In the Studio 14 Finding the Wonder: Keepy Uppy

Place one A3-sized piece of paper at one end of the rehearsal space. This is your ‘goal’. Next, take another piece of A3 paper and scrunch it into a ball. Divide your ensemble into groups. This could be anything from pairs upwards but the smaller the group, the harder the task!

One by one, each team stands at the other end of the room to the goal.  A referee throws the paperball upwards, and between them, the team must keep the ball airborne until it hits the goal. Each player can only touch the ball once before someone else must take their turn, using similar moves to volleyball. If the ball lands on the floor at any other place than the goal, they must begin again from the start.

The teams who are not in active play should watch the game unfold, looking for moments of wonder - those moments that inspire awe and excitement in an audience. They can be moments of tension, moments of frustration and humour, interesting groupings as people work out the best tactic for the game and even ideas for characters. It’s also a great source of ideas for choreography for chase sequences, escapees or lovers running to or from something!