Early preview. Sidewing is being built and tested with Awkward Actors in Oxford.

SIDEWING
Get in touch
SIDEWING

WARM-UP

Zip Zap Boing

Pass the energy round the circle: zip to a neighbour, zap across, boing to block it and send it back.

Players
5–30
Energy
High
Time
About 7 minutes
Works on
Focus, group mind, listening

Set-up

Everyone stands in a circle, close enough to see each other's eyes. The facilitator starts with the energy.

How to play

  1. Zip. Clap your hands together and point them at your neighbour with 'Zip!'. They send it on in the same direction. Run this until it flows.
  2. Zap. Add 'Zap!': point across the circle to anyone, with eye contact. They carry on with a zip or a zap.
  3. Boing. Add 'Boing!': hands up as a block, bouncing the energy back to whoever sent it. A boinged zip now travels the other way round.
  4. Speed up. Push the pace. A mistake gets a cheer and that player starts it again at once.

The rules

Zip goes to a neighbour, in the direction it's already travelling. Zap goes to anyone across the circle. Boing sends it back to the sender and reverses the direction; you can't boing a boing. Every pass needs a clear point, a clear sound and eye contact.

How it ends

The facilitator stops it while the energy is high, usually after a few minutes or one really fast run.

What it's for

Focus, eye contact and shared energy. It gets a group watching and listening to each other before scene work.

Watch out for

  • Passes go out without eye contact, so nobody knows who has it.
  • Mumbled sounds and half-points; ask for a full sound and a full gesture every time.
  • Players freeze after a mistake. Cheer errors and restart straight away.
  • A few players only zap their friends; encourage sending it to people who haven't had it.

Questions afterwards

  • How did you know the energy was coming to you?
  • What happened to mistakes when we sped up?
  • Did you notice who hadn't had it yet?

Making it work for everyone

Any clear signal, such as a nod or a hand sign, can replace the point and clap, and the game works seated.

Related

Linked in the library

  • Warm-up

    Count to Twenty

    Whole-group attention too, but with no pass, no pointing and eyes down.

  • Warm-up

    Sevens

    Another circle where the direction can change, built on a count.

Also in the family: Passing games

Something invisible travels round the circle, and everyone's job is to send it on cleanly.

  • Bunny Bunny

    A silly ritual chant: the bunny says 'bunny bunny' and passes it on while the bunny's neighbours chant 'toki toki'.

  • The Circle of Zum

    A grown cousin of Zip Zap Boing, with a contested throw and an echo modifier.

  • Pass the Clap

    A clap travels round the circle with eye contact, then reverses, doubles up and speeds up.

  • Pass the Face

    A pulled face travels round the circle; each player copies it exactly, then changes it for the next.

  • Red Ball

    Imaginary objects are thrown across the circle by name and thanked for, until several are flying at once.

  • Samurai

    A mimed sword passes across the circle; whoever gets it raises it high while both neighbours slice beneath it.

  • Sound Ball

    Throw an imaginary ball across the circle with a sound; the catcher catches the same sound, then throws a new one.

  • Whoosh

    Send energy round the circle with 'Whoosh', bounce it back with 'Whoa', fire it across with 'Zap'.

  • Zip Zap Zop

    Point across the circle passing 'zip', 'zap', 'zop' in strict order; break the order and you restart.

In Sidewing, add it to a set list or session plan, and keep your own notes on it.