With the success of improv shows such as Who's Line is it Anyway? and Wildin' Out, more and more people are becoming interested in the art of comedic improvisation. Believe it or not, improv is not as easy as it looks. That is why there are warmup games, such as Go Bananas. This game gets performers used to being crazy and uninhibited in front of each other, as well as a way to get all of the butterflies before a performance out.
Instructions
1. Make a circle with all of the people that are participating in this game. You'll need a large space to play this game and you should take advantage of this by creating a lot of space in the circle.
2. The caller is the person that will run this warm up game. He or she begins the warm up by shouting "Form Bananas!" Everyone responds in beat by chanting, "Form bananas! Form, form bananas!" This is repeated twice. While this is being chanted, all players (including the caller) raise their arms above their heads and press their palms together. This is the banana form, giving the suggestion that the players are in a banana shape.
3. The caller then shouts "Peel Bananas!" Again, everyone responds in beat by chanting, "Peel bananas! Peel, peel bananas!" This is repeated twice. As it is being repeated, the players lower their arms sideways to the beat until their arms are straight at their sides.
4. Now it's time for the fun and crazy part. The caller yells, "Go Bananas!" This gives license to all of the other players to do whatever they want: yell, jump, dance, shake, scream. During this time, the caller still chants, "Go bananas! Go, go bananas!" The caller repeats this twice, loud enough so that everyone hears it over the chaos.
5. After the "Go Bananas" chanting is finished, the caller shouts, "Form a wall!" All of the players get back into a circle and put their hands in front of them, palms flexed as though they are forming a wall. Everyone chants, "Form a wall! Form, form a wall!" This is chanted twice.
6. The caller then shouts, "Break the wall!" In rhythm, everyone chants, "Break the wall! Break, break the wall!" During the chanting, everyone including the caller punches the air in front of them, as though they are breaking down a wall. This is repeated twice.
7. After the second time "Break the wall" is chanted, the caller yells, "Go AWOL!" Once again, This gives license to all of the other players to do whatever they want - yell, jump, dance, shake, scream. During this time, the caller still chants, "Go AWOL! Go, go AWOL!" The caller repeats this twice, loud enough so that everyone hears it over the chaos.
8. After the second time chanting, "Go AWOL," the caller can either stop the warmup or start over with Step 2. If the caller decides to stop, they yell, "Stop!" All of the players should freeze in place and stop making any sounds. Once it is silent, the caller directs, "Circle up!" This is the cue for all of the players to get back in their circle. Now the group can move on to their next game.
