenery, or tableaux. For example, "I am an apple" and gives a frozen impression of an apple. Lastly, a third person joins the scene - example "I am a person coming to eat the fallen apple!" Then the first person, the tree, picks one of the oth- ers they want to leave the scene along with them. So in our example let's say "the tree" says "I take the person about to eat th e a pp l e, " t he n t he y g o back to the circle. The person left restates what they are: "I am a fallen apple" and the game re- starts, each time with the first person choosing one of the others to return to the circle and allowing a new story to begin. Game 2: 1, 2, 3 - This game gets your goofball to warm up and work on some acting too. Person one has a prob- lem, let's say they have a paper cut in their finger. They start by telling us what happened to them. For example: "OW!! I just got a paper cut on my finger!" Person 2, makes the problem worse. From our example: "Oh, I've got some lemonade. Here," and pretends to pour it on Person 1's finger. Person 1 reacts. Finally Person 3 solves the problem. "Oh no, wait! I've got some warm water to rinse that with and a bandage with ointment" and proceeds to help Person 1. These are nice and quick scenes and will challenge you on the first agreement of im- prov: making your part- ner look good by giving them the most playable and fun choice. Game 3: Fortunately/ Unfortunately - This is a storytelling game. Sitting in a circle the first person starts the fairytale with "Once Upon a Time…." and they say one sentence to start the story. Then each person continues the story one sentence at a time but each sentence must alternate starting with "Fortunately" or "Unfortunately." So after the "Once upon a time" person, if the next person starts their sentence with "Fortunately…" then the person after them starts with "Unfortunately…" At the end of the circle (or if it's a small circle a couple times around) the last person must end the story with "And the Moral is…" completing your new fairy tale! 326 Mission Ave • San Rafael, CA 94901 • aldersly.com TO RETIRE INDEPENDENTLY FREEDOM Want to continue your active lifestyle—confident that onsite health services are available if ever needed? That's the Life Plan concept at Aldersly! Call (415) 453-7425 today for a personal tour. Drama Games and Why?