who, what, where

Cara reminded me on her blog that a few months ago, she’d felt blocked in her writing, emailed me for any exercises I might have, and I’d given her one called Who? What? Where? It’s basically a modification of an acting improv. I’ve done it a lot myself over the years and I’ve used it on my kids in my past drama classes and camps.

The exercise would basically go like this:

I’d have each student write down a who, a what, and a where on three separate slips of paper and then I’d place them in three separate bowls. Two students would volunteer to improv, pick their slips from the bowls, and then do the improv based on what they got.

Oh, for instance:

Who: Two old ladies (funnier if two guys picked it, which happened sometimes)

What: An ostrich

Where: At the beach

And hilarity would ensue, you see.

So I dug through my emails and found the actual list I’d sent to Cara. I wrote it without stopping to think, just wrote the first who/what/wheres that popped into my head. I share them with you now, pippa, if you want to play the game on your own or leave a story in the comments. Write them out on slips of paper. Keep them in separate piles. Then pick one from each pile: a who, a what, and a where.

Heeeere they are …..

(Well, I changed one “Who” because it was really a “Who” and a “Where”)

WHO:

1.  Marilyn Monroe

2.  Man in a wheelchair

3.  Nancy Pelosi

4.  An electrician

5.  An albino child

6.  Siamese twins

7.  A phone sex operator

8.  Tyra Banks’ personal trainer

9.  A cult leader

10.  A world-class chess player

WHAT:

1.  A coin purse

2.  An abacus

3.  A golf cart

4.  A baby elephant

5.  A fur coat

6.  A banjo

7.  A box of sparklers

9.  An allergy to something

10  A  rosary

WHERE:

1.  A cemetery

2.  A monastery

3.  A yurt in Mongolia (okay, that’s a what and where — oops!)

4.  A mannequin factory

5.  A snow cave

6.  An artist’s retreat

7.  A wedding reception

8.  A dog grooming business

9.  A funeral home