This exercise provides a great starting point for enriching your language and adding a little style to your improvisational efforts. I’ve also included a more whimsical version below that offers a mind-numbing short-form crowd pleaser. And there’s a variation that can work as a decider too!
The Basics
Each player obtains a different consonant (or, possibly, consonant blend such as “fl,” “ch,” or “st”). For the duration of the scene, players should endeavor to begin as many of their words as possible with their preassigned sound.
Example
The scene takes place in a community garden with players A, B, and C being assigned “B,” “S,” and “Fr,” respectively.
Player A: (digging) “What a beautiful bounty! This is bound to be our best season yet.”
Player B: (carrying a basket to fill) “Sam, you’ve certainly outdone yourself. Such sublime sweetcorn….”
Player A: “Brilliant yellow and blue kernels!”
Player B: “Scrumptious succotash awaits.”
Player C: (entering with indignation) “Friday, friends, we clearly said Friday was when we’d harvest from this fragrant garden…”
The Focus
Don’t let the verbal handle overly stall the scene. Embrace the challenge, but be sure to contribute (physically, emotionally…) even when you’re verbally running dry.
Traps and Tips
1.) Think sounds, not letters. Many consonants produce different sounds depending on their context, so make sure you’re focusing on how they hit the audience’s ear as opposed to how they appear on the page or screen. While Player B is riffing on the “S” sound in the example above, “certainly” fits the charge even though it begins with a “C.” Similarly, although there’s often a better punch when the sound starts a word, you’ll also create the desired effect if the sound begins a syllable as is the case with “yourself.” If you acquire a letter with several possible pronunciations, it’s advisable to ask the audience for a preference to inform the scene: “corrupt city” may look like alliteration, but it won’t strike the ear as such.
2.) Work smart, not hard. Some sounds appear more robustly in the vernacular than others. If you’re fortunate enough to garner a relatively common consonant, it’ll probably serve the scene and your partners for you to take a more featured position. Player C, with the “Fr” blend, will probably struggle a little more than their scene mates, and it’s in the spirit of the game to make them a later entrance accordingly (which may give a little time to brainstorm at least a few verbal options too). The audience will relish some struggle in the game as that’s part of the contract, but if you have literally nothing to say, justify an exit just as you would in any other scene. Or embellish the environment. Or experience a passionate feeling. Just don’t sit on stage lost in your head searching for a word.
3.) Season rather than suffocate. Unlike the more overtly silly variation below, there is no obligation to start every word with your provided letter. I think it’s good form to strive to have the sound appear at least once in each significant speech act as this honors the construct while also keeping the sounds alive in the minds of the audience and fellow players. Sometimes, the brain will inadvertently circle around one or two words in a panic, but be cautious of becoming overly repetitive, especially if you’re not shifting the tone or subtext under the word in question. If in doubt, it can prove a delightful risk to occasionally just start your next sentence with your letter and discover in real-time where this will take you. (Many would argue this is the way to play the game if you want to avoid the trap of retreating into your intellect.)
4.) Remember you’re not alone. The scene won’t get far if every player spends the majority of the action in their own heads running through the alphabet looking for suitable words. Keep your eyes up and focused on the developing action, and don’t forget to listen to, and accept, and heighten the work happening around you. Calm and cognizant players can also do a lot to set teammates up for joy and success. Rather than endow yourself (or another) with a name that begins with your own sound, you could plant a seed for another: if Player A and B name each other Freda and Frank, then they’ve given Player C an easy game for later; Player B entering with the basket (or bucket, or bowl, or banana…) can pitch a helpful element that incorporates A’s designated sound. Look to offer gifts whenever you can.
5.) Or play “Jonathan” style. I’m not sure who Jonathan is or was, but in Jonathan’s Alliteration players must make every word begin with their assigned sound regardless of its original spelling. Player A’s opening line in this iteration would then become: “Bhat ba beautiful bounty! Bis bis bound bo be bour best beason bet.” This creates exactly the type of silliness you’d imagine as every line becomes some form of tongue twister and provides ample opportunities for mischief as words become accidentally (or mindfully) contorted into whimsical approximations of themselves. As opposed to the base game, which can result in rather impressive poetic pontifications when played bravely and with finesse, this variant is likely to quickly cave in on itself in a nonsensical but nonetheless joyful implosion.
In Performance
There are conflicting views as to whether or not vowels are alliterative – I was taught, perhaps erroneously, that this is considered assonance. Regardless of your stance, I find using vowels a little “chewy” as they don’t tend to pack the same punch as a good fricative or plosive. If you are inclined to include vowels in the mix, I’d advise making them an exceptional ask-for (similar to the consonant blend demonstrated above) just so that you increase the likelihood of having at least a couple of characters who can string together something resembling a useful sentence!
There is also a simple line game that goes by this name in which the emcee acquires a letter from the audience that players must use to start a new word upon the host’s signal. When players stall, falter, or are unable to offer a new word, they are eliminated and a new letter is obtained until only one player (or team) remains. This fast-paced exercise serves as a nice warm-up into the more scenic offering described above.
Cheers, David Charles.
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Photo Credit: Tony Firriolo
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Game Library Expansion Pack I
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