Cheers I’m an Alien
Cheers I'm an Alien is a warm-up exercise in which one player approaches others with an enthusiastic greeting while adopting an alien persona. The exercise breaks social inhibitions and encourages playful, uninhibited physical and vocal choices. It warms up the group's willingness to commit to the absurd.
Structure
Setup
Players spread out across the space with room to move. No materials needed.
Phase 1: The Alien Greeting
Each player moves through the space with an alien physicality - a specific way of moving that is clearly non-human: angular, loping, gliding, fragmented. As they travel, they approach other players and offer an enthusiastic alien greeting: "Cheers, I'm an alien!" (or a variant: any enthusiastic, uninhibited greeting delivered as if meeting someone remarkable).
The approached player receives the greeting with matching enthusiasm: "Incredible! An alien! Welcome!" or any other fully committed response.
Phase 2: Escalation
The energy escalates with each encounter. The facilitator can call "more energy" - encounters become more physical, more committed, more vocally bold.
Phase 3: Species Establishment
Each player develops their alien character: a specific sound, a specific physical gesture, a specific quality of attention. They teach this to every alien they meet, and learn the other alien's.
Duration
5-8 minutes of continuous play with one or two energy escalation calls.
How to Teach It
How to Explain It
"Move through the space like an alien. When you meet another alien, greet them enthusiastically. 'Cheers, I'm an alien!' Say it like you mean it. Receive their greeting like it's the best thing that's ever happened to you."
Why It Matters
Cheers I'm an Alien is an uninhibition exercise that works through commitment and absurdity. The alien framing gives performers permission to be physically unusual without explanation, and the greeting structure gives each encounter a clear playful purpose. The exercise breaks the social reserves that prevent performers from committing to genuine physical and vocal choices. Groups that have done this exercise tend to be more willing to take physical risks in subsequent scene work because they've established a shared permission for the absurd.
Common Coaching Notes
- Half-committed aliens ruin it. The exercise's energy depends entirely on full commitment from every participant. Coach energy: "More. You're an alien. You've just discovered another one."
- The receiving is as important as the greeting. Players who deliver enthusiastic greetings but receive others' greetings with self-consciousness create an energy imbalance. Coach: "Receive every greeting like it's the best thing that has ever happened to you."
- Use this to break tension. If a group is overly serious, self-conscious, or stuck in their heads, Cheers I'm an Alien is one of the fastest group-state-change exercises available.
Debrief Questions
- What happened to your self-consciousness during the exercise?
- What made it easier to commit to the alien?
- How can you access that permission in scene work?
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Related Exercises
Barney
Barney is an energy and movement warm-up exercise in which players adopt an exaggerated, lumbering physical character and interact with the group through simple, playful commands. The exercise asks participants to embody a large, slow, friendly creature (often described as a dinosaur or monster) and move through the space with maximum physical commitment and minimum self-consciousness. The inherent silliness of the character lowers inhibitions quickly, making Barney effective as an early warm-up for groups that are new to physical work or uncomfortable with large physical choices. The exercise builds comfort with exaggerated movement, vocal projection, and the willingness to look ridiculous in front of others, all foundational skills for improv performance.
Alien Dance Party
Alien Dance Party is a high-energy exercise in which one player turns away while three others adopt bizarre alien physicalities and dance styles. The first player turns around and must imitate the aliens' movements, then one alien turns away and back to learn from the group. The chain of imitation produces increasingly strange movement vocabularies.
Greetings
Greetings is a warm-up exercise in which players walk through the space greeting each other in various styles, emotions, or character types. The facilitator calls out different modes of greeting (formally, shyly, aggressively, lovingly, as royalty, as old friends) and the group adjusts their interactions accordingly. The exercise loosens social inhibitions, generates quick character choices, and establishes a playful, physically engaged atmosphere at the start of a session. Greetings gets every participant moving, making eye contact, and interacting within the first minutes of a workshop.
Character / Scene Walkabout
Character/Scene Walkabout is an exercise in which performers walk through the space and, on a signal, immediately enter a scene with whoever is nearest. The random pairing and instant commitment prevent over-planning. The exercise builds comfort with initiating scenes with any partner and develops quick character choices.
Run Around
Run Around is a physical warm-up exercise in which players move through the space and respond to commands called by the facilitator. The exercise builds spatial awareness, group attentiveness, and physical readiness by requiring participants to shift direction, speed, or movement quality on cue.
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.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Cheers I’m an Alien. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/cheers-im-an-alien
The Improv Archive. "Cheers I’m an Alien." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/cheers-im-an-alien.
The Improv Archive. "Cheers I’m an Alien." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/cheers-im-an-alien. Accessed March 17, 2026.
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