Circle of Awesome
Circle of Awesome is an affirmation exercise in which one player stands in the center of a circle while the group showers them with enthusiastic praise and encouragement. The exercise builds a supportive ensemble culture and helps performers overcome the fear of being watched. It establishes that the group has each member's back.
Structure
Setup
Players form a circle facing inward. One player steps to the center.
The Shower
The circle focuses entirely on the center player. They shower that player with enthusiastic affirmation: applause, exclamations of support, "Yes!" "You've got this!" "Amazing!" "We love you!" The specificity and energy of the affirmation is entirely up to each player in the circle - the rule is that it must be genuine and directed specifically at the center player.
The center player receives it: standing tall, allowing themselves to be seen, taking in the support without deflecting, minimizing, or turning it into comedy.
After 30-60 seconds, the center player returns to the circle and a new player steps in.
Notes on Receiving
The exercise is as much about receiving support as giving it. Many performers reflexively deflect praise - with humor, with minimization, with looking away. The circle's job is to give; the center player's job is to truly receive.
Rotation
Every participant should have a turn in the center. The exercise is not complete until everyone has received.
How to Teach It
How to Explain It
"Step to the center. We're going to shower you with everything we've got. Your only job: let it in. Don't deflect it. Don't minimize it. Just stand there and receive it."
Model the center position before the first volunteer: stand, make eye contact with different people in the circle, and allow the support to land.
Why It Matters
Circle of Awesome addresses the improv skill of being comfortable being watched and supported. Most performers are better at giving support than receiving it - they deflect praise with self-deprecation, turn it to humor, or refuse eye contact with their supporters. The exercise trains the ability to stand in the center of a group's positive attention without flinching. This is a prerequisite for genuine stage presence. Performers who can receive the circle's love can receive the audience's attention with equal ease.
Common Coaching Notes
- Don't let deflection stand. If a center player laughs it off or waves it away, gently say: "Stay with it. Let it in." The exercise must be completed genuinely to have value.
- The circle must be real. Obligatory "woo-hoo" without genuine attention is detectable and doesn't serve the center player. Coach: "Look at them. Mean it."
- Use near the start of a program. Circle of Awesome builds ensemble culture most effectively early in a training period. It establishes that this group has each other's back.
Debrief Questions
- What was it like to be in the center?
- What made it hard to receive?
- How does this exercise connect to what we do on stage?
Worth Reading
See all books →
Group Improvisation
The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games
Peter Campbell Gwinn; Charna Halpern
The Improvisation Game
Discovering the Secrets of Spontaneous Performance
Chris Johnston
Action Theater
The Improvisation of Presence
Ruth Zaporah
Improv Ideas
A Book of Games and Lists
Mary Ann Kelley; Justine Jones
Improvisation for the Theater
A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques
Viola Spolin
The Principles of Improv Comedy
Tom Blank
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Popcorn
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Circle of Awesome. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/circle-of-awesome
The Improv Archive. "Circle of Awesome." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/circle-of-awesome.
The Improv Archive. "Circle of Awesome." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/circle-of-awesome. Accessed March 17, 2026.
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