Whoosh
Whoosh is an energetic circle exercise in which players pass a sound-and-gesture impulse around the group with the option to reverse, deflect, or redirect using different sounds and movements. The exercise is typically played as a layered game in which new moves are introduced one at a time, building complexity and requiring players to hold multiple rules simultaneously. The exercise builds group energy, quick decision-making, and the habit of sending and receiving clear physical signals.
Structure
Setup
Participants stand in a circle with clear sightlines to all other players.
Exercise
The basic move is the Whoosh: one player sends the impulse to the player on their left or right by sweeping their arms toward that player and calling "Whoosh." The receiving player must immediately continue the Whoosh in the same direction, or choose a different move from the established vocabulary.
Dan Diggles documents the layered introduction of moves: the leader demonstrates each move separately and adds it to the game one at a time. Players must hold the growing rule set while responding immediately.
Common move vocabulary, documented by Graudins and Dudeck:
- Whoosh: sends the impulse left or right
- Fang (or Boing in some versions): reverses the Whoosh, sending it back to the player who sent it
- Bang: deflects the impulse in a new direction
- Pow: an additional option with its own specific rule in the Whoosh Bang Pow variant
Whoosh Bong Variant
Kramer documents a version called "Whoosh Bong" in which a "Bong" sound is used to reverse the impulse. Kramer runs this version with autistic students in a 3-5 minute exercise format.
Whoosh Bang Pow Variant
Dudeck and McClure document "Whoosh Bang Pow" in their applied improvisation workbook as a complete game with three sounds, each carrying specific rules about direction and deflection. Dudeck frames the game as a tool for exploring failure and risk: errors are a sign the game is being played at full engagement.
How to Teach It
How to Explain It
"Stand in a circle. There are several kinds of energy you can send around: whoosh passes it in the direction you are facing, whoa stops it and sends it back, zap sends it across the circle to someone specific, and zoom reverses the direction. I will introduce them one at a time. Whoosh."
Objectives
Whoosh develops immediate physical responsiveness, the ability to track multiple rules simultaneously under time pressure, and clear signal-sending. The layered introduction of moves makes the exercise progressively demanding: players who have automated the basic Whoosh must immediately integrate new moves without pausing to reason through the rules.
Diggles on the Layered Approach
Diggles introduces moves one at a time, demonstrating each before adding it to the active vocabulary. This structure teaches the exercise itself and simultaneously models how to learn new rules under pressure: accept the new information, incorporate it, continue. The exercise is thus a demonstration of yes-and applied to a learning situation.
Applied Improv Uses
Dudeck frames Whoosh Bang Pow as a failure-tolerance exercise: errors are visible, the group witnesses them, and play continues. The debrief can address the relationship between risk, failure, and full engagement. Dudeck notes that "failure actually is a sign that the game is being played" at full intensity, a reframe particularly useful in corporate or educational contexts where participants have strong failure aversion.
Kramer uses Whoosh Bong with autistic students, noting its clear structure and rule-based format support engagement for participants who benefit from explicit, predictable frameworks.
Common Coaching Notes
- "Send the impulse clearly. Your partner needs to see who it's going to before it arrives."
- "Receive before you decide what to do with it. Don't prepare your response before the Whoosh has landed."
- "If you make an error, bow and continue. The bow is part of the game."
History
No single originator is documented in published improv sources. The exercise circulates under multiple names (Whoosh, Whoosh Bong, Whoosh Bang Pow) and is documented across traditional improv training, applied improvisation, and special education contexts, suggesting it developed independently in multiple communities.
Dan Diggles provides the most detailed documentation of the layered teaching structure in Improv for Actors. Joanna Dudeck and McClure codify "Whoosh Bang Pow" in the Applied Improvisation workbook (2018), connecting the game to frameworks of risk tolerance and learning from failure.
A separate technique called the Whoosh edit shares the name but not the structure. Kozlowski describes the whoosh edit in The Art of Chicago Improv as a sweep edit variant in which the editor spreads their arms like wings and says "Whoosh" to signal the end of a scene. Leep cites Kozlowski in documenting the same technique. The whoosh edit and the Whoosh circle game are distinct exercises that happen to share a sound.
Worth Reading
See all books →
Theatrical Improvisation
Short Form, Long Form, and Sketch-Based Improv
Jeanne Leep
The Art of Chicago Improv
Short Cuts to Long-Form Improvisation
Rob Kozlowski
Improvised Theatre and the Autism Spectrum
A Practical Guide
Gary Kramer; Richie Ploesch
Improve
How I Discovered Improv Comedy and Conquered Social Anxiety
Alex Graudins
Applied Improvisation
Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre
Theresa Robbins Dudeck; Caitlin McClure
The Applied Improvisation Mindset
Tools for Transforming Individuals, Organizations, and Communities
Theresa Robbins Dudeck; Caitlin McClure
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Whoosh. Retrieved September 28, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/whoosh
The Improv Archive. "Whoosh." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/whoosh.
The Improv Archive. "Whoosh." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/whoosh. Accessed September 28, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.