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Welcome to ImprovDr.com

Hello! Let me take a moment to introduce myself and welcome you to ImprovDr.com. I’m David, and I’ve been an improvisational practitioner for over 35 years now. I’ve spent the bulk of my professional and academic life writing about, dreaming about, and figuring out different ways to use improv in my teaching, directing, and on the stage as a performer.

Take a look around the website to learn a little more about me and my various experiences and projects. I’ve called my blog “The Short and the Long of it” as I’m one of those improvisers who likes to play on both sides on the fence, and as many do, believes that skills learnt in one style truly make you stronger in the other: are there still (m)any folks out there who don’t agree that these are really two parts of the same thing despite any posturing to the contrary?

A little about my journey: I was introduced to improvisation through Theatresports in my home nation of New Zealand during the late 1980s, and those lessons have deeply shaped my view and approach to the craft. (Shout out to Logan Park High School and Stripy Socks where the passion began – more on that in another post!) During the early 90s I came to the United States to study theatre and was a financially poor but artistically enriched student at Roosevelt University in Chicago. While I played with ComedySportz and later studied at the Players Workshop of the Second City, I now kick myself looking back on those days that I didn’t have the time and money to fully take advantage of all the amazing things that were happening at that special time in that dynamic place.

And then, as I often joke, I followed the Mississippi river (loosely) to Western Illinois University in Macomb for my MFA and then to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge for my PhD. Because, of course, nothing makes more sense that someone committed to improv leaving Chicago in the mid-1990s… These new locations, needless-to-say, had much less access to improv, and so like many have done before me and will continue to do so now, I made as many opportunities as I could, creating shows and organizing troupes as there wasn’t anything ready-made, all the while reading up on anything I could get my hands on to further expand my own horizons.

In 2003, my doctorate fresh in hand, I relocated to the Orlando area in Florida to accept a teaching position at Rollins College, where the improv continued, and I had the good fortune to quickly connect with Sak Comedy Lab. This venue has been my professional improv home for about 20 years now minus a hiatus of 18 months or so when I was in the company of Walt Disney World’s now sadly defunct Comedy Warehouse. In the early 2000s there was little in the way of long-form in the area, and I’ve been doing my part to push that envelope whenever and wherever I can: on my home campus of Rollins, at Sak Comedy Lab, and in other Florida venues when they’ve let me onto their stages! This website includes some images and descriptions of the fruits (fresh or otherwise) of these improvisational long-form labors, and you’ll also see that I’ve never strayed far from being an active short-form player at the same time.

So, that’s the short and the long of it (this was probably more on the long side than I intended, but if you become a frequent visitor, you’ll quickly learn that I love words and am as verbose on the page as I am on the stage despite my best efforts to the contrary!) I’m going to strive to make weekly posts about games or techniques that I’m currently working with or musing on, and I also welcome you to pose any questions or conundrums that you might have in regard to this art-form that consumes so many of us so wonderfully and so completely. Maybe I’ll have a few thoughts that can help you unlock something in a new way.

Cheers, David Charles.
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All website and blog material (c) 2020-2025

Looking for the ImprovDr “Game Library”? Then go here.

Or looking for the ImprovDr “A to Z of Improv” now in print with Routledge? Then go here. You can read about my journey creating this resource in this feature in Winter Park Magazine.

If you want to learn more about my improv path, you can listen to the RebelRebel podcast here or the Improv Autopsy podcast here and here.

Read my recent co-authored article in the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism here.

And you can see some love for my blog from Feedspot here.

Game Library: “Zip, Zap, Zop”

First a confession: I learnt this game in New Zealand from a Canadian lineage, and whether it was a conscious choice on the part of my first instructors, or just our slippery kiwi vowels, I’ve been playing it as Zip, Zap, Zup ever since and fighting a probably rather senseless battle to keep up that language while teaching in the United States. But after a quick search, I’m finding that apparently, I’m in a minority of possibly one. So, while it breaks my heart a little, I am reluctantly shifting to the overwhelmingly majority position, and offer you instead, Zip, Zap, Zop (even if that last word still sounds a little jarring to me)!

The Basics

Players form a circle…

Variation One – The Classic: Improvisers form a repeating sequence with the first player sending a “Zip” to another random player across the circle with a suitably clear hand motion and eye contact, who then sends a “Zap” to a new random teammate, who responds with a “Zop” to a third player who then, in turn, starts the sequence all over again. If a mistake is made, the ensemble applauds, and the game begins again.

Player A: (across the circle to F) “Zip.”

Player F: (across the circle to C) “Zap.”

Player C: (across the circle to K) “Zop.”

Player K: (across the circle to B) “Zip…”

Variation Two – The Double: Two sequences are now sent around the circle, although it’s crucial that both sequences stay connected and move on the same word. To begin, Player A uses both hands to gesture to and identify two different players and says “Zip.” These two new improvisers now send separate “Zaps” around the circle in the same rhythm so that two different performers have been clearly identified. These two selected players then continue the process by sending around individual “Zops” on the same beat. In the event that one person receives both tags at the same time (hence the importance of keeping both sequences in the same tempo), they repeat the starting motion of separating the threads by pointing to two new players and announcing the next word in the sequence. When a mistake is made, the ensemble applauds, and the game begins again.

Player A: (across the circle to F and G) “Zip.”

Players F and G: (across the circle to C and E, at the same time) “Zap.”

Player C and E: (across the circle to K and L, at the same time) “Zop.”

Player K and L: (across the circle…) “Zip…”

Variation Three – Trinities: This is a little complicated to explain in print, but the core of the game remains the same (as version one) in that sequences or trinities (such as Zip, Zap, Zop) are passed around and across the circle. In this advanced edition of the game, however, the key position is what I refer to as the “Zip” position as this player has several choices. First, they can defer to the base titular trinity and offer up a “Zip” with a clear gesture to another teammate who should then continue the pattern with the expected “Zap…” Or, the “Zip” player can offer up the first item of a new and previously undefined trinity. For example, they might introduce “Red,” and now the next two players get to set the other elements of the triad which might become “White” and “Blue” (colors), or “Browsed” and “Perused” (things one might do to a book), or “Flushed” and “Shy” (synonyms of embarrassed…). The key is that the first offer doesn’t mandate what the list might evolve into when other heads become involved in the process. Or, this “Zip” player can re-introduce a previously established unique trinity (such as those listed above) which then requires following players to add the existing elements already in play. Once this pattern of three has been completed, the new improviser in the “Zip” position now has the power to revisit old patterns or start a new one. When a mistake is made, the ensemble applauds, all the “original” trinities die (excluding the basic Zip, Zap, Zop), and the game begins again.

Player A: (across the circle to F) “Zip.”

Player F: (across the circle to C) “Zap.”

Player C: (across the circle to K) “Zop.”

Player K: (now in the “Zip” position, across the circle to B) “Car.”

Player B: (across the circle to D) “Bicycle.”

Player D: (across the circle to A) “Scooter.”

Player A: (now in the “Zip” position, across the circle to K) “Car…”

The Focus

Accept, exist in the moment, and keep the energy flowing and building.

Traps and Tips

1.) For all three variations. Don’t let the desire to get the game “right” interfere with or supersede the collaborative joy of the enterprise. In all three definitions, I’ve noted the importance of delighting in the fumbles by applauding when the game breaks down. (As you advance through the three versions, the likelihood of this happening increases exponentially!) It may prove helpful to emphasize good game etiquette during these restarts – such as making clear partner choices and passing the words with strong focus and articulation – but keep the mood light and playful. A simple gift of this game is that it provides a means for rehearsing how to embrace and accept mistakes with a light and forgiving touch.

2.) For the double. I can’t over-emphasize the need for establishing and maintaining a steady rhythm for this iteration. If the two chains start to operate independently of each other in terms of their pacing, they will quickly start to compete in a disorderly way that makes it essentially impossible to move forward, especially when one player ends up getting both threads at the same time only to find they’re now two different words (and even in a large group, this happens more than you might expect). Also, be on the lookout for moments when improvisers essentially tag each other – so Player A sends K a “Zap” at the same time that K does the same to A. In these moments (which happen more than you might expect), both players should now send a “Zop” to a new member of the circle to keep both sequences going.

3.) For the trinities. There are some tried and tested techniques that can help get this trickier version up and running. First, encourage players to utilize the base model of Zip, Zap, Zop if they feel the energy or attack sagging. This established trinity is a great way to build confidence and momentum, especially if you find yourself getting bogged down in restart after restart. Similarly, as new triads enter the mix, it’s a good default to “burn these in” by letting the same pattern move around the circle multiple times before changing it up again (as Player A has modeled in the above example by returning to “Car”). When creating new sets, be wary of circling around the same categories time and again. If we have one “modes of transportation” trinity, it can be confusing to follow it immediately with “Airplane” or use “Scooter” in another Muppets-themed run. (When a round ends due to a fumble, all previously used words are now wiped clean and are up for grabs again in new contexts, however.) There can be a tendency to want to sidecoach players who are struggling to remember a prior offering but just cue the applause of failure instead if the chain has clearly been broken as this is ultimately more helpful than creating a tepid warm-up where players become afraid of being wrong or corrected by their teammates. Also, new players can tend to shift between trinities somewhat randomly (rather than at that pivotal “Zip” moment). So be on the lookout for that slip up and cue the applause as necessary (perhaps with a quick explanation as to the nature of the infraction to clarify the rules of the game). And finally, a personal (perhaps minor) pet peeve: as your ensemble becomes more fearless, strive to avoid falling into non-lists as these don’t really satisfy the concept of brainstorming new trinities. (For example, “Red”, “A”,” “Book” is really a short sentence rather than three items that belong in some discovered shared category.)

In performance

It’s perhaps (ironically) fitting that this is one of the last new editions to the Game Library during this second go around as the original variation of this improv standard is probably one of the first exercises most improvisers encounter in the rehearsal hall. The two more advanced variants can help change it up a little while retaining the simple elegance of this improvisational rite of passage!

New to ImprovDr.com or the Game Library? You can find the ever-expanding collection of games, exercises, and warm-ups here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2026 David Charles/ImprovDr (The first 2026 entry!)

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Yearbook Photo”

This game provides a rate opportunity for team members to stretch their monologue creating skills while revisiting the potential horrors of taking a high school Yearbook Photo!

The Basics

A real or invented high school club serves as the launching point and players take the stage and assume strong character poses before freezing for their group photo (perhaps with an accompanying “smile” and camera flash from the booth). While their fellow players remain frozen, characters take turns stepping out of the tableau to narrate their story to the audience. After each monologue, the narrator returns to their original frozen position before a teammate repeats the process until every club member has had the chance to share.

Example

“Chess Club” inspires the action and the team of four players assume an odd selection of poses before the photographer’s camera flashes, the students freeze, and Player A makes their way to the forestage…

Player A: (straightening their club jacket, and with a big smile) “I’ll never forget this day. My parents, and all of my friends, were surprised when I signed up for the chess club and, in fairness, I have never been very good at board games, or much of anything for that matter. But I knew this was the club for me when I saw his name – Emmanuel – on the sign-up sheet.”

Player A looks longingly back at the frozen image of Player D.

Player A: “Sometimes you just know what the universe has in store for you, even if your parents and friends think you’ve lost your mind. But it wasn’t my mind I lost that day, it was my heart…”

The Focus

Snap into a strong point of view so that you can quickly find and exploit your character’s unique energy and spark.

Traps and Tips

1.) Use your body. There isn’t a lot of time for thinking as this game begins, and so it’s important – if not crucial – to literally jump into a deal right as the audience sees the assortment of characters assembling for the photo. Make a bold and definitive choice of some variety – an emotional energy, way of holding yourself, orientation to the space or another actor, a peculiarity or quirk… It’s unlikely that this first choice will make much sense initially to you or the audience, but as context begins to emerge, you’ll now have a deal from which to build and respond. And be sure to take these physical choices into your monologue as well. Just walking with that seemingly random energy into the limelight can be enough to jumpstart your inspiration. Also, be aware of other’s physical realities, especially during the moments of transition, so that you can pick up on cues as to who might be ready to narrate next. (If in doubt, it can be helpful to assume you’ll move down the line in order from stage right to stage left.)

2.) Use your patience. There can be a tendency to rant to do too much when it’s your turn to narrate, but keep in mind that you have a whole team of players whose collective contributions will craft the greater narrative together. Early stories should feel a little incomplete as they’re laying the groundwork for those that will follow. While I wouldn’t necessarily advocate a strict Four Sentence Story approach (you can read about this exercise here), it can be helpful to strive to spread around the various story functions. Our initial speaker, A, for example, probably shouldn’t offer up the climax for the entire group but rather provide some of the raw material for others to weave and reincorporate. Endowing D as Emmanuel, their crush, offers a promising future connection. It will likely prove less helpful to then endow everyone else as well and spell out exactly what they did.

3.) Use your partners. There is generally a delightful cumulative effect to the narratives, with each character building off the details and energies introduced by their peers. So, while I caution against detail dumping on your teammates and constraining their own agency, players should be sure they are adding helpful and interesting flavors and spices to the emerging buffet. If early characters create and shelve rich specifics, it’s exciting to see later improvisers reclaim them and justify these gifts in their own way. Some ripening helps in this regard, so don’t grab at the thing that was just said if it might become more dynamically helpful further down the line. In this manner, A’s choice to endow D as their love interest allows B and C (assuming we’re narrating in that order) to offer up new or complicating story threads that can further heighten the payoff of D’s eventual climactic account.

In performance

In my experience, the final narrator does inherit somewhat of a “piece it all together” function in this game and so they can be at the mercy of their teammates. Yes, a little playful mischief and endowing can certainly add to the fun, but if earlier players are doing little else than shivving and placing incongruent details, the burden of the final position will become daunting and possibly even a little icky. (No one wants to be put into the position of coming up with the “punchline” for a joke without any punchline.) Instead, lean into character and relationships, and enjoy how the oddball group of club members construct a unified story together.

This format features a string of individual completed monologues. If you’re looking for a structure that breaks up these speeches into smaller portions, consider exploring the related game, Perspectives, here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2025 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Xmas Carol”

Just in time for the holiday season…

The Basics

Players (usually a team of four) form a choral cluster or line and sing original lyrics to the tune of “Deck the Halls.” The resulting song may provide the origin story of a made-up holiday character provided by the audience.

Example

The music starts, and players craft verses about Lumpy, the piece of coal.

Player A: (singing)

“Snowflakes dressed the windowsill.”

All:

“Falalalala Lalalala.”

Player B:

“Inside all the house was still. “

All:

“Falalalala Lalalala.”

Player C:

“Except one lone soul, who was grumpy.”

All:

“Falalalala Lalalala.”

Player D:

“Left all by himself, lay Lumpy.”

All:

“Falalalala Lalalala.”

The Focus

Take full advantage of the existing melody and structure to support your play and tell an original story.

Traps and Tips

1.) Set yourself up. Each role in the quartet offers unique gifts and challenges, so cast your teammates accordingly. It’s wise to establish with your musician a friendly key for your singers (or find a track that will accomplish the same). The third position (C above), in particular, can have some rather high notes to hit. Position A also requires confidence and a sense of strong musicality, so this isn’t a place to hide someone who struggles to find their note. This is one of those games that really invites a quick warmup and sing through backstage if you’re planning to add it to your show, especially with an untested combination of performers.

2.) Set each other up. One of the lovely features of this game is those helpful “Falalalala Lalalala” sections where everyone gets a chance to breathe and think a little. Use them! Players A and C are in the setup positions in terms of the AABB rhyme scheme, so they can maximize their companions’ chances for success by deploying some well-placed target rhymes or more simple vowels or common endings that give the next singer a wide-open playing field. The song (and story) benefits hugely from gifting the better or more obvious word to the next improviser, as C did with “grumpy” for D’s “Lumpy.” Don’t panic grab at the emblematic words only to leave your fellow songsters scrambling for something vaguely passable. If someone needs to take the hit, practice embracing this sacrificial act falling on the first half of the couplet.

3.) Set the structure up. Unless you’re blessed with a team of musical powerhouses, I’d advocate for keeping each player in the same position for each verse. (There are generally four stanzas in a song.) Each position can then focus on an essential function. I tend to think of A as the story steerer, cleaning up any peculiarities the rhyme necessitated, while C strives to set D up for a strong payoff and button for the verse, and B and D try to land something of value that rhymes! Concentrating on a smaller task can make the game feel a whole lot more manageable for everyone. In terms of structure, also consider utilizing a simple story frame, such as that taught with Four Sentence Story (here). If you elect to use the origin story gimmick, this gives a helpful way of focusing each verse with an introduction, problem, solution, and then resolution respectively, the resolution often culminating in some iteration of “And that’s the story of [insert character name here]”.

4.) Set the audience up. And while you’re at, why not encourage the audience to join in with those “Falalalala Lalalala” sections, at least at the end of the song, to add to the volume and joy of the whole holiday affair!

In performance

This is a relatively accessible overlay to add a little festive spirit to your lineup. And if you’re wondering why I’ve written about this under Xmas Carol rather than Christmas Carol, that might have something to do with the fact that I hated my Game Library not having a true “X” entry!!

Looking for a four-verse track to sing along to? Go here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Kalani Senior
© 2025 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Word Ball”

Keep your teammates on their toes with this rapidly changing verbal challenge.

The Basics

One player (typically the emcee or an opposing team member) serves as the caller. Throughout the action, they periodically announce random numbers that determine how many words must feature in each speaking player’s dialogue.

Example

The scene is set on the balcony of a cruise ship cabin. Players A and B take the stage and stare out onto the moonlight night.

Caller: “Start with 5.”

Player A: (holding their beloved close) “This night has been perfection.”

Player B: “Happy first wedding anniversary, darling.”

Player A: “The first of many anniversaries…”

There is an offstage knock on their cabin door.

Caller: “2”

Player B: (scurrying off) “Room service…”

Player A: (delighted) “You didn’t…”

Player B: (opening the door) “I did.”

Player C: “Your champagne…”

Caller: “8…”

The Focus

Play fearlessly and endeavor to honor the calls even if that means not quite making it to the end of your intended sentence!

Traps and Tips

1.) The basics. For the players: just like the similar game, Sentences (see here), it’s more than fine to visibly keep track of your words on your fingers; in fact, that adds to the fun and lets the audience see that you’re not approximating the target number. And, as with the aforementioned game, be careful not to interrupt other players mid-sentence if they’ve not reached the assigned number, strive to alternate speakers so that one character doesn’t talk multiple times in a row, and avoid counting syllables rather than words. For the caller: it’s kind to start generously and patiently with numbers that will allow the foundations of the scene to clearly emerge and take hold. Look for helpful story moments to alter the target – such as the arrival of the waiter – rather than surprising the company with the timing of your early calls. The numbers alone are sufficiently challenging!

2.) The next level. For the players: work against the temptation of sounding like an emotionless robot. This dynamic can tend to strip the dialogue of any performance value, so really imbue every word with depth and subtext. Avoid talking just for the sake of talking or because it feels like it’s your turn. The scene can still contain silences, and stage business, and physical action. If you think of the scene as purely a verbal dynamic, then that is what it will become. For the caller: as the team (hopefully) finds their stride, strategically introduce some appropriate mischief (noting, as always, that your real intention should be to push the scene to greater heights rather than to scuttle or overwhelm it). Look for helpful contrasts in your calls: it’s less exciting or helpful to move from 4 to 5, for instance, than from 4 to 14 (or 40, although you’ll want to use those big numbers sparingly as they, by design, well usually halt the action).

3.) The nuances. For the players: look for, elevate (and then, perhaps, upend) patterns and routines. If one character keeps running out of words before they’ve said their piece, look for ways to lean into that choice. If you use an odd turn of phrase by necessity, consider weaving similar choices back into the mix. (Recently, a teammate found himself using “Dad Dad” to refer to his father to fill out a number and then kept that delightfully in play for the duration of the game.) Honor what accidentally happens in order to obey the “rules” and make it important in a “no mistakes in improv” kind of way. For the caller: look for, elevate (and then, perhaps, upend) patterns and routines. If your calls tend to land when the same character is about to speak, consider making this a sub game if it’s serving and everyone is having fun. If someone – possibly the waiter in the above scenic snippet – hasn’t spoken much, look for a chance to give them an opus of a monologue. If players have soared (or hilariously struggled) to land a particular call, there might be untapped joy if you surprisingly announce that same number again…

4.) The addendum. For players and caller alike, just avoid recycling old discoveries or games out of habit rather than attacking the stage and uncovering (together) new, organic possibilities (as is a standard wisdom, frankly, for all improv games, but doubly so for those that rely on a recurring handle or gimmick). If you return to this game a lot, it can be difficult not to dance a similar dance as before but always look for the new move born from the moment. The illustrations above are intended to inspire rather than provide a set playlist of bits. So, while I once stumbled into the choice of calling a fraction, inviting the characters to speak half a word each, I don’t look to relive this every time I’m in the caller’s chair.

In performance

It’s also possible for the caller to offer unique numbers for each onstage persona: “Player A – 4; Player B – 9.” Or, to the same end, change different players at different moments, so Player A stays in 4 while Player B is cued to individually change to 9 and the rest of the onstage company retains their own prior number. A little of this variant can serve, especially as the scene nears the finish line, but overly complicated calling (in an already challenging game) can tend to just bog down the actors and confuse the audience who takes delight in counting alongside the team (and, subsequently, want to clearly know what number everyone needs). This adjustment also moves Word Ball further into Sentences territory (linked above), which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but this alternative more clearly and elegantly puts word counts up against each other, so I don’t see the innate value in dragging this format into that related territory.

For the warm-up exercise that goes by the same name, go here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Olivia Skvarenina
© 2025 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Word at a Time Express”

And here’s a warmup game that isn’t as easy as it might seem at first glance.

The Basics

Teams face off, and each provides one member (usually) on the playing field. Inspired by an audience prompt (at least initially), the featured pair improvise a narrated fast-paced story with each performer providing one word at a time. When the story falters (or, more rarely, reaches a satisfying conclusion), the audience makes a game show buzzer sound (or similar), and two new improvisers replace their teammates and repeat the process with a new story (possibly based on the initial suggestion or the prior offering or just the whim of the moment).

Example

Players A and B rush to the stage and craft a high-energy story based on the idea of “marshmallows.”

Player A: “Benji…”

Player B: “Skewered…”

Player A: “An…”

Player B: “Extra…”

Player A: “Large…”

Player B: “Marshmallow…”

Player A: “With…”

Player B: “His…”

Player A: “Stick. “

The Focus

Bravely following the story wherever it might want to go.

Traps and Tips

1.) Don’t forget… the basics. As a “word-at-a-time” game, all the basic rules apply for this outing. It’s generally advisable to avoid first-person narratives (although these are less problematic with just two players than many of the related games). Be wary of winding run-on sentences that have no end in sight. And, most important of all, attack each new word with gusto so as to keep the momentum building. See here for other pointers for this verbal dynamic.

2.) Don’t forget… the staging. While this is a storytelling game at its core, that doesn’t mean it should become static physically. Narrators should, at the very least, engage their bodies and liberally use gestures and body language to enrich the narrative. At the not so very least, the action can become partially enacted with players pantomiming their joint adventure. It’s advisable to loosely face each other (as opposed to link arms as a word-at-a-time expert or character might) as this facilitates a faster pace when players can see each other’s mouths and intentions.

3.) Don’t forget… the greater conceit. Standing face-to-face also elevates the overall competitive vibe of the warmup (although this is very much an illusion as players won’t create anything of any value if they aren’t rigorously and generously working together). The appearance of competitiveness, however, helps the performance. Players should rush to the stage to replace “eliminated” teammates and seek even greater attack and finesse than those who went before. If each story doesn’t build off the last – in terms of risk, fearlessness, tempo, and possibly even callbacks and reincorporations – your company is likely to lose interest and excitement rather than increase these pivotal energies. So, as you look to construct each individual story, don’t forget the greater arc of the game as a whole as well.

In performance

I’ve generally seen this game used as an all-play style warmup before an audience at the top of the show. When embraced with skillful abandon, it usually culminates in a particularly impressive feat of storytelling bravery, or equally delightful narrative disaster. It certainly could work as a decider, with the host quickly assigning a point for team members who didn’t drop the ball, although you’d want to make sure this didn’t slow the transition of players running on and off the stage as this adds a lot to the energy and charm of the piece. Similarly, it could easily function as a pre-show or workshop warmup.

This structure sporadically appears and then disappears from the show roster in my current home venue. I don’t tend to seek it out as a player as it’s trickier than it looks and requires a high level of attentiveness and commitment to create pleasing results right at the top of a show. If you (or your team) are personally a little off, there’s nowhere to hide in between each shared word. That being said, I have to confess that I nearly always enjoy this game more than I think I’m going to when heading into the experience. The key is to embrace the joy of really connecting with fellow players and following that excitement wherever it might take you.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Olivia Skvarenina
© 2025 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Word at a Time Broadway Star”

Here’s a lesser played musical improv game that makes the challenge of singing an original song even more difficult!

The Basics

Players form a line or tight cluster and become one “Broadway star” assigned the task of singing an original song based on an audience-inspired premise or title. Each line of lyric, however, is constructed in a “word-at-a-time” fashion moving quickly down the line in quick succession until the song culminates in a rousing ending.

Example

The title “Lifeguard Lessons” serves as the prompt. The improv musician begins to play a lush accompaniment as the players (A though D) form a tight line before the audience and start to croon…

Player A: “The…”

Player B: “Sun…”

Player C: “Shone…”

Player D: “Brightly…”

Player A: “In…”

Player B: “The…”

Player C: “Clear…”

Player D: “Blue…”

Player A: “Sky.”

The Focus

Find the unifying perspective and voice, and strive to incorporate the traditional devices and structural techniques that give an improvised song polish. While this game “appears” easier than other improv singing formats, in reality, the heightened teamwork and listening skills make it markedly more prone to chaos and inelegant fumbling.

Traps and Tips

1.) Start kindly. Perhaps more of a note for the musician collaborator, but it’s generally wise to begin the song with a more legato or leisurely feel. This gives each player a chance to find their own voice on the accompaniment in relation to their teammates and the emerging melodic line. When each word is truly sung with full support and commitment, you’re likely to gain confidence and a musical (and stylistic) template that can then serve the later verses. This doesn’t mean every single word should be needlessly milked – if you’re offering up a multi-syllabic contribution, take your time to find it’s musicality and sense. In terms of lyrics, it can also be helpful to start at least one step away from the provided offer or topic. By creating the feel of the day before introducing the lifeguard appears gives the team an easy place to land if the logic becomes strained or they’re looking for the chorus.

2.) Continue observantly. With the added risk of multiple authors, it can be easy to throw away song structure and just meander aimlessly from one word to the next. The game will become considerably more impressive if you still introduce and echo a rhyme scheme, craft clear verses that have a similar ring, and forge a simple chorus which is memorable and that returns as needed. Now this is all more easily written than accomplished, and the hiccups will undoubtedly provide a great deal of pleasure, but if you set up and land even one targeted rhyme, or reincorporate the essence of a pre-established chorus, your creation will start to feel like an actual song. A helpful interim strategy is to simply look for things to echo or repeat: words or phrases, line structures, melodic finesses, dramatic pauses…

3.) Disrupt strategically. I advise beginning the song with a slower intro section or verse, but as players find their vibe and connection, look for ways to increase the challenge (with an admittedly already challenging game)! If the whole song feels plodding or sluggish, even a masterful construction will land a little anticlimactically. So be on the lookout for opportunities to increase the risk which usually, though not exclusively, will consist of upping the tempo and shortening the space between each individual word. If singers start to bravely clip into each other’s offer – so that there is a small amount of overlap – this will add energy and interest. This increased pace is also a lovely way to construct a bridge if a slower tempo is generally serving, so singers should be vigilant to honor any dynamic adjustments provided by the improvising musician.

4.) End boldly. Similar to Tag-Team Song (described here) a helpful, somewhat standard, button to the piece can consist of the entire company joining together for the last word (or perhaps phrase) so that you can introduce some harmonies and greater vocal stylings if your team is so inclined (and capable of such a feat)! Regardless of whether this becomes an all-play moment, make sure the final singer really savors that last word to bring the piece home. And if you throw in a dynamic pose with the rest of the team, that’s additional icing on the improv cake as well!

In performance

A thought on microphones: I currently play in a venue where we’re fortunate enough to all wear body mics and so we tend to just rely on these for amplification. If that isn’t your setup but you have a microphone on a stand or similar available to you, I would actually advise against using it for this piece (unless the acoustics of your space or strength of your singers’ voices absolutely demands it). It can prove challenging to gather a larger number of players around a single mic without necessitating awkward shuffles or leaning in to sing each word. This small staging choice can actually have a surprisingly large effect on the pacing and rhythm of the song as each word is now preceded by a movement or pause. When players can just stand in a line (albeit a slightly curved one to facilitate hearing each other), there tends to be fewer impediments to quickly passing the focus when inspiration hits.

New to ImprovDr.com or the Game Library? You can find the ever-expanding collection of games, exercises, and warm-ups here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Gontran Durocher
© 2025 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “What Happens Next?”

This exercise that explores the concept (and gift) of making small and obvious steps is pulled from my high school improv days with Dunedin Impro and so is likely the brainchild of Kieth Johnstone who infused much of our workshops in those days.

The Basics

One Player, A, volunteers to be the performer and stands before the workshop group. Another four players (or thereabouts) sit on the ground and become the “panel” while the remaining ensemble members form an audience behind their five peers. Player A prompts each new step of their action by asking the panel, “What happens next?” A panel member (perhaps working in order down the line) then offers up a small, connected, and obvious choice that Player A performs before pausing again to ask for another step in their journey. Observers in the audience (perhaps led by the facilitator) can “challenge” actions before they’re executed if they feel they are unhelpfully giant, needlessly random, or gratuitously over-original. If such a challenge is deemed warranted, a new step is brainstormed for the featured player to complete. The process continues until a natural and satisfying ending emerges.

Example

Player A stands “neutrally” in front the panel.

Player A: “What happens first?”

Player B: “You open the refrigerator door.”

Player A reaches in front of them to pull open an imaginary refrigerator door and then pauses.

Player A: “What happens next?”

Player C: “You reach for the milk carton on the top shelf.”

Player A performs the stated activity.

Player A: “What happens next?”

Player D: “Your cat brushes up against your leg…”

Player A reacts to the arrival of their cat.

Player A: “What happens next?”

Player E: “You drop the milk cartoon after being startled…”

The Focus

In large part, this is a storytelling and progression exercise, that embodies Johnstone’s “backwards-looking improviser” model where each new step can be determined by considering what has just occurred. Surprisingly engaging one-person vignettes can magically emerge from just following where the simple prompt can lead you.

Traps and Tips

1.) For the performer. Simply put, do what you’re told! Yes, you’ll want to bring your gifts as a performer to the part but be careful that you don’t overly complicate or add to the steps offered up by the panel. If you reach for something in the fridge before being told to do so, you are inadvertently editing a whole host of narrative possibilities – the light in the refrigerator might have gone out, or there’s been a power outage and you’re confronted by the smell of rotting food, or you’re a struggling student and there is absolutely nothing in the fridge to stave off your hunger. You don’t want to be an emotionless automaton who plods through the paces without any performance energy or value either. But seek to honor the “small steps” nature of the exercise and aim to concentrate on what you’re given and no more.

2.) For the panel. I’ve noted the points of concentration (to use Spolin’s terminology) above, in that you should strive to provide small, connected, and obvious moves for the featured player. Small in that they don’t condense bigger processes in a way that erases the chance of new smaller discoveries within the steps: “You grab some eggs and make yourself a cheese omelet on the stove.” Connected in that contributions don’t wildly shift the lens, mood, or promise of the scene or squash subtler potentials under their boot: “You put on your suit and go to work on your motorcycle.” And obvious in that you are seeking to react to the unfolding story rather than overtly manipulate it to a personal or predetermined end: “You find the taxidermized racoon on the shelf and stage a puppet play for your cat.” In many ways, you should never feel the pressure to do too much with your direction. Rather, it should just pick up where the prior action left off in a possibly unremarkable yet helpful way.

3.) For the observers and facilitator. This exercise tends to invite more frequent interruptions when the system is being modeled and practiced for the first time. Small, connected, and obvious steps sound like a rather simple mandate until you are actually tasked with achieving them with each subsequent addition. Don’t inundate the panel with intellectualized meanderings and minutiae – everyone’s obvious, for example, should probably be a little different so there’s not a lot to be gained from deep debates on that front. (The appearance of the cat, for example, could feel like a non sequitur for someone who doesn’t have pets, while the sound of the fridge opening luring Kitty into the kitchen likely feels very connected to someone who lives that reality on a daily basis.) The game also loses something when players can’t build any momentum between instructions or Player A is left in limbo time and again for epic discussions about subtleties. Utilizing raised hands and a moderator can help in this regard, so that if an outlier sees something small, that can be shelved for later consideration, in contrast to most of the room feeling like a move was too big or bizarre.

In performance

It’s standard protocol to check in with the featured improviser (Player A) at the completion of the scene, especially if some pimping or discomforting choices nudged them into awkward territory. If you’ve let a few more “minor infractions” slip by, the debrief can also allow for a less disruptive moment to muse on some more nuanced missed or subverted opportunities.

If you’re in the market for a performance-ready variant on this same theme, see my earlier entry on the game Options, here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Tony Firriolo
© 2025 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “What Are You Doing?”

There is a lot to love about the action-packed decider What Are You Doing? If it’s new to your repertoire, it can take a little practice to find comfort with the rhythms and mechanics, but it’s worth the time investment if you’re looking for an energized starter.

The Basics

This is a tricky exercise to describe in print, so I’ve weaved my example through this definition for clarity. I usually deploy some iteration of this description in show with two volunteer players to make it clear for the audience as well.

One player begins by performing an activity…

Player A starts washing the dishes.

The second player then asks the first,

Player B: “What are you doing?”

The first Player must now respond by saying something they are not doing.

Player A: “Changing a lightbulb.”

Player B now begins performing that named activity.

We see Player B pantomiming the action of changing a light blub for a moment or two.

Player A must now ask the second player,

Player A: “What are you doing?”

And the second player must answer something they are in fact not doing.

Player B: “Reading the newspaper.”

And Player A must take on this new action…

Player A begins reading a mimed newspaper.

This continues until players are eliminated for stalling, repeating previously named or performed actions, or other infractions introduced along the way.

The Focus

This has a bit of a “pat your head” and “rub your stomach” at the same time feel to it, especially if you’ve not played it a lot. Play with fearlessness, embrace the loss with joy, and get yourself into trouble! My tips below are both dynamics to avoid and ways to increase the likelihood of eliminations if the game is going a bit long.

Traps and Tips

1.) Avoid stalling. While you want to give each player a moment to playfully establish new named activities, be mindful that you don’t wimp when you’re offering the verbal prompts. General “ums” and “ahs” tend to disproportionately slip in, as do “I ams” and “I’ms” as in “I am… [stall, stall, stall] painting my toenails.” All of these are (perhaps unconscious) ways of giving yourself a few extra seconds to get to the gerund or action. When I’m facilitating the game, I’ll usually give a warning if this type of language slips in and then use it as a criterion for elimination afterwards.

2.) Plant yourself. I’m not sure if I’m somehow inadvertently encouraging this behavior when I teach the game, but I often see players darting away into their own corner to start performing their new activity. This strikes me as another clever wimping strategy as you get some thinking time while you travel back and forth to your opponent. So, as best you can, start your pantomimed action right where you offered your reply. While you want to let these mini vignettes have a second to breath as they are often so much fun in their own right, also be wary of needlessly extending them in lieu of committing to the game. Sometimes a simple call of “faster” or “pick up the pace” will do the trick to get things jumping again.

3.) Provide context. Most companies that regularly play this game likely use some variations of the following prompts, but it can be helpful to frame each round in a slightly different way. I generally start with open locations, move to occupations, and then deploy the addition of initials. Answers should now incorporate (at least tangentially in the first two cases) these prompts, so forest might garner “drinking from a river,” dentist could result in “coding a patient bill,” and the initials “D.C.” might inspire “dunking clowns.” I actually find that such handles help my creativity by giving some boundaries and limitations. These frames also make infractions a little more obvious and likely.

4.) Celebrate failure. As this game is designed to serve as a decider, everyone bar one player will eventually become eliminated. Take the loss with grace and excitement! If one player after another leaves the stage with an air of frustration, disappointment, or even angst, you’re setting yourself up for a rather funky show. On the other hand, when the audience sees everyone smiling and laughing as they stumble, it sets a delightful tone and, frankly, makes the crowd inclined to like you, which is not the worst thing in the world when they’re about to watch you for the next hour or two. And if you find yourself loitering on that colorful response that doesn’t meet your venue content parameters, it can be exciting to see that you wanted to say something a little naughty, but nonetheless opted not to before falling on the proverbial improv sword and taking the loss.

In Performance

The more fearless you are in the execution of this game, the more whimsical the actions tend to become and the more fun you’ll have in performing them. And while I’ve advised against voluminous scenic flights of fancy, don’t overlook that a quick specific or line of dialogue in these contexts adds so much entertainment value. Be careful of your inner wimp or desire to win getting in the way of this dangerous kind of fun.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Kalani Senior
© 2025 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Concept: Story Series for Improv I

Game Library: “Vroom”

Here’s a fast and delightfully silly warmup!

The Basics

Players form a – you guessed it – circle. One player begins moving the imaginary car around by turning to either side and saying Vroom. The car continues speeding around the circle, being passed (with strong eye contact) from one player to the next in sequence with the following rules:

If the next player elects to keep the car moving in the same direction, then they too make the titular Vroom sound. This should be the standard choice in the game.

If the next player wants to reverse the car’s direction, they make a dramatic screeching sound (as if the car is slamming on its brakes) before sending a Vroom back to the player who just sent it to them.

On occasion, the current player can elect to introduce an “oil slick” with a suitable hand gesture, which, in turn, skips the next player in the circle before the Vrooms continue. This phrase can be followed with a “whee” sound by the relevant player (or the whole group, if you like, with everyone quickly turning around).

Example

Player A: (to B) “Vroom.”

Player B: (to C) “Vroom.”

Player C: (to D) “Vroom…”

The Focus

Building and sharing energy, focus, and unabashed accepting.

Traps and Tips

1.) Drive. I’ve noted above that the Vroom should generally be the default choice. It’s difficult for the momentum to build if every second or third choice breaks a routine that hasn’t really been established in any meaningful way. The game reminds players of the power of the obvious, and here, the obvious choice is that of your previous improviser.

2.) Build. In embracing the simple core of the game, the potential for wonderfully reckless speeding presents itself. Look to increase the tempo of each tag so that the car metaphorically races wildly around the circle. By committing to this joyful exchange, you also increase the effectiveness and delight of each unanticipated…

3.) Brake. Sure, the warmup can and should be largely an embodiment of collective fun, but there can also be a value in exploring timing, suspense, and surprise. After all, a good routine literally invites disruption. When the variants are introduced sparingly, knowingly, and, dare I say, even expertly, the exercise can become oddly – even disproportionately – exciting.

In performance

While I’ve teased out some potentially more robust gifts – as one would expect in a Game Library committed to building improv skills and confidence – don’t overlook the elegance of this quick warmup that invites us all just to play cars again!

You can find lots of other improv and group warm-ups here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Olivia Skvarenina
© 2025 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Universal Translator”

The core conceit of this game warrants some care in terms of its framing and implementation if you don’t want the silly physical hijinks to feel as if they’re at the expense of those in the hearing-impaired community. In my current venue, the new name Universal Translator was embraced to aid in this endeavor, as was greater care with the set-up. Some may view this as an imperfect or incomplete gesture. Frankly, some nights I’m still on the fence as well.

The Basics

To accommodate everyone in the audience, an interview scene is conducted in which a player uses pantomime to translate the dialogue into a make-believe (and made-up-on-the-spot) “universal” language.

Example

Player A assumes the role of the translator stage left while Players B and C sit in chairs on the opposite side of the stage where they take on the functions of the interviewer and expert. The audience provides the topic of “lawn maintenance” as the focus of the show.

Player B: “And welcome back to ‘Let it Grow,’ where we get to the bottom of all your gardening needs.”

Player A gestures throughout, waving and then pointing to their back, miming Pinocchio’s nose after a lie, turning and gesturing to their posterior, and finally digging a hole with a pretend shovel, all roughly in sync with B’s dialogue.

Player C: “It’s a real pleasure to be with you, John…”

Player A smiles broadly while shaking an imaginary hand, before creating the illusion of a man standing at a toilet or “john”…

The Focus

This game thrives when players balance embracing the simple and obvious (specifically their obvious), alongside mining less expected and more left-field uses of the speakers’ language.

Traps and Tips

1.) For the interviewer. I tend to play this role a lot and quite enjoy its essential function of enabling the fun for both the expert and the translator. It’s a small detail, but taking the chair facing away from the translating player (if your performance space doesn’t allow good views for both talking characters) generally allows the expert to watch the action and set the speed of the conversation accordingly, as they tend to contribute the bulk of the language. A lot of helpful content will still likely come from the interviewer’s chair, but ideally this role should focus on assisting the expert in the crafting of an interesting and detailed story – arguably the function of the interviewer in all expert games in general. There can be a tendency to only lean into the gag of setting up unusual or naughty words and phrases for the translator to craft. While this is certainly and delightfully part of the game, the interview can quickly stumble if no one is looking after the more mundane mechanics of also weaving a more meaningful tale or account. So, have a strong point of view, connect the dots of the narrative, and fight to get to the bottom of something in the scene, whether that is the truth or merely the most specific details about the given topic as possible.

2.) For the expert (and interviewer as well). Noting the chair placement suggestion above, and in addition to keeping an eye on the general pacing (so that the translator doesn’t become overwhelmed in a tsunami of words and images), the expert provides much of the raw material for the scene. Specifics are great in this regard, as they’ll tend to unlock novel approaches for physical storytelling, but even better than specifics are colloquialisms, poetic whimsy, and playful turns of phrase. “I haven’t seen you in a while,” will offer fewer enticing possibilities than “It’s been an eternity since our paths have crossed,” or “I feel like you’ve been hiding from me as you’re not returning my texts.” Be mindful that you don’t needlessly repeat words or key phrases over and over again, particularly those that belong to the base topic. It’s one thing to keep saying “lawn” if the translator has found a joyful mime that keeps building and evolving: it’s another thing to just accidentally or clumsily dwell on the word when nothing of interest is being discovered. Having your expert able to see the translations helps enormously in being able to determine and exploit the difference. Stock bits can easily become a curse of this game, too, so avoid just inelegantly scrolling through a list of countries or movie stars to prompt a repeat of old physical schtick. (I’ve found that these types of choices also invariably invite an ick as the translator now feels pimped into hitting blunt gags rather than working toward more complex and narrative-based humor.)

3.) For the translator. This role can be played beautifully with a real sense of physical control and restraint, but more often it closely resembles a rather intense workout. (I play in a venue that uses body mics, and it’s become common practice for the translating improviser to remove theirs during the game preamble just so that their movement is truly unimpeded.) Even when the speakers are working at a reasonable pace, there can be a lot of information flying around the stage, so it’s important to unapologetically and ruthlessly edit. You needn’t strive to mime an equivalent for every little word. Instead, look for the bigger ideas and phrases that get to the core of your teammates’ idea. Exploiting homonyms, or pop cultural references, or previously established choices or relationships between players, can provide great grist for the creative mill. (And if you’re in a venue with porous content parameters, you’re likely to use a heaping does of double entendre and strategic winking as well!) If you do find yourself being led back to similar words or thoughts, endeavor to breathe new life into them – this could be as simple as acknowledging as the translator that you’re getting bored making the same translation again and again and again. Also, look for a greater story arc – this may be strictly in line with the narrative created by your fellow players, or mischievously antithetical to their goals. There can also be a delightful value in maintaining a rigorously professional air even when your content becomes increasingly naughty or absurd! And finally, if you’re getting advanced in years (as I am) you’ll want to warm up to your most impressive feats of skill so that you don’t run out of steam before the proverbial improv train has even left the station!

In performance

We have a bench of particularly strong physical comedians at Sak Comedy Lab, and so, in the right translating hands, this game often hits the improv ball out of the park. While it can be dangerous to pander to an audience and its laughter, this game benefits from keeping the spectators in the greater creative bubble, so that choices can be emphasized, heightened, or repeated when they are clearly striking a pleasing nerve.

Game Library Expansion Pack I