A Peek Inside: The Lost Comedies

I’ve described The Lost Comedies of William Shakespeare and several of my other research-infused long-form works as homages rather than parodies as my intent is to base them on a rich and loving understanding of the source material. This is not to say that the result on any given night or performance might not be markedly irreverent or giddily playful, but the intent is to base this abandon in an understanding of the period, style, and tropes of the source material. Each subsequent iteration of The Lost Comedies has endeavored to take this up a notch, examining existing characters, tensions, and societal pressures as depicted in Shakespeare’s plays. Of particular interest and import was the use of language and poetry throughout. If I had my druthers, all the courtly characters would speak in iambic pentameter, but this formidable target has proven elusive… thus far. That being said, the rehearsal processes always explored ways that we could enrich our modern language with some poetic flair and flavor.

As I mused on which game or exercise to pair with this particular production, my mind kept coming back to a game that I don’t think I’ve ever officially named, or at least not in a way that has stuck. In my notes I have Take It Up a Notch and Extended Metaphor, neither of which has become common usage in classes or rehearsals, so I think I’ll go with Image Building as it strikes me as the most efficiently descriptive. While certainly designed to assist in encouraging language of an epic or Shakespearean nature, I think it could easily be modified to help with other style or genre-based pieces and workshops.

Let’s have a peek as to how the exercise works:

The Basics

Players form a circle. One player offers a simple noun or image to start, such as “a tree.” A second player accepts this initial choice but takes the image “up a notch” by adding a new specific, so now the picture becomes “a young tree.” A third player offers a new addition: “a young tree reaching toward the sun…” Each subsequent player adds to the image, paraphrasing prior offers before adding something new. The process continues until the group agrees that the image is now complete.

The Details

This can feel a bit like a memory game which can be a distraction to the larger intent: if a small detail is dropped or diminished as another dynamic piece of the puzzle is added, that isn’t probably the end of the world as long as the prior image as a whole has been fully embraced. In the example above, our focus shouldn’t ideally move off the young tree to the sun, for example. Depending on the size and energy of the group, players can either add randomly when the mood strikes them, you could move in sequence, or have players physically nominate the next to go after they have contributed.

Example

The first player steps into the circle and says,  “a rose.”

The second steps forward and offers, “a delicate rose.”

The third adds, “a discarded delicate rose.”

A fourth provides, “a discarded delicate rose on a lover’s doorstep…”

Traps and Tips

1.) Don’t race to the finish line. One of the gifts of this exercise is seeing how an interesting image materializes one small step at a time. As players become familiar with the concept, they may want to sprint to the end. Especially when it comes to the first moves, players should endeavor to leave sufficient room for the contributions of others. Jumping from “a rose” to “a destroyed pungent rose with its petals strewn across the carcass of a dead man clutching a dagger” might be missing the “building” aspect of the exercise a little!

2.) Stress accepting. Bad improv habits can easily emerge in an exercise this simple and elegant, and it’s likely that players may start to think too far ahead and therefore miss the nuances of others’ additions. Deep listening is critical. Accepting the choices of others doesn’t mean, however, that the image can’t have conflicting or paradoxical elements. Making our rose, in the above example, pungent or decaying, is a cool and very Shakespearean way of placing beauty and death side by side in the same image. This is different than negating or erasing a prior choice if it doesn’t fit with your preconceived desire for the picture.

3.) Explore physicality. I’ve had some success with groups stepping into the circle and almost embodying or “scene painting” the image as it unfolds. The first may gently place the “rose” on an imagined window sill, with the next stepping in and adding the breeze “ruffling its petals.” Adding physicality can also prevent the game from becoming purely intellectual and help make the language have more emotional meaning and purpose. It’s also a palpable reminder that Shakespeare’s poetry was intended to be acted.

4.) Take liberties with the sequencing and phrasing. The game can feel like “I went to Mars and I took a…,” if we recall each choice in needlessly strict order and language. A lot of the fun and value of the game is allowing and encouraging poetic license and liberty. To return to the initial example, “a young tree reaching towards the sun,” a next step could become “a merciless sun scorching a suffocating sapling” or similar. The ingredients remain but have been repurposed and heightened. If you’ve explored other poetic tropes, such as alliteration in this case, this exercise is also a great vehicle for putting them to use as well.

5.) Jump it into action. If this is proving to be the right balance of challenging and joyous for your ensemble, you can cap each built image with a brief monologue. One volunteer, when they perceive the image is sufficiently rich and developed, can step into the circle and quickly offer a monologue inspired by the final image. The speaker can embrace the image as a central simile or metaphor (I find this the most helpful personally), speak to the crafted image imbuing it with personal meaning or significance, or perhaps even embody the object itself and offer wisdom to those assembled. “Oh father, why must I wither as the supplicant sapling in the scorching heat of your merciless gaze…?”

Final Thoughts

This exercise can have some pretty quick rewards in terms of reminding us of the potential of our language if we just slow down a little to smell the proverbial discarded delicate roses. It is certainly a performance-ready technique that, frankly, you can essentially play by yourself to jump start a soliloquy or scene, and it’s surprising how often a seemingly profound or complex concept effortlessly emerges from the process of describing something simply and methodically step by step.

And that’s your peek inside the poetry-enriching process of The Lost Comedies of William Shakespeare, my first fully-realized long-form show that began its journey at Western Illinois University in 1997. (Read more about it in the companion entry here.)

“With a nonny nonny nay, and a nonny nonny hey, and a hey nonny nonny nonny ho…”

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Or email me here to discuss bringing this show or a language-centric workshop to your company!
© 2024 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library: “Humanless Scene”

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
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: James Berkley
© 2024 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Headline”

Here’s another tricky but satisfying quick hit short-form format that encourages players to think (and justify) outside the box.

The Basics

Players obtain a news headline and then improvise a scene that could result in that news story. The game usually culminates with a newsies-style barker announcing the chosen headline while waving an imaginary newspaper. I tend to play this as a concise one-minute game as that increases the challenge, but the story could certainly be given more room to breathe, too.

Example

The headline, “Bush seeks middle ground on global warming,” inspires the play. As the introductory countdown approaches “one,” Player A positions themselves downstage and assumes the character of a bush.

Player A: (sweating profusely) “I just can’t seem to get comfortable today…”

Player B enters and becomes an embodiment of a blistering sun.

Player B: “Why don’t you come a little closer, friend?”

Player A: “I’d rather not, thank you. You are in rare form this afternoon, sun.”

Player B: (smiling happily and obliviously) “I’m just doing my job!”

Player A tries to wiggle away a little only to discover Player C now standing in their path. Player C has taken on the role of a pollution spewing coal plant.

Player C: (smiling happily and obnoxiously) “Well, good morning there, little friend. I’m sorry but you can’t come this way…”

The Focus

This construct shares similar challenges and opportunities as other “reverse engineering” relatives such as Creation Myth Scene, Famous Last Words and First Line, Last Line. Look for playful or unexpected starting points that use the headline’s elements in novel ways. With apologies to non-American readers (and those born in the twenty-first century!), the “Bush” in the headline likely referred to a president. Upending this expectation and making the protagonist a plant instead opens up the scene to a less literal story, which is where the juiciest fun resides.

Traps and Tips

1.) Real headlines are preferable. Headlines are generally concise, pithy, and tend to omit perfunctory words. This, in turn, generally encourages players to fill out those gaps creatively. Made up headlines, on the other hand, might skew ridiculous already – this doesn’t allow the same level of ironic inversions and discoveries. When I teach the game, I have a list of suitably ambiguous options to hopefully model this potential (although, based on my dated example above, that list is long overdue for refreshing!) In the age of computers as phones, most audiences will be able to find something with relative ease. In many ways, the more reputable the source, the better, as that will maximize the contrast between the earnest prompt and the silly outcome.

2.) Varied styles are helpful. In my circles, bland realism can tend to reign unquestioned in the halls of improv. Again, in the name of contrast, it can be joyfully effective to have the very realistic barker tag follow a distinctly non-realistic scene. Anthropomorphized objects or animals, modern dance movement qualities, or period-infused poetry can unlock exciting story options. This will not always prove to be the case, and the game certainly can thrive with a kitchen sink realism approach, too, but perhaps avoid always assuming this stylistic base when the countdown starts.

3.) Generous entrances are key. As is the case with any game that invites a unique use of the ask-for, a hurried or crowded scene start will typically suffocate any chance for a truly inspired deviation from the mundane. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, I’m a huge fan of the “I’ll start” tradition for this very reason as this gives a “hot” player a little room to greet their idea going before a well-intentioned teammate skewers something subtle or unanticipated. If someone immediately calls our wilting shrub, “Mr. President,” for example, our bush won’t be able to water the arguably more dynamic choice they were just about to initiate.

4.) Patient moves are crucial. My written examples tend to be a little collapsed just so I can model a few helpful points. In reality, most of the moves described above could have been given more time to organically build and deepen. One of the traps of “knowing the ending” – the given headline in this case – is that anxious players can tend to just sprint there (usually while probably dragging their teammates with them). As always, enjoy and savor the process. If you’re playing the scene as a one-minute challenge, you do need to be mindful that you don’t chase too many random kittens down disconnected alleyways. But don’t be so focused on the outcome that you forget to discover and create a scene along the way.

In Performance

In theory, any improv game should be able to succeed from any prompt. In reality, a nice ambiguous headline will serve better than a two-word phrase that leaves no room for mis- or re-interpretation. Preparing some possible starting points, providing a few examples for your audience, or shopping a little for a suggestion that sparks creativity are all strategies likely to set you up for creative “success.”

You can find the other related games mentioned above here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Leesa Brown
© 2024 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Half Life”

I first learned this game as 60, 30, 15, 7, but that title now feels a little clumsy (and might unhelpfully telescope the final payoff), so now it’s Half Life for me!

The Basics

A one-minute scene is crafted based on an audience suggestion (something that will tend to nudge the players into physical action and activity is the norm). Once completed, the host or caller instructs the team to repeat the same scene in just half the original time – so, in thirty seconds if the first scene hit the target. (Some hosts strictly time the scene and divide that number in half, hence the greater flexibility of this version of the game). Players move jauntily through the prior action until the scene is completed in the allotted time. The host will then generally offer more halved time goals – usually four in total, with the last iteration having time to reenact only the most pivotal steps.

Example

This is one of those dynamics that’s a little cumbersome to illustrate in the written word. In theory, at least, the dialogue and action should look almost identical between the first and second play through in particular – it is the urgency that has changed…

Player A: (starting the first iteration with a leisurely stroll to a downstate window as they wait for their college-aged child to return from their first semester away from home) “I can see their car pulling into the driveway…”

Becomes…

Player A: (starting the second iteration with a faster stroll to a downstate window as they wait for their college-aged child to return from their first semester away from home) “They’re pulling into the driveway…”

Becomes…

Player A: (starting the third iteration with a sprint to a downstate window as they see their college-aged child returning from their first semester away from home) “They’re here…”

The Focus

Condense… Cond… Co… This frame has a lot in common with Forward/Reverse in terms of its fundamental gifts and curses, so consider reviewing those pointers here.

Traps and Tips

1.) Give yourself room to grow. While your first scene shouldn’t needlessly be overly indulgent or under-energized, don’t let it begin as all out mayhem either as this will burn the fuel and fun of the game before the fuse has even been lit. It’s helpful to construct the base vignette at a regular “scenic pace.” Frankly, most scenes can benefit from a little compression, so a regular first scene will often result in a rather pleasantly abridged second scene where judicious edits have tightened the action. In a related note, also be careful that you don’t attack the first replay as if it was the heavily concentrated last. Improvisers often overestimate how much needs to be cut. Usually, the “30 second” offering is actually just a smoother and better put-together rendition of the base material!

2.) Give yourself things to do. If you think of the first scene as a map for those that will follow, you want to make sure that map actually (metaphorically and literally) leads you somewhere. The game tends to become a bit of a yelling match if you’re not careful as the seconds are shaved off the clock, so it’s helpful for all involved to keep the physical world of your characters alive and vibrant. Big stage movements and specific physicalities also provide really helpful markers as you tackle the replays. It’s also easier (and esthetically more pleasing) to sequence verbal and movement choices without every moment being a cacophony of voices. I can open the curtains while you say your line of dialogue and then say my response while you unpack your suitcase…

3.) Give yourself permission to edit. The contract of the game is that your audience will experience the “same” scene in less time, but as I’ve endeavored to model above, it’s all part of the joy to compress and heighten the constituent elements and emotions. Dialogue might become paraphrased or clipped (just don’t jump to the end too quickly). Movement can take on new qualities as well as tempos (just don’t jump to the end too quickly). What was once subtext can bubble up and reveal itself more explicitly (just don’t jump to the end too quickly). Adopting such an approach can allow a fledgling scene to deepen and develop while it simultaneously shortens and intensifies. Remain present, and diligently accept and incorporate the little (and not-so little) adjustments that color the established action. It’s much less enjoyable if each replay just becomes individuals revisiting their own choices without any regard for their teammates’ discoveries.

In Performance

I’m always hesitant to share “bits” but if the replays are joyous and the players aren’t in physical peril, it’s a rather standard finesse for the host or caller to throw on that last impossible time challenge (usually it’s the seven seconds or equivalent) with an air of surprise that the players should be careful of puncturing or preempting. If you’re playing in a scored environment, this might consist of the facilitator starting to take the stage as if they are going to consult the judges only to lob that “one last time” challenge. This probably isn’t the smartest move if the prior scene already devolved into borderline unwatchable chaos without any semblance of finesse or skill. But if the players are on their game, it’s a nice out, especially if you don’t play the game every show!

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
© 2024 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Gibberish Switch”

Characters move seamlessly (theoretically) from their own language into gibberish and back again at the whim of a caller in this short-form stumper!

The Basics

A scene is played using the local native tongue. When an offstage bell is rung, the current speaker must immediately continue speaking their dialogue in gibberish. The scene continues until the bell strikes again, and players revert immediately into their own language, whether they were mid-sentence, mid-word, or possibly mid-consonant blend! Several switches occur at increasingly swift and inconvenient intervals.

Example

Two roommates (Players A and B) stand over a sink-full of dirty dishes, a constant source of conflict in their apartment.

Player A: “I’m sure it’s your turn to wash them.”

Player B: “Can we really say it’s my turn when you clearly haven’t washed a dish in weeks…?”

Player A: (crossing to the fridge) “Let’s consult the…”

A bell rings.

Player A: (continuing) “…sha ni kaleeny.”

Player B crosses behind A and scrutinizes the same chart.

Player B: (irritated) “Panicko fla kaleeny eep…”

A bell rings.

Player B: (continuing) “… and now you want to consult it. You are so…”

A bell rings…

The Focus

Strive to have the relationship and story develop in both language modes.

Traps and Tips

1.) Leave room for each other. Over-talking is a perennial issue in these types of games and can make it really tough on your caller if they’re trying to really follow and help polish the natural ebbs and flows of the scene. Avoid just launching into random gibberish whenever the bell prompts the change. Honor the established give and take: whoever was currently in focus, actively speaking, or just about to talk should probably respond first to the bell. This discipline also allows the caller to strategically torture or challenge (or typically a bit of both) specific players and moments that are particularly ripe with passion and potential.

2.) Make the gibberish matter. Another common evasion is for the gibberish content to serve as little more than an empty placeholder or stalling tactic. So, if Player A starts accusing B by saying, “You never do…,” and is belled into gibberish for a few made-up words and then back into their native tongue only to complete their offer with “… the dishes,” the audience will likely (and understandably) feel cheated. A related yet admittedly less prevalent trap is to suddenly burst into passionate gestures and staging in the gibberish sections only to return to mundane talking heads afterward without justifying or acknowledging those prior huge choices. A helpful technique to address these temptations is to…

3.) Hold onto your narrative thread. I find it extremely useful to keep the logic of my dialogue loosely running in my mind as I leap into and out of gibberish. This is rarely a word-for-word literal translation, and in some ways, over committing to this level of fidelity might rob you of some wonderful surprises and non sequiturs. But if you have a general sense of your character’s driving want or point of view, you’re much less likely to have your gibberish just uselessly taking up stage time.  So, in this way, to repeat the brief example above, a sentence that might start as. “You never do…,” may become completed as ‘…a new roommate,” when the Gibberish unexpectedly ends. Now the audience – and your fellow improvisers – experience the delightful fun of filling in that gap for themselves.

4.) Explore different patterns. There are inherited comedic bits I could list here for the caller (bell ringer), but don’t rely on gimmicks in lieu of finding and disrupting your own games. Consider belling in various places on the dialogue – between sentences, words, or within a word itself, as I describe in my definition. Changeup who is in the hot seat – it can be fun to throw the focus onto one particular character for a while, or perhaps help someone craft a more sizeable speech act or monologue with multiple switches. Alternatively, facilitate a quick exchange of short sentences or utterances, or help the improvisers keep out of hot water by expertly belling them out of potentially crude insults or language. In short, general caller etiquette applies. On occasion (when I’ve forgotten to bring a bell with me usually!), I’ve played the game with someone saying “switch” or potentially even naming the active language. I always return to the elegance of the bell, however, as it is a quick, clear, and easily understood signal that promotes hair turn shifts and justifications.

In Performance

I’m entering my fifth year of writing these entries so it’s getting harder for me to track which stories I have and haven’t told! But I can’t write about this game without thinking about a rehearsal for Making It Up at Louisiana State University over twenty years ago. The inspiring prompt was a zoo, and as the scene started, the two human characters spoke in English while two actors embodied grunting animals behind them. When the bell triggered the change, the humans moved into gibberish (as expected), and the two animals started talking delightfully in English (as not expected). This discovered pattern continued back and forth for the remainder of the scene.

I’m not advocating copying this organic find, but rather reminding us all that we shouldn’t forget that within a prescribed short-form game, other fantastic, unique, and complementary games can and should emerge.

Have I mentioned I’ve written a book – The Improv Dictionary – for those of us who take our improv fun seriously? Find out how to get your copy here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2024 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Gibberish Commercial”

This game involves a small but noteworthy change to its source of inspiration, Commercial, which is worth a quick review if you’re less familiar with its construction.

The Basics

Players create a slice-of-life commercial for a given (often ridiculous) product. All the dialogue occurs in Gibberish, as if you were watching the ad on a television in a foreign hotel.

Example

Players are challenged to create a commercial for a pair of scissors that can cut tension. Players A and B begin moodily washing dishes at the family sink.

Player A: (slightly irritated) “Paf neely cha canoozi flin takana nee palili.”

Player B: (equally irritated) “Tehaw faniquin canoozi fin gashimy ganoy flatiti.”

Player A: (still riled and holding their ground) “Pafow partoon nee tingaling kava pullayhe snizzlede.”

Player B: (having heard one excuse too many from their husband) “Fanee shaynigh fla dumpah kava pullayhe snizzlede…”

Player C enters the kitchen holding a mimed over-sized pair of scissors much to their parents’ chagrin…

Player A: (turning with skepticism to their entering teenage child) “Cafefe acha ouladib nee snipsnip dashiva ru balugcha, Tyler??”

Player C: (earnestly but lovingly complaining while gesturing to their room upstairs and then their fighting parents) “Pah queto narum zhay tanequ feenene. Do fey kimbibo dumpah faloola faneep…”

Tyler mimes closing the scissors between the couple. The mood quickly dissipates…

Player C: (smiling at the instant results) “Gushena, impali naf oola dahehe…?”

[See my earlier Commercial example here for a loose translation!]

The Focus

Craft a world in which your product might be needed and commit fully to that (potentiality ludicrous) reality.

Traps and Tips

1.) Make big choices. I prefer this version of commercial played as a captured and elevated moment of everyday life, but you’ll want to make sure your given circumstances are clear, communicative, and of an appropriate size to fill your stage. Don’t let the Gibberish become empty or without intention. Hit the various stages of a typical commercial outlined in my connected post but do so with precision and attack. (I’m not against a quick check-in during the “I’ll start” moment to set one or two CROW elements to help get the scene launched: “We’re a couple that’s angry at each other…”)

2.) Make emotional choices. Big choices alone may not prove helpful if they’re not also emotionally enthralling. Make sure your characters have true needs and objectives (that only the product can meet or fulfill). You don’t want to just fill the scene with angry screaming – your emotions shouldn’t be unpolished or unfocused. on the contrary, when you strip away language, it’s critical that the feelings beneath the words (your subtext and desires) remain cogent.

3.) Make grounded choices. Gibberish can invite overtalking and poor give and take in general if you’re not extra vigilant, so in addition to making your own strong choices make sure you’re really listening to and observing the nuances of your teammates. Seek to understand at least the basic premise of information being offered before chiming in with your own addition or embellishment. Bring energy but ground it with receptive calmness just as you would in any improv scene but particularly any Gibberish scene where miscommunications can quickly occur and compound each other.

4.) Make genre-specific choices. Lastly, utilize the slick commercial genre and tropes to guide and unify your play. The need for your assigned product needs to be seen (the scenic introduction and problem), as does the item’s eventual appearance and use (the solution and resolution). Lean into the micro worlds these commercials tend to create and look for markers from your teammates as you’re moving from one structural facet to the next. My companion entry on Commercial offers helpful specifics to further aid you in this regard.

In Performance

As a quick hit challenge with its Gibberish handle, this format can offer an opportunity to really showcase your storytelling, character, and physicality skills.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: James Berkley
© 2024 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Full Deck”

Full Deck ranks highly among my favorite status games. You’ll want to invest in an oversized pack of playing cards (like these) if you’re performing in a larger space as a lot of the fun comes from the audience being able to see the shuffled cards along with the players.

The Basics

Before the scene, a deck of cards is shuffled and distributed equally between the players. (A team of four works well, with each actor getting approximately a quarter of the pack). Players hold their cards so that they can’t see the revealed card but so that other players (and the audience) can. During the scene, characters endow and treat each other according to the status of the cards being displayed – an ace denotes that a character is currently the highest status, a two that they are the lowest, and everything else is in between. During the scene, players should occasionally draw a new face card so that a new one is displayed, thereby upending previously established status configurations and relationships.

Example

The cards are split amongst the four players – A through D, respectively – and a high school teachers’ lounge serves as the initial impetus. Player A (a “jack”) and Player B (a “four”) enter the space while revealing their cards to their partner and the audience.

Player B: (assuming the role of the principal and endowing A as a very competent new hire) “I just wanted to check in with you over a coffee now that your first week of classes is in the books!”

Player A: (a little annoyed and unimpressed by the gesture) “That’s kind of you. I take mine black with two sugars.”

Player A takes a chair while B accepts the offer to make their coffee.

Player B: “There’s no cause to worry. I’m hearing good things about you… although we can all find room for improvement…”

Player C, a student (and displaying a “two”), pops their head into the room to a cold reception.

Player C: (to the principal) “Ms. McIntire sent me to get you. There’s an incident on the tennis court.”

Player B defers to Player A.

Player A: “Can’t you see that Jo is making my coffee? Ms. McIntire is more than capable of handling a little fuss, surely.”

Player C scurries off to deliver the message. Having made the coffees, Player B shuffles their cards to reveal a “ten” and goes to sit beside A.

Player A: (assuming a gentler tone and taking the drink). “Thanks for this, really. I’m not sure if I would have made it through this week without you. Those lesson plan tips were so helpful…”

The Focus

This game playfully demonstrates the ever shifting and contingent nature of status.

Traps and Tips

1.) Make sure everyone can see your cards. This is an obvious but critical pointer. It’s advisable to hold your deck prominently throughout the scene so that other players and the audience don’t strain to determine your current status position. I find everyone will quickly accept that one hand becomes assigned to this task while the other engages in traditional improv space object and gestural choices. Player C’s entrance, for example, will land more dynamically if everyone quickly knows their position and so they can react accordingly.

2.) Make sure you’re paying attention to others’ cards. As noted in my status observations elsewhere, status works best when it is endowed and bestowed rather than doggedly demanded. The card dynamic necessitates this approach as players can’t see their own place in the hierarchy. So, focus rigorously on adjusting and justifying how you treat your fellow characters as there’s nothing quite so disconcerting for the audience as watching the cards change but not the characters holding them. Player A needs to treat their “ten” principal differently than their “four” principal and justify why.

3.) Make sure you’re paying attention to others’ endowments. The other side of the above coin is that while you’re sending status signals and clues (hopefully without merely naming everyone’s place in the pecking order), you should also strive to actively receive status nudges sent your way. A lot of the energy of the scene stems from leaning into status assumptions – or just making brave assertions and offers in general – and then experiencing the fallout (or full embrace) from the other characters on stage. When Player B accepts A’s gift of making coffee, they’re also opening the door to an unexpected work dynamic, which can, in turn, steer the scene into unique territory.

4.) Make sure each new status configuration gets its moment. While a major contract of this game is that characters will swap out their revealed card, thus causing status inversions and complications, hectic, overly frequent, or ill-timed card reveals will tend to add little more than chaos and split focus. Be generous. Take turns. Don’t change your card haphazardly or out of desperation. If you’re playing a regular short-form scene with a four-person team, everyone should probably get about three shuffles. Entrances and re-entrances provide rich moments for this mischief as your character should ideally already be in focus. (In the above example, Player C is now situated for fun “new card” pop-ins with appropriate reactions.) Moments of decision or epiphany are also effective opportunities for a card shift. The game runs smoother when players look to set up good moments for each other to undergo a shift rather than just focus on their individual needs or game. Arguably, that’s just good improv etiquette in general.

In Performance

Craft playful and dynamic relationships and scenarios that can become heightened by shifting status and then let the card chaos gently unfold!

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Scott Cook
© 2024 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Forward/Reverse”

It takes an agile mind (and body) to make it gracefully through this scenic gauntlet, but the audience will likely applaud your efforts regardless of the outcome if you keep your spirits and attack high.

The Basics

A caller deploys an imaginary remote that has the power to change the direction of the scene from forward to reverse and back again (as well as perhaps any other functions you might apply to your television set). Players must create and then recreate their scenic content accordingly, closely following the caller’s instructions.

Example

Player A begins the scene by pushing a lawnmower through dense grass. They pause for a moment to catch their breath and dab a towel over their sweating brow. They bend over to turn off the idling lawnmower, and the sound booth cuts the sound effect.

Caller: “Reverse.”

Player A rewinds their action, so now the lawnmower is turned back on (with the suitable sound cue from the booth), they take out their wet towel and remoisten their forehead, and start to pull the mower as they retrace their steps…

Caller: “Forward.”

The mower is pushed back into position, the towel deployed, and the machine silenced as Player B emerges from the house with a tray.

Player B: “You’ve been working so hard. I thought you might need a lemonade.”

Player A: (turns and smiles) “You read my mind. That would be lovely.”

Player A crosses the stoop to accept the glass in B’s outstretched hand.

Caller: “Reverse.”

Player A walks backward to their mower as B retracts their offered hand.

Player A: “That would be lovely. You read my mind.” (They smile before turning back to the mower.)

Player B: “I thought you might need a lemonade… You’ve been working so hard…”

The Focus

Retain your cool despite the pressure, do your best to honor the caller’s prompts, and be wary of sacrificing any semblance of a scene to the “bit” that will easily take control.

Traps and Tips

1.) It’s sorta about the movement… A conventional wisdom when teaching this game is to emphasize the importance of large and specific stage action and gestures. Yes, you’ll want to generally avoid an esoteric discussion devoid of any memorable staging, but I’m not a huge fan of starting the scene with that “needlessly weird character walk” you love to perform just so you can then do it in reverse again. Consider the curve of absurdity and give yourself some room for the silliness to develop. I prefer watching movements gradually becoming absurd through the multiple replays rather than being subjected to improvisers pandering to the audience and central device. Be real people in a real situation first. But perhaps at least select a situation or begin with an activity that’s likely to expand and build.

2.) It’s sorta about the dialogue… I love the risk of starting this game as I would any other scene as this can get you into delightful trouble. If you’re new to the format, however, there are some strategies you can deploy to avoid an early scenic implosion! Be wary of talking in paragraphs or overly convoluted sentences as these can be a beast to rewind. Generally, you’ll be best served if you think of your speech acts in the same way as your staging – you don’t need to leap to where you were previously standing but should rather take the appropriate number of steps. Similarly, break down larger chunks of dialogue into their constituent elements or phrases. It’s a small thing, but also listen closely to the caller. If you just spoke before the call, then you should now be the next speaker repeating your prior line.

3.) It’s sorta about the torture… Everyone will likely have a slightly different preference for the way the caller is utilized, and there is certainly a built-in torturous function that the game essentially demands. And yet, the caller can also do a lot of good, especially in the opening moments of the scene. Judicious calls can be used to “burn in” discrete choices and units, thereby helping the players remember these moments.  Contrarily, rehashing the same few choices again and again (especially before much of anything has been established) will make it difficult for the scene to amount to much. Give the onstage players some room to breathe and offer a few nuanced ideas as the game takes shape, vary the frequency and duration of your calls, and make sure no one is put into any actual physical or emotional peril.

4.) It’s sorta about the tempo… Building on my above observations, also consider the overall rhythms of the scene. If actors are whacky right out of the gate, initial dialogue already has a frenzied quality, or the caller focuses on the first ten seconds of material relentlessly, then it’ll be difficult to ramp up the energy later in a pleasing way. Even with adept calling, players might only get eight to ten lines of dialogue combined in the whole scene, so give each choice its due or there won’t be anything resembling an earned story climax. As the scene builds, calls can and should compress the air out of the action a little each tone with movements and lines becoming a little polished or possibly even truncated. This adds nicely to the attack. Frankly, the scene is likely to end somewhat chaotically – especially if the caller cues a reverse all the way back to the start of the story. That doesn’t mean, however, that this should also be the starting tempo.

In Performance

This game doesn’t need any more than the two titular instructions to succeed, but there are many other dynamics a careful caller can use to the scene’s advantage. Current favorites include a slow motion or frame-by-frame advance (usually with players also lowering and slowing their speaking voices), alternate camera angles (with players having to quickly shift their onstage positions), switching into a different language (ideally something that challenges the actors rather than mocks a sector of your community), and adding a director’s commentary (where the action continues but an offstage voice offers behind the scenes factoids and gossip).

Interested in getting your hands on The Improv Dictionary? Find out the latest deals and discounts here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Kalani Senior
© 2024 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Foreign Poet”

This is a fun language/narrative game that will add a nice departure from scenic work that tends to dominate most short-form playlists.

The Basics

One player, A, serves as the host of a poetry evening (perhaps with finger clicking and a smoky persona). They introduce a visiting poet, Player B, who will perform their original poem (with an audience inspired title) in its original language (Gibberish). After each line or two of verse, Player A translates the content into the local tongue (in my case, English). The give and take between the poet and host continues until the poem reaches its culmination.

Example

Player A steps forward and establishes a coffee house feel. 

Player A: “Welcome everyone to our special evening of poetry.” (They lead everyone in a finger-snapping ritual.) “It is my pleasure tonight to welcome a very special international voice that we all know and love…”

Player B enters and acknowledges their adoring fans.

Player B: “Kasneeka du vala nexceeta.”

Player A: (translating) “It is my honor to back here tonight with you all.”

Player B: (with a grand gesture) “Zha taloola… mi tanequa.”

Player A: “I present to you… the lonely hat stand.”

Player B: (takes a deep breath and then begins with the utmost seriousness) “Nepiti gasheen falalabe.”

Player A: “The dark room waits beneath a shroud of silence…”

The Focus

Create a poem! There are a lot of gimmicks and comedic bits that can appear in this elegant little game (sadly, often by rote), but they’re not needed (at all) to craft a successful and entertaining experience.

Traps and Tips

1.) Pursue fidelity. As noted below, there will be plenty of opportunities for playful mischief that emerge organically if the players are paying close attention to each other. When the translator endeavors to faithfully and poetically communicate the intended meaning of the poet, this tends to create a more powerful foundation for later earnest or roguish misbehavior. It’s helpful to generally match the vocal cadence, line lengths, and gestural beats of each “stanza,” for example, even if your eventual content is wildly unexpected.

2.) Pursue communication. In the poet position, follow good gibberish etiquette. Don’t let your language and offers become “empty,” and then expect your scene partner to fabricate all the content alone. If they’re listening closely, and you keep circling around one or two sounds/words, they should probably be similarly sparse. This can be fun for a moment or two, but not for the entirety of the poem, so deploy poetically diverse and emotional language (and gestures). When you fight to tell a particular story, the fun increases exponentially for the audience as they recognize mistranslations and unexpected inversions.

3.) Pursue poetry. In the translator position, the game takes on a different vibe when you embrace the rich language of poetry with its metaphors, imagery, word play, and perhaps even a little rhyme. Avoid meandering through first-person narratives that essentially describe a plot in the most denotative of terms – “I woke up. I got dressed. I opened the window…” It’s often helpful to think of the least efficient way to describe the story elements and actions – “Oh cruel sun with your piercing rays beating mercilessly against my eyelids…” I’m a verbose fella, and it’s fine for that not to be your default approach, but seek to find a way to assume a language style that feels elevated in some way so your poem doesn’t start to feel like mundane dialogue.

4.) Pursue play. And then, once the connection is well established, and the poem has a voice and focus, enjoy the mutual creative process. Look for pleasingly unique ways to justify the poet’s energy and offers, explore a specific relationship between the characters and their material, invert expectations or cadences in surprising ways that still honor the storytelling needs – perhaps a long Gibberish line has a starkly short translation (or vice versa), or the poet spends the whole poem flirting with the host (or audience, or both), or the original poem involves a lot of highly specific gestures that the translator must work to honor. Again, I don’t believe this game needs a deluge of these types of choices to succeed, but a little shivving can add delight, especially when the players are clearly enjoying the process.

In Performance

On occasion, I’ve played and seen this game with a third improviser who creates a “modern dance” piece inspired by the translation, often staged between the poet and their host. If your company includes particularly adept (or fearless) movement improvisers, this can be a nice way to feature them. I oscillate between loving and not really loving this variant – the presence of a dancer can tend to make the poet and translator less physical so as not to step on this third element’s toes, which can, unfortunately, lessen their energy and contribution, perhaps even making them resemble talking heads. It can take a little practice to strike a helpful balance of you decide to go this route.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Leesa Brown
© 2024 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I

Game Library: “Freeze Tag”

The Game Library includes several Freeze Tag variants – Blind Freeze Tag, Conducted Freeze Tag, Environmental Freeze Tag – but it seemed odd not to include the original version as well, so here it is in all its glory! This is the base model, if you will. Key advice also applies to the variants listed above, so forgive the repetition if you end up reading these back-to-back…

The Basics

Players (six to eight works well) form a line, usually at the rear of the stage or wherever your particular sightlines make practical. Two improvisers volunteer to begin a scene downstage based on an audience prompt. (It’s typical for only the first scene to feel obliged to incorporate this idea in any perceivable way.) Players watching from the backline can halt the action by calling, “Freeze.” Onstage players hold their physical positions until one of them is tagged out by the entering actor (who initiated the freeze). This new player assumes the exact pose and replaces their tagged teammate who quickly strikes and returns to the awaiting actor bank. A new scene begins that justifies the old positions in a completely different way.

Example

Players A and B begin a scene as pirates. The rest of the company forms a line upstage.

Player A: (looking through a spyglass) “A ship approaches on the horizon, captain.”

Player B: (while patting their trusty parrot) “Be they friends or foe, Benji?”

Player A: “They fly a flag that I have never seen before…”

Player B reaches for the spyglass only to be paused by Player E calling freeze. E quickly steps onstage, assess A’s position, and then tags them out before sliding into the same spot. A new scene begins that isn’t jazzercize, a game of Twister, or both characters involved in a hilarious super glue accident…

The Focus

Brave calls, swift transitions, and creative new justifications provide the lifeblood of this and all Freeze Tag variations.

Traps and Tips

1.) See an opportunity rather than a fully formed choice. One of the reasons I tend to favor the conducted or blind versions of this game is that when players can see the action and make their own entrance calls, they can have a tendency to unhelpfully hum and haw and stall as they look for the “perfect” pose that they already know how they’ll justify. Formerly well-paced Freeze Tags will grind to a standstill when played with this level of wimping forethought. Instead, just look for something dynamic, interesting, or new, freeze it, and then jump in without the pressure of believing you need to have solved the image beforehand.

2.) Leap into the fray rather than amble or saunter. Physical ability and limitations accounted for, strive to attack the stage. Especially if you’re playing this perennial improv game in front of an audience, lethargic transitions will drastically dilute the potential for lasting entertainment. Move swiftly to the stage, decisively make your choice, and contort your body to the needed position. The only moment I’d advise a smidgen of patience is right before you tag your partner out as you’ll want to make sure you’ve caught all the nuances of their pose so that you can mirror them. It’s always a bummer for the audience when a really cool or challenging pose becomes simplified by the entering player (or just quickly dropped or ignored as the scene takes shape).

3.) Risk the imperfect and partially formed rather than recycling stale bits. If you play any improv game a lot (and Freeze Tag games tend to get played a lot), it’s difficult not to develop a ledger of bygone choices or tropes that have felt successful in the past. Relying on previously improvised material pulls the rug out from under the whole exercise a little as the audience is sentenced to watch players scramble to be the first to reuse “that cool bit” that was really funny five months ago. The same goes for over deploying stock scenarios – jazzercize, Twister games, superglue accidents. When this Freeze Tag becomes just one more installment of a longstanding serial of previous iterations rather than a unique and specific exploration of the unknown, boredom will soon follow. Use the poses to become inspired rather than as obstacles to be forced into familiar and safe premises.

4.) Think small or detailed rather than big or punchlines. I’ve written elsewhere about connecting this type of exercise with the concept of CROW, and the benefits of striving to efficiently construct scenic given circumstances in a playful and pleasing manner. With that in mind, unspecified “its,” “thats,” and “yous” rarely gift much for your partner to embellish (remembering that any remaining players must also justify their new context as well). It’s good etiquette to allow the entering player the first crack at justifying the premise, but that doesn’t mean they’re required to do all the work. Acknowledging that some out-of-left-field ideas might benefit from a little extra space and generosity, tags should still typically result in albeit brief scenes as opposed to inelegant monologues. A tendency towards the latter also can make the game feel like a punchline competition rather than a series of energetic scenes.

In Performance

Other advice worth repeating includes looking to shake up the physical poses (to avoid a string of talking heads scenes), avoiding having similar content or ideas back-to-back (so one ballroom dancing scene isn’t followed by a hip hop dancing scene), and maintaining vigilant so that no one is left out – or possibly in – for too long (an offstage caller nominating be players after they announce a “Freeze” can serve as a safety measure to nudge fearful players into the game).

In my books (and blogs), the only thing worse than overplaying Freeze Tag is playing it in a manner that everyone knows you’ve overplayed it. Consider experimenting with some of the other versions listed above if this base model needs an upgrade so as to renew your passion.

Find out about how you can get your copy of The Improv Dictionary (Routledge, April 2024) now on sale here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: James Berkley
© 2023 David Charles/ImprovDr

Game Library Expansion Pack I