TEXT: giving and taking
  a jeepform exercise
  
  A game for two, three or four players.
  What is needed: 
  •  A copy of the game. 
  •  Space to act out scenes, some tables and chairs. 
  •  Simple props if desired. 
  •  Pencils, paper. 
  Players and Roles
  TWO PLAYER GAME
  With two players, one person plays the role of one character, and the other 
  plays different people in that character’s life.
  THREE OR FOUR PLAYER GAME
  As with the two player game, one player will play a single character throughout. 
  The others have options:
  •  One person takes the role of all other characters and the remaining players 
  guide the two playing characters.
  •  All the other players alternate between playing characters in the different 
  scenes.
  Any player not playing a character in a scene gives direction and guides the two 
  players in the roles. 
  
  About the Game
  Three scenes from a person’s life.  Times when the irritations and problems 
  someone else is experiencing bumps into the placidity of another person’s day.  
  Opportunities for compassion.
  You’ll play out these moments in three scenes. Each scene involves the root charac-
  ter--the stable ﬁ gure in the game--and another person in their life. Before play-
  ing you choose who that other character is, what is going wrong for them, and 
  some way they rub the root character wrong. 
  The situations are simple, they may be brief moments of passing importance, or 
  have broader reaching impact. The main thing is simply to see how the characters 
  interact. 
  Each scene is played out multiple times. Giving a different spin or emphasis on 
  each tme which makes up a “take”.  Play at least three takes for each scene, and 
  stop after a time that feels right. 
  Each scene ends with the root character showing love for the other.
  Example:
  Charles works at a bank in the suburbs. His job is 
  stable right now, but his company just got bought 
  out, so he is working late every night to help 
  complete the conversion.  He lives alone, with two 
  cats, and loves to get Chinese food take-out and 
  watch monster movies on Saturdays. 
  Scene 1:  Georgette, Charles’s mother comes over 
  to ask him to help her take her car to the garage 
  again. Georgette is missing her husband. 
  Scene 2: Darren, Charles’ coworker is leaving work early to go on a date. He 
  asks Charles to ﬁ nish his contracts. Darren is afraid of losing his job. 
  Scene 3: Charles comes out to his car to ﬁ nd someone stealing his radio. Lucy, the 
  thief, is on methadone. 
  
  Characters
  One player creates a character to play. This is 
  the root character.
  They answer the following questions:
  1) Is the character female or male? Or another 
  category?
  2) Do they live in a city or in the country? Or 
  somewhere else?
  3) Do they have a job? What is it?
  4) Do they live alone? Or with others?
  5) What is one other thing a friend would 
  know about them? For example: are they pa-
  tient? Do they love animals? 
  Give the root character a name.
  There will be three other characters. For each you chose a role that the character 
  plays in the root character’s life such as sibling, parent, stranger, employer etc. 
  The nature of the relationship between the root character and the other is differ-
  ent for each. The nature is described below for each: 
  The FIRST is someone the root character knows well and cares about.
  Choose a role from the following list.
  Is this character:
       o Their Mom or Dad
       o Their lover, partner or spouse
       o A brother or sister
       o A friend
       o A coworker
       o Someone else?
  Who chooses? The person playing the other character should choose a role, and 
  conﬁ rm it with the root character’s player. All the players can confer about the 
  choice if desired and if done in a timely way.
  
  The SECOND is someone the root character knows, but not well.  Use the same 
  process as for the ﬁ rst other character.
  Is this character:
       o A neighbor
       o A coworker
       o A classmate
       o An acquaintance from town
       o A store clerk
       o Someone else?
  The THIRD is someone who the character feels bad about, or is angry at, or is 
  afraid of or for whom they hold another strong negative feeling.
  Use the same process as before. Talk about why the root character feels the way 
  they do about them.
  Is this character:
      o A stranger
      o A lover
      o A coworker
      o An authority
      o A relative
      o Someone else?
  Write down the characters, give them 
  each names. Or just remember.
  
  Playing the Game:
  The game has three scenes. In each scene, the root character interacts with one of 
  these three people in their life. The scenes with each character are played out in 
  the same order in which the other characters were created. 
  There are always just two characters in each scene.
  In each scene, there is a difﬁ culty of some sort the other character is dealing with 
  and there is a conﬂ ict between the two characters.
  Each scene ends when, after conﬂ ict, the root character shows love.
  Each scene is played out more than once. Each time it is played out is one TAKE. 
  Have at least three takes for each scene. Events may differ, take to take.
  The scenes may not or may not be completed in each take. Repeat the scene until 
  play feels right, and the players are resolved with the situation.
  Do not skip the conﬂ ict. Let there be discomfort.
  
  Situations for Scenes:
  Choose the situations before starting play. 
  Each situation has two parts:
  1) the CONFLICT between the characters
  2) the DIFFICULTY the other character is experiencing
  The player of the root character chooses what the conﬂ ict is between the two 
  characters. The other players can help them think of something.
  The player of the other character, or the other players all together, pick a dif-
  ﬁ culty that the other character is experiencing. 
  The difﬁ culty should be something that relates to or explains how that character 
  acts in the scene.   
  Examples:
  First Scene:
  • Their mom or dad – criticizing their spouse, newly retired
  • Their lover, partner or spouse – coming home late from work again, afraid of
     losing their job
  • A brother or sister – asking for a favor, in debt
  • A Friend – forgetting a lunch date, relationship in jeopardy
  • A coworker – acting annoying, panic attacks
  Second Scene:
  • A neighbor – hitting your car, losing their sight
  • A coworker – getting your position, home in foreclosure
  • A classmate – letting you down on group work, working full time and going to
     school
  • An acquaintance from town – arguing about politics or religion, part of a
  threatened minority
  • A store clerk – making you pay for something broken, store threatened with     
     bankruptcy
  
  Example Situations for the Third Scene:
  • A stranger – robbing, lack of opportunities
  • A lover – leaving you, alienated
  • A coworker – ﬁ ring you, company in jeopardy
  • An authority – harassing you or others, trying to avert violence
  • A relative – admitting they hurt someone you love, they were abused
  Choose situations that you can relate to and that feel real. 
  Let yourself react to the events, and play as if it was happening to you.
  Let the intensity build.
  Think about:
  How does this situation affect each of the characters? 
  Can they help each other? 
  Can the other respond to love? 
  Can the root character give love? 
  What does love look like in this situation?
  See also: tonglen
  http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/tonglen1.php
  
  Between Scenes and Takes:
  Between each take, make a suggestion or two on how to deepen the scene.
  You may ask one of these questions or another to brainstorm:
   
  What part felt the strongest?
   
  What is a different way to start this?
   
  How else might the characters react? 
   
  What were you afraid of doing?
  Make all discussion brief. Begin the next take right away.
  Between each scene:
  Check in to make sure all are doing well. If some are not, you  may take a break 
  or even end the game early.
  Take a short break.
  Re-arrange the set if needed.
  Guiding:
  Players who do not take a role in a Scene, Guide those who do.  Their job is to 
  help the others in their play.
  Guides will:
  Give suggestions between takes to help those with roles begin again promptly.
  Encourage them to let them know they are doing well.
  React to what is played out.
  Guides may:
  Whisper suggestions to a player during a take.
  Make things happen in the environment around the characters.
  Call for the end of a take if play stalls.
  Support taking a break or ending the game if issues arise.
  
  Root Character
  Name:
  Job:
  Description:
  First Other Character
  Name:   
   
   
   
  Role:
  Situation:
  Conﬂ ict
  Difﬁ culty
  Second Other Character
  Name:   
   
   
   
  Role:
  Situation:
  Conﬂ ict
  Difﬁ culty
  Third Other Character
  Name:   
   
   
   
  Role:
  Situation:
  Conﬂ ict
  Difﬁ culty
  
  ecboss
  blackgreengames.com
  free game
  2010
  written for ben lehman’s contest: games about love 
  inspired by the buddhist practice of tonglen
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Giving and Taking.pdf