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.
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Related Exercises
Cross the Circle
Cross the Circle is a warm-up in which a player in the center calls out a characteristic, and everyone who shares it crosses to a new position in the circle. The exercise functions as both an icebreaker and a gentle reveal of shared experiences within the group. It is closely related to Anyone Who and Come Over Here If...
Walk-over Association
Walk-over Association is a warm-up exercise in which players walk around the space and call out words in a free-association chain, each person building on the last word spoken. The physical movement helps bypass the analytical mind and encourages instinctive, uncensored responses. The exercise trains the association skills fundamental to scene initiation.
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.
Silly Stinky Sexy
Silly Stinky Sexy is a warm-up exercise in which players walk around the space and a facilitator calls out one of the three adjectives, prompting everyone to immediately adopt the physicality, voice, and attitude of that quality. The rapid shifting between modes loosens inhibition and expands physical range. The exercise is particularly effective at breaking through self-consciousness.
Dog, Dog, Dog
Dog, Dog, Dog is a group warm-up exercise in which players repeat a word while performing a corresponding action, then switch to a new word and action on a signal. The exercise trains focus, the ability to follow group shifts, and comfort with repetitive, committed physical choices. It builds ensemble synchronization.
Meet & Greet Walkabout
Meet, Greet, Walkabout is a physical warm-up and ensemble-building exercise in which participants walk through the space and meet each other in a series of brief, structured encounters. Each encounter follows a format set by the facilitator -- a specific greeting, a specific question, or a specific physical acknowledgment -- and participants move from person to person at a pace set by the facilitator. The exercise builds early ensemble connection and reduces the social distance between participants before more demanding group work begins.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Come over Here If…. Retrieved March 17, 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 March 17, 2026.
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