Other players literally put words into your mouth in this challenging group of improv games.
The Basics
There are several related varieties of this dynamic that I outline below. The central conceit, however, remains the same: players do not provide their own speaking voices. Instead, they mouth or imitate the mechanics of talking (while providing fully developed emotional, gestural, and staging choices) as another (offstage or onstage teammate) crafts their dialogue.
Example
Two players (A and B) begin a scene as a young couple shuffling into their seats at an orchestral concert…
The Focus
Explore all the facets of effective communication in this often-whacky dynamic. Yes, a great deal of fun can be engineered from getting your dubbing partner into playfully challenging situations, but don’t underestimate the impressiveness of voices and bodies finding seamless moments of agreement. My favorite experiences in a dubbing scene are when the audience (and perhaps the players, too!) forgets that a character isn’t providing their own speaking voice.
Traps and Tips
1.) Dubbing. The “basic” version of this game consists of offstage players being assigned onstage counterparts for whom they speak. If you play in teams of four or more, you might partner with one of your own teammates or enlist another team to serve this purpose. (There are variants of this game, such as Audience Cafe, where a volunteer or two might actually play in the scene alongside cast members and have their voice provided for them.) It’s really important to clearly set before the game begins who is providing which voice or the scene will launch in a messy state of confusion. Make sure you follow normal scenic speaking etiquette and don’t just randomly talk all over each other. Those being dubbed should remember to move their mouths (perhaps a little exaggeratedly) when they hear their assigned dubber while also taking each vocalized choice fully into their body. Dubbers should also remember that speech can (and should) be prompted by the dubbed player moving their mouth, so don’t think of this as a one-way street in terms of initiations.
Player E: (providing A’s voice from offstage as they nudge past another patron and while A accentuates moving their mouth) “I’m terribly sorry to disturb you. We couldn’t find parking.”
Player B shuffles behind them while looking for their assigned seating.
Player F: (providing B’s voice from offstage while B accentuates moving their mouth) “That wouldn’t have been an issue if someone just prepaid for event parking like I suggested…”
2.) Double Dubbing. The next level of challenge occurs when actors pair up and provide voices for each other. In Sak Comedy Lab’s King of the Hill, we’ll often play this just as a two-hander so that the scene consists of only two characters being voiced by their onstage counterpart. This dynamic is sufficiently challenging to work in this more contained manner as the device will keep both players extremely busy. In larger teams, you have the potential for more personae, which adds to the glorious chaos and fun. Again, it’s helpful to set (and perhaps even briefly preview for the audience) the pertinent voice combinations. As the level of difficulty increases, you’ll also want to be extra mindful of player sight lines as the dubber will struggle to meet their dubbed’s needs if they can’t even see that they’re striving to communicate. If you’re playing with four improvisers, it can prove helpful to at least start the scene with only one member of each pair so that there’s a better chance of getting the ball rolling successfully. While onstage dubbers will want to fully invest in the emotions of their gifted dialogue, they should be cautious not to perform the text as their own. Rather, they should seek to maintain their own character’s world and activities while giving voice to their assigned partner. (It’s an added challenge not to make direct eye contact when you’re providing another’s voice, too.) This attention to physical detail also helps to sell the often-baffling conceit to the audience. This is how the two-hander version might start…
Player B: (discreetly providing A’s voice from onstage as they nudge past another patron and while A accentuates moving their mouth) “I’m terribly sorry to disturb you. We couldn’t find parking.”
Player B shuffles behind them while looking for their assigned seating.
Player A: (providing B’s voice from onstage while B accentuates moving their mouth) “That wouldn’t have been an issue if someone just prepaid for event parking like I suggested…”
3.) Round Dubbing. If you’re playing in a team of three or four, this variant provides another fun and mind-bending stumper! In a trio, Player A provides B’s voice, B voices C’s dialogue, and C returns the favor for A (forming a communicative circle or “round,” hence the name). It’s easy to forget this critical pattern (and that’s part of the delight), so the game demands a heightened level of vigilance. Don’t rush or overcrowd the story, especially during the first few moves. Take some time to clearly introduce and establish each character and their voice. There’s an implicit expectation in these games that all characters at some point will appear onstage together, but this is a better place to end than start as it’s nearly impossible to successfully dial back the chaos once you’ve let it loose. I’m assuming a three-player team below…
Player C: (providing A’s voice from offstage as they nudge past another patron and while A accentuates moving their mouth) “I’m terribly sorry to disturb you. We couldn’t find parking.”
Player B shuffles behind them while looking for their assigned seating.
Player A: (providing B’s voice from onstage while B accentuates moving their mouth) “That wouldn’t have been an issue if someone just prepaid for event parking like I suggested…”
4.) Solo Dubbing. This last variant focuses the lion’s share of the torture on one player, as the title suggests. Here, an individual player must provide the voices for all their teammates (as well as their own). It invites a level of shining that might not suit all troupes or styles of play but can serve as a playful reward (punishment?) for a winning (misbehaving?) performer or someone who’s been inadvertently underfeatured. There’s value in either starting with the dubbing player onstage as a protagonist of sorts in the thick of the action or saving their entrance as the climax of the piece. Regardless of your preferred approach, consider having the whole cast of characters onstage together eventually as this is a particularly pleasing finesse. Crafting distinct and instantly recognizable voices for each dubbed player is a must for all these iterations, but it’s a crucial strategy when one player provides all the dialogue!
Player D (providing A’s distinct voice from offstage as they nudge past another patron and while A accentuates moving their mouth) “I’m terribly sorry to disturb you. We couldn’t find parking.”
Player B shuffles behind them while looking for their assigned seating.
Player D: (providing B’s very different voice from offstage while B accentuates moving their mouth) “That wouldn’t have been an issue if someone just prepaid for event parking like I suggested…”
In Performance
Some improvisers consider these games as almost requiring a high level of pimping and shivving to excel – forcing teammates to engage in or squirmily evade unsavory actions, for example, when providing their dialogue. I do not share this particular opinion! Often, some shivving-adjacent silliness will emerge of its own accord, but I don’t think players need to aggressively seek it out for the dynamic to prove wonderfully successful.
Dub Our Musical offers yet another variation that I’m giving its own treatment shortly.
Cheers, David Charles.
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Photo Credit: Tony Firriolo
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Game Library Expansion Pack I
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