Here’s a working and ever-expanding list of improv vocabulary, terms and concepts. Each entry contains cross-references to other posts of potential interest as well as an improvisation game or exercise that explores the concept (or its antithesis) up on its feet. For the equivalent in-progress list of games consult the library here.
New improv terms post every Monday with the accompanying game following on Friday. Join my Facebook group here to be the first to know when a new blog entry drops.
A is for…
- Abandon
- Accepting
- Accusation (CAD)
- Acting
- Active Listening
- Advancing
- Agreement (see Accepting)
B is for…
C is for…
- CAD
- Callback
- Caller
- Calling it Onstage (see Speaking Your Truth)
- Canadian Cross
- Cancelling (see Erasure)
- Cartooning
- Censorship (see Material)
- Change
- Chapter Two
- Character (CROW)
- Checking In (see Approval or Consent)
- Cleverness
- Comedy
- Commandments
- Commenting
- Commitment
- Complementary Action
- Confession (CAD)
- Conflict
- Connections
- Content (see Material)
- Consent
- Corpsing
- CROW
- Culpability
- Curve Ball
- Curve of Absurdity (see Game of the Scene)
D is for…
- Deal (see Point of View)
- Decider
- Denial (see Blocking)
- Deviser
E is for…
F is for…
- Fear
- Feedback (see Postmortem)
- Focus
G is for…
- Gagging
- Game of the Scene
- Gibberish
- Give (Focus)
- Given Circumstances (see CROW)
- Good People (see Culpability)
- Groupmind
H is for…
- Honesty (see Emotional Truth)
- Hosting
I is for…
- Ignition (see Breaking Routines)
- Improvisation
- Inclusiveness
- Initiation
- Intimacy (See Consent)
J is for…
K is for…
L is for…
M is for…
N is for…
O is for…
P is for…
- Parallel Action
- Passenger
- Patterns (see Connections)
- Perspective (see Point of View)
- Physicality
- Pimping
- Platform (see Balance)
- Playfulness (see Abandon)
- Point of View
- Postmortem
- Postponing
- POV (see Point of View)
- Presence
- Professionalism (see Rehearsal Etiquette)
- Punching Up
Q is for…
R is for…
- Rehearsal Etiquette
- Reincorporation
- Relationship (CROW)
- Revelation (see CAD)
- Rhyme
- Risk (see Abandon)
- Routine (see Balance)
- Rules (see Commandments)
S is for…
- Split Focus
- Spontaneity (see Improvisation)
- Stage Picture
- Stage Violence (see Consent)
- Stakes
- Starting Scenes (see Initiation)
- Status
- Steamrolling (see Bulldozing)
- Stereotype (see Archetype)
- Sticky Feet
- Strangers
- Subtext
- Suggestion (see Ask-for)
- Sweep (see Edits)
T is for…
- Tag (see Edits)
- Take (Focus)
- Talking Heads
- Target Rhyming (see Rhyme)
- Teaching Scene
- Teamwork (see Ensemble)
- Technicians
- Telling
- Third Thought
- Tiebreaker (see Decider)
- Tilt (see Breaking Routines)
- Tip of the Hat (see Mugging)
- Transaction Scene
- Trust
- Truth
U is for…
V is for…
W is for…
- Waffling
- Wearing Your Character Lightly
- Weaving (see Connections)
- What (see Objective)
- Where (CROW)
- Who (see Character and Relationship)
- Wimping
- Winning
- WWW (see CROW)
X is for…
Y is for…
Z is for…
Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
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