Associations-Firing Line

Synonyms

Free Associations

Introduction

This warm-up will help us get into the moment. One player front and center and rest line up facing her.

Description

Free Association is a very common warm up in improv comedy. A free association is when a player associates meaning to something without judgement, censorship or thought. It is quite hard to do. For example a player may be exposed to the word “dog” they may free associate “cat.”

There are as many configurations for this warm up as there are free associations. Regardless of the configuration a Free Associations should sound like a series of disconnected words. “mouse”, “trap”, “crab”, “grumpy”, “goofy”, “mouse.” The words should spew forth without pauses.

In Firing Line one player is put front and center and the other players line up facing her. The players on the line pepper the front and center player with words to associate with. The players on the firing line should have their word ready to go, and spit them out as soon as the front and center player has finished their association. The players on the line are not free associating.

There is no correct answer in free association. Some players will repeat associations, or have long pauses. This is a good opportunity to explore why this is happening. It is a teaching moment where the leader can discuss.

• There is no need to try and be funny.
• You are in a non-judgmental space.
• Allow the first thing in your mind to come out.

This warm up helps with listening and commitment. Many players have editors in their head. Learn Improv calls it the headitor. The headitor keeps a player from using the first thought that an offer evokes. Free association should help a player break free form their headitor.

• Physical offers – have the player freely associate a physical offer
• Rhyming offers – have the players associate in rhyme
• Last Letter – have the player associate with a word that starts with the last letter of the cue word

Variations

• Pass the Chi – players complete the second half of a word
• Cross Circle – next player to free associate is randomly chosen
• Milling – Players mill about the room free associating freely
• Disassociation – Say the opposite of the cue word
• Rhymes – Freely associate but using rhymes
• Last Letter – Associate a new word using the last letter of cue word
• Gibberish – Use gibberish to help free from headitor

Credits

The process of free association is credited to Sigmund Fraud