3. You Add to It

Dream Together Set

Anything’s possible as children and adults play together as creative partners.

Start:

• Look around you and say out loud, the first thing you see. 

• It can be anything. No need to overthink it.  

• Now, say “once upon a time” and add the thing you said out loud into the story. 

• Have the thing do something. 

• There’s no rules or limits. A lamppost can sing, a parking space can become a trap door to another dimension, or a tree can suddenly spout legs and run. 

Play

• Now, turn it over to someone else. 

• They add to the story. 

• Keep going back and forth for as long as you are having fun. 

Try

• Starting without “once upon a time” and starting in the middle of the action. 

• Give the person starting the story a character to run with and they start the story.

Think

• What surprised you?

• What will you try next time? 

Know

• Inspired by: Improv(isation) practitioners can use the technique of “yes (acceptance), and (build)” to stretch a story, or a scene.

• Main capability: Divergent thinking. 

• Main skill: Idea generation.