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Pan Left

moderate4-6 players5 minutes
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Summary

It's a short-form game all about rolling with mistakes, staying spontaneous, supporting each other, working as a team, and heightening what's on stage. Several pairs play scenes side by side, then rotate when someone calls "Pan Left." The effect feels just like flipping channels.

How to Play

  • Line up 4-6 actors on stage (or more).
  • Give each pair (adjacent actors team up) a different suggestion, like a TV show, genre, or film title.
  • The front two actors kick off their scene from their suggestion.
  • When the host or director calls "PAN LEFT," everyone shifts one spot to their left, wrapping around the line.
  • The new front pair jumps right in, starting or continuing their scene from their suggestion.
  • The host keeps calling "PAN LEFT" to flip between the channels and scenes.
  • And each time you're back up front, try to heighten your scene a little more.

Required Materials

  • Room for actors to line up and rotate, plus audience suggestions for scenes or genres.

Purpose

This one builds your knack for folding in happy accidents, reacting in the moment, supporting your scene partners, and heightening the action or emotion. It also helps you play scenes without overthinking, and lean into suggestions you might not know well.

Variations

  • Can call "PAN RIGHT" to move in the opposite direction.
  • Can vary the types of suggestions used (emotions, characters, etc.).

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