Create a list of commonly recognized nonverbal gestures. For example, a smile, arms crossed, palm on forehead, hands on hips, etc. Have participants pull these gestures out of a jar and act them out for the group. Let the group guess what are they conveying with these gestures. Provide participants with examples of nonverbal gestures that have different meanings in different cultures to compare.
Pair up participants. One person chooses the setting, or the "where." The other person chooses the relationship between the two characters, or the "who." The participants should keep their choices to themselves. "Where" enters and interacts with the space, and without speaking gives the audience a sense of the setting. When "who" understands the setting, they should enter the scene and silently convey the relationship between the characters. Discuss with the audience what they saw, and how well gesture and pantomime can communicate.
Separate participants into small groups (two to three people). Hand out short scripted scenes. Give each group some time to familiarize themselves with the scene.
Have participants mark three major moments that show how the action and plot develop in the scene. To make it easier they can choose, in the scene's chronological order: 1) the moment the relationship between the characters is clear; 2) the climax of the scene; or 3) the resolution of the scene. For each moment, the group must create a freeze-frame image, meaning they create a still stage picture with their bodies. Participants can portray the characters from the scene in the still image, or they can portray a more abstract interpretation of their chosen moments. For example, in the final scene of Neil Simon's play "Barefoot in the Park," Paul and Corie (husband and wife) see each other for the first time after a horrible fight ending in divorce threats. To prove to Corie he's no "fuddy duddy," (an insult from her during the fight) Paul climbs up on the ledge of their sixth floor apartment and waves down to Corie through the skylight. In order to save Paul, Corie has to coax him with pleas that she loves him for being a "fuddy duddy." In the freeze-frame exercise, one of the moments (the climax moment) would be Paul's realization and subsequent terror that he's on the roof of the building. I would stage him standing on some chairs, and ask him to use body language to show intense fear. Corie would be on the ground, perhaps on her knees, pleading with Paul to come down. The performers freeze in their positions. Their individual and collective body language should express the mood of that moment in the scene.
Have participants fill in (nonverbally) how they get from the first freeze-frame image to the next. This is where they can incorporate some of the moment to moment dialogue points into the performance. The performance becomes more of a moving picture than a freeze-frame in this step, with each of the three moments flowing into one another.
Discuss how participants previously used nonverbal communication in their professional and personal lives, and how the might use nonverbal communication after the workshop.