I haven’t featured this tricky little game in the R&D Show quite yet, but as I’ve circled back to it as a possibility a couple of times, I thought it prudent to unpack so it’s loaded when needed. (And I’ll likely review it again when it’s fresher in my mind.) It draws from an Endowment and Freeze Tag vibe with a little Replay Scene thrown in for good measure.
The Basics
Two improvisers (A and B) will portray the same role. Before the ask-for is obtained, the second player (B) leaves the performance space so they will not know any details of the premise. The first half of the scene unfolds, with Player A being featured heavily as the protagonist (or, at least, a central figure who likely doesn’t leave the stage). When the stakes are sufficiently high and A’s character is in a dynamic pose, the host or caller freezes the scene. Player B returns from the lobby (or similar) where they have been unable to see or hear the scene. They tag out and assume A’s exact pose (who strikes to the side and no longer contributes), and the scene resumes as if nothing has happened. Remaining teammates strive to keep the story barreling forward while the replaced actor scrambles to discover and implement key features of their character and storyline.
Example
A scene about a bank heist is well underway, with Player A assuming the role of lead robber.
Player A: (berating their hostage) “I’ve warned you. If you don’t enter the correct combination now, I can’t be held accountable for what I might do…”
Player C: (nervously fumbling with the safe) “I promise I’m trying…”
Player D: (from a prone position on the ground with their hands behind their head) “Can’t you see you’re making the manager terrified…?”
Player A: “I’ll do more than that if…”
Player C: (mumbling in a panic) “35 left, 21 right…”
Host: “Freeze!” (The players do so) “Let’s call back in our missing actor. Actor Switch.”
Player B bursts through the theatre doors and onto the stage, tagging out A and taking on their ominous pose behind C. When the stage is appropriately re-set (possibly cued by another call from the host), the scene picks up with C’s imperceivably mumbling and D looking away.
Player B: (from A’s position, now springing back to life) “You’re not going to get away with this…”
Player C: (pausing, and a little confused as the character) “I could say the same of you.”
Player B: (to D who is cowering on the ground) “Are you just going to lie there?”
Player D: (anxiously) “That’s what you told me to do…”
Player B: “Well, I’ve changed my mind…”
The Focus
A justification game at its core, enjoy the tension between honoring the original scenic premise and fully embracing the unexpected surprises likely to come from B’s initial reactions.
Traps and Tips
1.) For Player A. It’s a trap to become a passenger in the first half of the scene or to feel marginal within the dominant story arc. If you assume the role of a terrified victim, for example, it’ll be easy for other characters just to boss around your double when the switch occurs. This, in turn, wholly diminishes the challenge of the exercise. Instead, assume a high-status role, or a character with clear agency and knowledge in the given environment and play the action from this position of strength. In addition to guaranteeing you’ll be in the thick of the plot, playing with certitude will set up your doppelganger (and the audience) in delightful ways as, if nothing else, your replacement endeavors to match your drive and significance. Remember that your physicality will (at least partially) communicate your essence to your replacement, so endeavor to make clear, active, and deliberate movements throughout that suggest both your function and features of your identity (such as age, occupation, ailments…). There can be a desire to shiv your absent teammate as well, by donning peculiar or difficult to emulate qualities. I’d warn against making this the focus of your performance. If some fun idiosyncrasies emerge of their own accord, so be it. But concentrating on this will tend to skew the logic of the story and, frankly, there’s plenty of built-in challenge without raising the bar impossibly high before the switch has even happened. Beginning with a more “kitchen sink drama” approach can tend to create joyful contrasts as well.
2.) For Player B. There are numerous traps to avoid from the position of the replacement. If you’re too timid – waiting for the remaining improvisers to feed you all the pertinent details – then the audience loses the opportunity to see you squirm. If, on the other hand, you’re too bullish, pushing an agenda that likely doesn’t match the original scene, the story will probably veer so off track that the two story halves won’t combine to make any kind of fulfilling whole. Aim to land somewhere in the middle, making bold choices that also leave room for your partners’ established realities (and for helpful feedback in terms of your first instincts). Specific Ambiguity can help a lot in this regard. B’s first lines in the example are strong but lacking a string of black and white nouns. “You’re not going to get away with eating that whole sandwich in this cafeteria, Brother,” though delightful, doesn’t give others’ any room to maintain their prior perspectives. Snapping into a strong energy is a must. But seek to wade knowingly into the waters of specificity as it’s challenging to leap out of the established bank vault into a completely random new location without essentially destroying the given circumstances. Generally, it’s a best practice for this new actor to get the first line upon their entrance just to maximize the tension of seeing their assumption juxtaposed against the audience’s experience.
3.) For the remaining players. It’s an odd conceit, but as best you’re able, ignore the fact that your cast has suddenly changed mid-stream! If you pause the rising action to inelegantly repeat or paraphrase details that the audience already knows, the scene will quickly feel weird. This is perhaps a key difference when comparing Actor Switch to more traditional endowment games where every line tends to have some kind of explicit clue. (Replay Scene, with its adherence to established patterns is closer kin to this offering in that regard.) Specific ambiguity will help from these positions as well. Sure, you’ll want to provide helpful context and threads for the missing actor to decipher, but these should feel organic, proportional, and subtle to prolong the inherent torture at the core of the experience. So, for example, Player C could offer the third combination at full voice, “48 left…,” when the story restarts, but this could possibly hand B the central premise in one fell swoop. Playing a little more evasively will actually serve the greater goal in this instance. Similar to Endowment games, it’s a helpful mindset to wait until the incoming player says fundamental aspects of the scenario – bank, robbery, vault, combination… – before using these “telling” terms as the supporting cast.
4.) For everyone. Other basic endowment game wisdoms also apply. You don’t want the scene to become bogged down by a “guessing” or “wimping” energy, where Player B looks to their fellow improvisers before making any choice whatsoever. Too many questions from the entering player will have a similar effect, hence the importance of placing them in a role where they would generally be providing the instructions or answers. Remaining players need to diligently embrace and justify unexpected twists and turns, avoiding calling out the game – “You’re nothing like you were just 10 seconds ago” – or dismissing the naive character as mad, or crazy, or stupid. If the vault is being robbed, these stakes shouldn’t dip even if the robber’s behavior has changed inexplicably. In fact, that change in behavior, if truly honored, should just add to the tension of the base scene.
The R&D Twist
I’ll come back and complete this bullet point when Actor Switch makes it into the R&D lineup. What I currently like about this game is that it gives you the audience buy-in of an endowment game while also encouraging strong story and scene-building mechanics. If players don’t efficiently and creatively establish rich relationships and environmental details, there will be very little for the absent player to figure out upon their return.
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Cheers, David Charles.
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Photo Credit: Tony Firriolo
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