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This week I am working in Kathmandu, Nepal, with some beautiful actors. I'm reminded of the value of games, because we don’t share a spoken language.

So, we are using game structures to communicate and create the values and qualities we need to see in the work.

Whether it is with kids or adults, English-speakers or not; whether it is for theatre, film or TV — wherever I am in the world I will use games to help actors throughout the audition-period, the rehearsals and the shoot.

Willingness, relaxation, creativity, freedom-in-space, improvisation, the capacity to drop into the present moment — and most importantly, the capacity to create relationships — these are the values and qualities of performance that can be created really quickly using games.

But I don't just use any games. They have to be games that sharpen a particular aspect of relationship, character and state-of-being.

What's more, they have to be quick and easy to teach and play. They have to cross cultures and languages. They have to use almost no equipment and take up little space. And, crucially, they have to be fun.

So, here are some of the games I’ve been playing with the actors in Kathmandu — with a bit about each one and why it could be valuable and useful to you as an actor or director.

PIF PAF POF

I always begin with a group game, generally in a circle. This establishes a sense of democratic empowerment for the whole group. If I am at Rātā Studios, the Teen Acting Studio where I teach when I am in my home-town of Wellington, I will ask the group to choose the game we will play, since they know the library of games we have built up together. They often choose PIF PAF POF. It is simple and dynamic. It makes the players laugh. It allows them to think more about those on either of them than about themselves. It also means they have to raise their arms and reveal their armpits, which means that they inadvertently find themselves in Amy Cuddy's Power Pose (empowering and confidence-building). You can watch Amy's fascinating TED Talk about the Power Pose here.

Something interesting about this game is that the three words in the title follow the fascinating language rule, "Ablaut Redistribution," referring to the systematic alternation of vowels. This occurs so that the sounds begin at the front of the mouth and progress back — I, A, O — just like the names of the games, Tic Tac Toe or Ping Pong. This progression back helps to drop the throat and voice into a relaxed state. You can read more about Ablaut Redistribution at the Merriam Webster dictionary Insta-page.

Once we have finished with PIF PAF POF, I will want to set up connected relationships in pairs in preparation for scene work. So, we move on to playing a clapping pattern like SEVENS.