Warm-ups

Red Ball

Imaginary objects with names, weights and sizes are thrown around a circle, each one confirmed aloud on receipt.

Warm-ups · 5 or more players · 5–8 minutes

Also known as: Object Toss

How to run it

1. Mime holding a ball. Establish its size and weight physically.
2. Throw it to someone, saying "red ball".
3. They catch it, confirm "red ball", and throw it on to somebody else with the same call.
4. Once that is flowing, introduce a second object with a different name, size and weight — a bowling ball, a feather, a bucket of water.
5. Keep adding until three or four objects are in the air simultaneously.

What it teaches

Object consistency and the habit of acknowledging an offer before acting on it.

Coaching notes

Insist the physical properties stay true. A feather thrown like a brick is the same error as forgetting where the door was.

Related reading: base reality.

See it played

We do not link individual videos we have not watched end to end, so this is a search rather than a recommendation: Red Ball on YouTube. Quality varies enormously — prefer recordings from working theatres over tutorial channels.