Emotional Mirror

A two-person warmup for emotional contagion. One speaks gibberish in a clear emotion, the other catches it and replies in their own gibberish β€” then the emotion shifts sharply.

Players

2

Full description

Setup and Launch

Stand face to face. One β€” Actor A β€” leads first. Agree to switch leaders every 10–15 seconds.

Gibberish is a stream of sounds without word meaning: "bra-ka-ta-mo-shi-nu." Emotion carries everything.

Play

  1. A speaks gibberish in one clear emotion: anger, panic, infatuation, ecstasy.
  2. B instantly catches the same emotion and replies in their own gibberish β€” without copying A's sounds.
  3. After 10–15 seconds B changes the emotion. A must reset immediately.
  4. Alternate leaders. Run five or six switches in a row.

Key rules

  • Catch the emotion instantly β€” a pause kills the contagion.

  • Don't copy the partner's words. Copy their intonation and physicality.

  • The emotion has to read in the body and voice, not just the face.

  • Switch emotions sharply, no transition β€” the partner must reset immediately.

Context