For All Teachers

Daniel Will-Harris

I'm a writer, designer and performer based in Los Angeles. My background is in musical theater. My writing method "Write In The Now" has been taught in Canada, Australia, China, Japan and the USA. It helps thousands of artists break through creative blocks.

Zip, Zap, Zop (and Landmines)

The entire group is in a circle facing the center.
One person starts by clapping and pointing to another person while shouting, “ZIP!”
The person who was just pointed at must react by clapping and pointing to another person in the circle shouting, “ZAP”!
That person continues, as above, and shouts, “ZOP”!
This continues around the circle as fast as possible until someone is caught unaware, says the wrong word or is slow to respond. That person is eliminated.
The process of elimination continues until there are three winners left.
With older groups, eliminated people can remain in the circle but cross their arms across their chest. These are “landmines”.
If a person points to a landmine by mistake, they are eliminated.

VARIATIONS: With older groups, who see the game more as a performance warm up rather than something to be ‘won’, you can add another layer. Ask the group to copy exactly how each word is said; whether is it high pitched or low, quick or slow, etc. This increases listening skills and it’s fun to see how the delivery changes even if the intention is to keep it the same.