Come over Here If…
Come Over Here If... is a warm-up in which one player calls out a personal characteristic, experience, or quality, and anyone who shares it crosses to the other side of the room. The exercise reveals commonality within a group, builds ensemble trust, and establishes a norm of personal disclosure at the start of a session.
Structure
Setup
Players stand on one side of the room or in two groups facing each other across an open space. One player stands forward as the caller.
The Call
The caller announces something true about themselves using the frame "Come over here if you've ever..." or "Come over here if you..." Anyone who shares that quality, experience, or characteristic crosses to the other side of the room. Players who do not share it stay. Both groups look at who crossed and who stayed.
Rotation
After the crossing, anyone who wishes may step forward as the next caller. The exercise runs through multiple calls over ten to fifteen minutes. Calls tend to move from lighter and more universal statements toward more specific or personal ones as the group warms up.
Conclusion
The exercise ends when energy begins to plateau or when the coach senses the group has reached a useful level of openness. No debrief is required; the exercise functions best as a flow into the next activity.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Come Over Here If... targets ensemble trust, personal vulnerability at a manageable scale, and group cohesion. It normalizes personal disclosure early in a session, which lowers the threshold for the deeper exposure required in scene work and performance.
How to Explain It
"I'm going to call out something true about myself. If it's true for you too, cross the room. There's no pressure to say why, just whether. Then look around and see who crossed with you."
Scaffolding
Begin the first call yourself with something light and widely shared to establish the physical habit before the emotional risk increases. Start with concrete experiences ("if you've ever missed a flight") before moving to internal states ("if you've ever felt like you didn't belong"). With groups new to each other, keep calls at a moderate level of personal disclosure throughout. With established ensembles, allow calls to go deeper.
Common Sidocoaching
- "Notice who crossed with you."
- "Let yourself be seen."
- "You don't have to explain -- just be there."
Common Pitfalls
Groups sometimes stay in the comfortable zone of universal light statements ("if you've ever eaten pizza") without moving toward anything meaningful. The facilitator can model a deeper call to shift the register. A second pitfall is players who watch rather than participate; gently encourage full crossing without making it mandatory.
Worth Reading
See all books →
When I Say This, Do You Mean That?
Enhancing Communication
Cherie Kerr; Julia Sweeney
Business Improv
Experiential Learning Exercises to Train Employees
Val Gee
Playing Along
37 Group Learning Activities Borrowed from Improvisational Theater
Izzy Gesell
The Art of Making Sh!t Up
Using the Principles of Improv to Become an Unstoppable Powerhouse
Norm LaViolette; Bob Melley
The Improvisation Game
Discovering the Secrets of Spontaneous Performance
Chris Johnston
The Improvisation Edge
Secrets to Building Trust and Radical Collaboration at Work
Karen Hough
Related Exercises
Anyone Who
Anyone Who is a high-energy chair-based warm-up exercise in which players sit in a circle with one fewer seat than participants. The person left standing moves to the center and calls out a statement beginning with "Anyone who..." followed by a trait, experience, or preference. Everyone to whom the statement applies must leave their seat and find a new one, while the caller also scrambles for a seat. The last player left standing becomes the new caller. The exercise energizes the room, breaks down social barriers, and reveals shared experiences across the group. It functions as both a physical warm-up and a group-bonding exercise, making it particularly effective at the start of rehearsals, workshops, and applied improv sessions where participants may not know each other well.
Check-In
Group sits or stands in a circle and each person speaks briefly about how they are arriving. No interruptions. Can be enhanced with imaginary catch between speakers.
Everybody Touch Someone Who...
Everybody Touch Someone Who... is a physical warm-up exercise in which a caller names a characteristic or experience and all participants who match it must immediately move to touch at least one other person who also matches. The resulting movement creates visible social maps of the group -- who shares which experiences -- while generating physical energy and a sense of collective discovery through quick, full-body engagement.
Trust Exercise
Trust Exercise is an ensemble warm-up in which players practice physical vulnerability and mutual support through structured trust-fall and trust-lift configurations. One player allows their body to be caught, supported, or passed by the group, developing the physical and psychological openness that ensemble ensemble work requires. The exercise builds ensemble cohesion by making reliance on others literal and concrete.
Building Rapport
Structured activities for establishing connection and trust with colleagues through improvisational active engagement.
You
You is a circle exercise in which players point at another person and say "you," passing focus around the group with clear eye contact and decisive gestures. The exercise trains the habit of making specific, committed choices about who receives an offer. It builds directness and the ability to give and receive attention cleanly.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Come over Here If…. Retrieved September 29, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/come-over-here-if
The Improv Archive. "Come over Here If…." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/come-over-here-if.
The Improv Archive. "Come over Here If…." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/come-over-here-if. Accessed September 29, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.