exercise · all tools
The empty chair
Depth · what it can open●○○○1 — informational
Holding · facilitation1 — host
Trust · group readiness★any
Disclosure · what is sharednone
One person stands in the middle of a circle with one chair empty, and tries to sit in it. The group prevents this by shifting one seat round in unison — which only works if everyone moves together, since one hesitation opens the gap. Later the direction can change mid-game.
Hold with care
- Repeated fast movement between chairs
- The design makes one person's slowness visible to everyone as the reason the middle player got a seat
Practical
- Time
- 5 min
- Group
- ?–∞ · large-group
- Settings
- in-person
- Materials
- Chairs in a circle, one per player
- Mechanisms
- systems-sensing, attention-training
- Change scope
- state · repeatable
Instructions
- Where
- resources.trinitycollege.com/hubfs/Trinity%20Drama%20Games%20… — Drama Games (Trinity College London), open
- Availability
- Open online — published at the link, free to read
Source link checked 1 Sep 2026 — reachable
This directory describes and points home; the instructions stay with the people who made them.
Origin
Trinity College London, 'as suggested by drama teachers' — Drama teaching
In this directory via Drama Games (Trinity College London)
status: checked · added 2026-08-31