Acting Warm ups

Introduction

In development, work there is a need to relax the human mind while dealing with issues of development otherwise the processes, the activities which would become boring and just too grave. Among activities interspaced in group, events are acting warm ups or ice breakers. They are warm ups because they relax the body and mind while participants acting in group events. They are ice breakers because they help open up people to each other. Even though they are coming at the end of the module they should be integrated into all units. In fact, each unit should have a warm up or two.

Warm up 1: Lomukaka Lomanuwa.

This warm up is the same as “follow the leader”. Ask all participants to form a circle and stand facing each other’s backs with you as a leader standing in the middle of the circle. Tell the participants to repeat after you when you say or sing Lomukaka Lomanuwa (twice) and to do what you are going to do. You should do the following:

i) Trot slowly going round

ii) Trot fast going round

iii) Hold hands on the hips and swing left and right

iv) Dance twisting on one spot from a high to a low position.

Activity 1

At the end of the game ask the participants the following questions and let themanswer while standing:

a. How do you feel at the end of this game

b. What is the use of this game

Ask participants if they know of any variation of the same type of game and letone volunteer do it while you also participate.

Warm up 2: Letter

All participants should sit in a circle on chairs facing each other. There should not be an empty chair. As leader you should stand in the middle of the circle and say the following:

lam going to send a letter to people who have something in common. When I mention the common thing that group of people should stand and change seats. lam going to occupy a seat belonging to one of them and the person without a chair will come in the middle of the circle.

As a leader can send your letter to any of the following:

i) People wearing trousers

ii) People wearing black shoes

iii) People wearing spectacles/watches

Activity 2:

After sending the first “letter” (i) you should ask for a volunteer for the remaining two letters”. The volunteers can also choose who to send the “letter” to.

Warm Up 3: Life Boat.

In this game, you should ask participants to imagine this situation: everyone is in a boat on a big lake like Tanganyika and all of a sudden the boat hits a rock and water starts entering the hull. Somewhere on the coast people bring small boats to rescue the people in the sinking big boat. The boats can only take people in small numbers.

When you call out the number all participants should bunch up in groups of the number called out. Anyone who is not in a group is imagined drowned. The game can go on for 3 minutes. You can call out numbers like 3, 5, 2. At the end of the game, you should ask the group to indicate what they see as the benefits of the game.

Activity 3:

Break up all participants into small groups and let each group prepare a warm up. When you come back let each group lead a short session in presenting the warm ups. Ask the groups to write down the warms up and collect the warm up to create a locally produced small manual of warm up.