Kitty wants a corner

Kitty wants a corner is a classic warm-up and awareness game by Viola Spolin. It trains eye contact, attention to the whole group, and quick non-verbal communication.

Setup

At least eight players stand in a large circle, with one player ("Kitty") in the middle. The circle has to be big enough that a swap between two players takes a noticeable moment for Kitty to detect.

How to play

1. Kitty goes up to any player in the circle, looks at them and says: "Kitty wants a corner!"
2. The player addressed turns their head to their left or right neighbour and answers: "Go and see my neighbour."
3. Meanwhile, any two players in the circle try to agree, through eye contact alone, to swap places. They do that as quickly as possible.
4. Kitty has to notice the swap and try to dart into one of the briefly empty spots before one of the two players gets there.
5. If Kitty makes it, the player who arrived too late becomes the new Kitty. If not, Kitty says the next "Kitty wants a corner!" line and the game continues.

Tips and notes

• Eye contact is everything. The swap is arranged only through looks - no talking and no obvious gestures.
• Kitty has to keep all-round perception active. While speaking to one player, Kitty has to peripherally watch the rest of the circle at the same time.
• Players who haven't swapped yet should actively join in. Hanging back and never offering eye contact doesn't help - the game lives on lots of swap attempts.
• If Kitty fails several times in a row, the facilitator can help by letting the swappers be louder (clearer footsteps, a small sound).

Variants

• More than one Kitty: With very large groups (15+) put two or three Kitties in the middle at the same time.
• Silent Kitty: Instead of the lines just pantomime - Kitty makes a small "corner" shape with both hands and the addressed player silently points to a neighbour.
• Kitty with a condition: A swap is only allowed between people who share a feature (same shoe colour, same gender, same first letter of name, etc.).

Source

A game by Viola Spolin, described in Improvisation for the Theater (1963).

See also

• Klatschkreis (Clapping Circle)