We’ve experimented with several audience-centric formats at my home venue, Sak Comedy Lab, for our purchased “Slice of Life” segment, and this has become the standard in recent years. It’s also a common feature of our corporate shoes as it allows us to showcase the boss (or a memorable personality) of the hosting business.
The Basics
The featured guest in question is brought to the stage and interviewed by a company member or emcee of the event (perhaps with the benefit of a pre-show questionnaire). After some basic biographical and/or work details have been elicited, the guest is provided with a bell and microphone (or equivalents) and coached as to how they will steer the action of the improvised scene to follow: if players get facts correct, the honored spectator will ring the bell encouragingly; if choices are incorrect (typically comically so), the coaching observer will make a game show buzzer sound, thereby prompting the onstage players to gently rewind and offer up a new and improved alternative. The scene continues, tracing a typical day in the life of the narrator, with an assortment of guiding bells and buzzes.
Example
After the interview and a brief modeling of the editing instructions, the players have struck backstage in preparation, and the lights fade and then rise again to reveal Player A, who assumes the role of the audience member. Player A yawns as if just waking from their slumber…
Player A: “It’s bright and early and 6am: time for me to get up…”
Player A looks to the audience guest for feedback as the scene pauses. A moment later, the guest makes the corrective buzzer sound.
Player A: (replaying their first moment) “It’s ten o’clock and I suppose I should finally get ready for work…”
Another strategic pause followed by another buzzer sound.
Player A: (replaying their first moment again) “7:30 and time to face the day!”
The guest rings their bell, prodding the actor forward as Player B (assuming the part of A’s aforementioned spouse) enters the scene.
Player B: “Are you off for your daily five-mile run, darling…?”
The guest rings the bell, perhaps to everyone’s surprise.
Player A: “I wouldn’t start my day without it.”
Player B: (while opening the imaginary curtains to their bedroom) “I’ll have your usual breakfast waiting for you when you return…”
A buzzer sound.
Player A: (preparing to go running instead) “Last one back has to make breakfast…”
The Focus
As the game so heavily features an audience member, players should endeavor to put the corresponding improviser on a playful journey. This will generally consist of featuring an array of their family members and colleagues, likely in humorous or exaggerated situations.
Traps and Tips
1.) Before the interview. Our best practices regarding background information on the guest continue to evolve at Sak. When we play this format in front of a general audience, we’ve moved away from asking for expansive lists of facts beforehand, save perhaps for the recipient’s name, the event being celebrated, and the identity of the purchaser or those likely to be in attendance. This is usually ample as the majority of the audience won’t know the featured guest and so will want to learn about them along with the players onstage. (I will note, however, that it’s enormously helpful to know of any potentially sensitive areas of their life, such as if they’ve recently lost a job or loved one so that the interviewer and performers know to avoid these topics). When performing this game in front of a more homogeneous audience – employees who all work in the same division of a company, for example – it can facilitate more joyful play for the improvisers if they’re provided with some basic foundational information that their audience will largely know – such as occupational buzz words or jargon, well-known personalities in the office, or workplace customs and norms. These more recognizable elements can then be woven into the scene (as if by magic) with a greater likelihood that the audience will more instantly recognize and appreciate the details.
2.) During the interview. It’s important to know what kinds of information best serve your actors and venue, especially if you’re looking to keep the scene reasonably contained and efficient (which is a particular concern when it is offered in lieu of other scenes for a general paying audience for whom the guest is likely a stranger). Yes, seek entertainment value in the interview process, especially if you’re blessed with a personable and charming guest, but prioritize ascertaining specifics that are likely to make it to the stage and help launch the improvisers into strong energies and games. (That great story about how the protagonist met their spouse or founded their company might be “interesting” but if you’re honoring the “slice of life” quality of the format, it’s typically unlikely to influence the seen action.) And remember that the game actually benefits from the improvisers not knowing too much so that they can make brave, wrong choices and receive nudges accordingly. Finding out about key relationships provides fertile terrain – who does the guest live with, work with, see on a regular basis, and is, perhaps, currently sitting in the audience? A few strong adjectives about each person (and from a few of them, some adjectives to describe the guest in return) will often generate more than enough source material. Consider also eliciting a “bucket list” item as well to assist with the out. More on that below…
3.) As the scene begins. Usually, it’s wise to begin with the improviser who is taking on the identity of the featured volunteer. More times than not, a singular actor provides a more elegant and controllable launch as well. There’s a lot technically happening when the scene begins, and it’s important to clearly establish the conceit of the bell and buzzer with the onstage guest. This easily becomes messy if there are multiple improvisers pitching ideas all at the same time. With a solo start, Player A can develop some rapport with their doppelganger and calmly model and establish the needed give and take between each new significant choice and the guest’s judgment of its accuracy. It’s good form (even if a little formulaic) to deliberately offer up some wildly unlikely stances initially – and throughout the scene in general, for that matter, much as one might in a New Choice or Should’ve Said game. This strategy keeps the volunteer (and audience) engaged, and every now and then, you might actually land on something delightfully and unexpectedly on point. Don’t lose sight of the fact that, in most cases, the central player is a featured guest of note (even if only for their family), so keep choices light and whimsical; the protagonist should generally emerge as the “hero” even if they do so somewhat haplessly. (This approach should hold similarly true for other characters also watching from the auditorium.)
4.) As the scene gathers steam. During the first few beats of the scene, you’ll want to build in some air after each big move or offer so that you can check in with the audience member. (A visible turn and look towards them doesn’t hurt in this regard either.) While you’ll want to be mindful not to omit this element as the scene finds its footing, it’s helpful to tighten these moments for feedback when the dynamic has been successfully practiced and deployed. Doing so allows the scene to become less jarringly stop and start. Don’t be afraid to leap the action into new locations, especially if you feel obliged to feature several groups of characters that might not easily coexist in one location – we could see the guest’s family at home, then jump to their place of work to see their coworkers, before transitioning to a karaoke bar where they always hang out with their friends. Just be aware that multiple edits will invariably lengthen the scene, so if you’re performing for just one of the above social groups, you might be best served by narrowing your focus to those interactions. It’s admittedly difficult to craft a deep and nuanced story out of this game as it tends to become more of a pleasing stroll through an average day populated by delightfully not-so-average characters and relationships. Having a known “bucket list” item in the cast’s pocket can help manufacture a landing when something more organic doesn’t present itself. Another character presenting the protagonist with an opportunity to fulfill their dream serves as an oddly satisfying out for all concerned.
In Performance
For another possibility utilizing similar tropes, consider Family Dinner discussed here. This scene deploys the same corrective device of bells and buzzes, so you’ll find some helpful musings on those topics to help you keep your improvising on the right track.
And speaking of other games, you can find the hundreds more in the ImprovDr Game Library index here.
Cheers, David Charles.
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Photo Credit: James Berkley
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