This is another one of those framing devices that is more of a loose conceit or challenge rather than a nuanced structure. Regardless, it’s a nice way to shake up the action and inspire outside-of-the-box characterizations.
The Basics
The basics are rather basic indeed: players create a scene in which they cannot embody human characters. That’s it!
Example
Players explore “kitchen” as their offer. The scene opens on two improvisers sitting on a counter.
Player A: (as a toaster) “I’m getting worried, Shannon. They’ve not used me for months. I think I’m getting rusty…”
Player A tries to shuffle around a little on the countertop.
Player B: “It’s all in your imagination, Paul. You’ll be back in fashion in no time.”
Player A: “That’s easy for you to say – you’re a blender. This gluten-free diet fad has been great for you…”
Player B swivels joyfully.
Player B: “I have been enjoying the extra attention. I won’t lie…”
The Focus
Explore a premise, location, or theme from a wholly different angle or perspective.
Traps and Tips
1.) Set the rules. The scene will struggle if the fundamental rules of the world aren’t established quickly and clearly. This may involve a quick check-in between players during the blackout or countdown (depending on your company norms), or just a bold player setting up the first move of a game or story with creative precision. Wishy-washy imitations or endowments, however, won’t prime the scene. If your first thought is to be an appliance in the kitchen, get that clearly to the stage as soon as possible so other improvisers can continue to build in the same direction.
2.) Play the game. This device thrives on the improv approach of “if this is true, what else is also true?” So, if we’re in a world of talking appliances, consider how the other facets of the universe affect our characters. Does electricity become a form of status or currency? Are our characters aware of their human owners, and do they understand their language? What might the family pet represent in this new and peculiar ecosystem? The answers to these questions matter less than the playful exploration of their ramifications, although it adds finesse to seek some consistency in your universe – whatever that might mean to you and your teammates.
3.) Use the field. As you find your “in” and develop your reality, be mindful that dynamic staging remains a consideration. If your characters become essentially unmoving blobs, you’ve steered yourself into talking heads territory (even if those “heads” are toasters and blenders). Once the novelty of the premise wears off, this static style will likely prove as problematic as any other more realistic “kitchen sink” scene. It’s smart to keep in mind the mobility of your choice when making your character selections. Our characters above at least have some modest potentials built into their primary functions, which can provide a start. Remember, however, that you’re also operating in a stylized world so your characters can move and function in more stylized ways
In Performance
The scope of this game is rather extensive, so don’t needlessly limit yourself. After sll, the charge only limits what you can’t be (humans) rather than what you can be (literally anything else). Our kitchen scene could result in a take of appliances, but could also follow a family of rodents or insects, or the various items of leftovers on a plate or in the refrigerator, or consist of a dance between a summer breeze and a set of kitchen chairs…
This is my last new “H” in the Game Library. Find its siblings and all the other letters here. Details on getting your hands on my accompanying dictionary of improv terms can be found here.
Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
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Photo Credit: James Berkley
© 2024 David Charles/ImprovDr
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