What tickles me--an improv writing/performance exercise

The four of us get together to inaugurate a friend's new performance space. We are to be teachers as well as students. Each of us will lead one of the four parts of the workshop.

When it is my turn I hand out sheets of writing-paper and pencils. Then I begin:

You are to write for seven minutes. You may write what you want in any way that you want. You may write fast or slow, big or small, right-side up or upside down. You must keep writing for the entire seven minutes without stopping to think.


I will give you a topic and start timing you right away. The topic is

What tickles me?

When time is up I bring out a box of color markers and continue:

Now stop writing. Drop you pencils and pick up a marker. Use any color that grabs you. Underline three sentences that are the most important to you. They don't have to relate to each other. They don't have to make sense individually or together.

When that is done,

Now from the three underlined sentences pick out three words that tickle you. The words could come one from each sentence or they could all come from one sentence. You are picking out a total of three words. Now, circle these three words.

Now scrounge around the space looking for an object you can use in your performance. It could be something that belongs to you or someone else or no one.  

You are to create a one-minute performance using your object and the three circled words. You can move about the space, you can gesture, interact with your object in any way you want to but the only words you can use are your three circled words. 

May the pulse be with you!

Abhay

Image: Galileo pondered on tickling at some length in his Assayer.