Here’s a fun game that I’ve rediscovered while poring through old teaching notes in my ongoing quest to expand the ImprovDr Game Library. Although this particular frame has fallen out of my personal rotation, the premise shares a great deal with On the Right Track (which I hope to cover in a future entry), and this is a regular feature of our weekend shows at Sak Comedy Lab.
The Basics
An audience member volunteers to provide the raw material of the scene and is interviewed by a company member or the host of the show. Questions should center around the immediate members of the volunteer’s family (broadly and inclusively defined). Players then improvise a typical family dinner featuring a stand-in for the audience member and all the memorable characters they’ve described. The interviewee has the option, at any time, to ring a bell to indicate that a “correct” offer has been made (in relation to their described family) or making a buzzer sound when an incorrect assumption was made. In this latter case, the players in question must quickly rewind and erase the failed offer and make a new choice until the audience volunteer is satisfied.
Example
After the initial interview, players construct a table setting for the volunteer’s family of roommates. The audience member sits at the edge of the stage with their bell and microphone (for buzzing) as their doppelganger, Player A, begins to set the table.
Player A: (placing plates and silverware on the table) “This is really unlike everyone to be late for our Wednesday dinner together…”
The audience member buzzes, marking the choice as inaccurate, prompting Player A to try again.
Player A: (placing plates and silverware on the table) “Looks like everyone is running a little late again. I’ll just pull the lasagne out of the oven so it doesn’t burn…”
The volunteer rings their bell, and PlayerA continues with their stated activity.
Player A’s roommate, B, who was described as extroverted and boisterous, explodes through the door.
Player B: “Let the fun begin! I’ve brought wine…”
The volunteer buzzes.
Player B: (resetting) “I’ve brought beer…”
The volunteer buzzes.
Player B: (resetting) “I’ve brought myself as that’s all that’s needed for fun…!”
The Focus
Craft bold characters, make brave choices, and actively invite the volunteer’s ongoing involvement and critique.
Traps and Tips
1.) For the interviewer. Interviews can tend to go long if you’re not mindful (or, frankly, even when you are) especially if you have a reluctant (or overly eager) volunteer. This iteration is about characters and relationships gathering around the dinner table (or an equivalent), so tailor your questions with this in mind. Endeavor to get rich descriptive words or story fragments for each important member of the cast (including the protagonist themselves). Qualities such as nice and kind are generally less helpful and playful than peculiar quirks, mannerisms, or that “thing” the family member always says or does. A lot of the fun stems from the in-the-moment corrections, so don’t feel the need to acquire bucketloads of details, but each improvise should at least have a starting point. Also, don’t forget that the interview is part of the event as well, so keep this energized, moving, and playful.
2.) For the volunteer. Don’t forget that the volunteer’s presence and reactions are an integral part of the entertainment equation. If it’s possible, stage them in such a way that they can be easily seen by the players and audience during the scene. If they’re a little reluctant to provide the requisite bells and buzzes, it can prove helpful to have a fellow company member chaperone them a little, at least initially. If the logistics of your venue allow, it’s nice to bring the volunteer onto the stage for the interview as well so that everyone can see their body language and subtext. Often, what they don’t say, or perhaps how they say what they do say, is equally as revealing as their more measured responses. Take a second to rehearse the bell and buzzer mechanics, too, before the scene launches just so that they know what’s expected of them.
3.) For the audience member’s actor. This isn’t by any means a strict rule, but it can prove effective to allow the improviser assuming the volunteer’s identity a little space at the top of the scene. A sparser stage allows them some time to build rapport with the volunteer and model the basic premise of making choices and then getting immediate feedback. If there’s a rush of characters immediately hitting the stage together, there can be a tendency to overtalk and, subsequently, overwhelm your featured author. This can discourage their feedback, which both robs the game of its central dynamic but also reduces important information that can help players shape and sharpen their characterizations.
4.) For the family members. Be wary of half choices. It’s difficult for the volunteer to quickly assess ideas that are vague or guarded. Be gloriously wrong so that you can then have another shot at being gloriously right (or wrong again in a gloriously new way). It can take a little getting used to, but make sure you’re leaving windows for the volunteer to respond. (If the scene is getting cluttered, a performative look to the audience member can help cut through the chaos.) Too many choices overwhelming the stage all at once won’t empower the volunteer to help you with strategic adjustments. To this end, it’s wise to gently pacing entrances so that each new character has an individual moment to receive coaching, as is checking in with the teller’s actor – in the parlance of Playback Theatre – as they are often best situated to assist the arc and rhythms of the scene.
In Performance
It can be tricky to embody real people in front of those real people. This game invites playful ribbing and lambasting, but you’ll want to make sure the portrayals don’t veer into mean-spirited caricatures. (This is doubly so for the improviser embodying the volunteer as they’ve taken the additional risk of sharing personal information.) Play fearlessly, but with joyfulness and love.
Cheers, David Charles.
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Photo Credit: Tony Firriolo
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Game Library Expansion Pack I
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