Alliances
Alliances is a spatial awareness exercise in which each player secretly selects one person in the group as their ally and another as their enemy, then moves through the space trying to keep the ally positioned between themselves and the enemy at all times. No one announces their choices, so the resulting group movement becomes complex, organic, and unpredictable as every participant simultaneously pursues their own spatial objective. The exercise produces a constantly shifting formation that resembles flocking behavior, with sudden accelerations, direction changes, and clusters forming and dissolving. Alliances develops spatial awareness, peripheral vision, and the ability to read and respond to group movement patterns without verbal communication. It also demonstrates how simple individual rules can generate complex group behavior, a principle that applies directly to ensemble scene work.
Structure
All players stand in an open space with enough room to move freely. The facilitator instructs each player to silently choose one other person as their ally and a different person as their enemy. These choices remain secret throughout the exercise.
On the facilitator's signal, everyone begins moving through the space with the goal of keeping their ally between themselves and their enemy at all times. Players must move continuously, adjusting their position as both their ally and their enemy shift. No running is allowed, and players should maintain awareness of the entire group to avoid collisions.
The exercise runs for several minutes as the group dynamics settle into patterns and then shift again. The facilitator may pause the action at intervals to check in or to ask players to observe the current formation. The exercise concludes when the facilitator calls a stop, at which point players can reveal their choices and discuss the movement patterns that emerged.
How to Teach It
How to Explain It
"Everyone walk through the space. You are going to secretly form an alliance with one other person. That person does not know they are your ally. Without speaking, without pointing, without breaking your movement: keep yourself equidistant between your ally and one other person you have also secretly chosen. Everyone has different choices. The patterns that emerge are the exercise."
Alliances works best with groups of eight or more. Smaller groups produce movement patterns that are too easy to read, reducing the exercise's complexity and challenge.
Introduce the exercise with clear, simple rules. Emphasize that choices must remain secret and that there is no talking during the movement phase. The secrecy is essential because it prevents players from negotiating or forming actual alliances, forcing everyone to rely on spatial reasoning alone.
Watch for players who stop moving when they achieve their desired position. Coach them to keep adjusting, since the system is inherently unstable and every player's movement affects everyone else. Stillness means the player has stopped responding to the group.
After the exercise, facilitate a discussion about what patterns emerged. Ask players whether they noticed clusters, chains, or orbiting behaviors. Connect these observations to scene work by discussing how individual choices create emergent group dynamics on stage.
A common variation reverses the rules: keep the enemy between yourself and your ally. This produces a different movement quality, often more cautious and circuitous. Another variation adds a third relationship, such as choosing someone to mirror, adding another layer of spatial complexity.
For applied improv settings, this exercise illustrates systems thinking and interdependence. Each person's movement affects the entire group, demonstrating how individual decisions in organizations create ripple effects across teams.
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Related Exercises
Triangles
Triangles is a movement exercise in which each player secretly selects two other people in the space and attempts to maintain an equilateral triangle with them as all players move simultaneously. Because everyone's target pairs are different and unknown to others, the formation shifts continuously with no fixed resolution. The exercise demonstrates how invisible individual choices produce complex collective patterns, and builds sustained spatial awareness and attention to others.
Assassins
Assassins is a group awareness exercise in which each player secretly watches one specific person in the space. When the facilitator gives a signal, every player simultaneously points to the person they have been watching. The exercise reveals the web of attention in the room and is used to discuss group dynamics, observation, and the experience of being seen.
Charring Cross
Charring Cross is a group coordination game in which players must navigate a chaotic crossing pattern without colliding. The exercise demands spatial awareness, peripheral vision, and the ability to read the movement of others while maintaining one's own trajectory. It builds the ensemble navigation skills essential to group stage work.
Shuffle
Shuffle is a physical warm-up exercise in which players mill through the space and must quickly form groups of a called-out number when the facilitator gives the signal. Players who cannot find a complete group in time are eliminated or take a forfeit. The exercise builds physical energy, spatial awareness, and the habit of actively and immediately seeking connection with other players.
Virus
Virus is a physical ensemble exercise in which one player begins with a specific behavior, sound, or movement that spreads to others through proximity or contact, eventually infecting the whole group. The exercise demonstrates how energy and impulse propagate through an ensemble and trains players to notice and respond to the influence of their partners.
Activity Starter
Activity Starter is a group exercise in which one player begins a physical activity and other players gradually enter to mirror or extend it. The exercise builds ensemble attunement and physical awareness by requiring players to read and respond to a shared movement rather than a verbal cue.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Alliances. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/alliances
The Improv Archive. "Alliances." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/alliances.
The Improv Archive. "Alliances." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/alliances. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.