Open Your Hand
Where are we?
Description
This is a Game. It is in the following categories:
How it Works
Let the players walk around the room leisurely. Then ask them to stop, open their hands, and let something fall out of the sky, right into their hands. Let them name the object in their hands, set it aside, move on and open their hands again.
Notes
Some people find this a bit of a scary game, as if they are afraid they are not going to come up with anything. Explain that there are no wrong answers.
Some players will complain that everything that falls out of the sky is a dead bird (or whatever). Explain to them that this is fine too. Most players, if reassured that they really can't go wrong, move on to other stuff after 10 dead birds or so.
Variations
You can tell players they can vary the way they extend their hands or hand. They can hold hands in front of them, above their head or close to the ground. See if different stuff shows up.
A slightly less difficult version of this game can be done by having players put their hands in their pockets and take something out. Make sure they all got pockets if you want to play this game. This version is slightly easier, as anything in their pockets, like dust, or the way the fabric feels, can trigger and idea; when holding your hands out there is very little to trigger an idea.
Origin
Keith Johnstone describes similar games in his book Impro .