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Game Library: “Emotional Door”

The inherent structure of Emotional Door provides each team member an opportunity to seize the spotlight a little, which can prove extremely useful in addressing Shining (or passenger) tendencies.

The Basics

Prior to the scene each player is publicly assigned a random emotion, and a unifying reason for a party or gathering is obtained (although there’s no reason you couldn’t use a broader array of scenarios too). The scene begins with one player onstage alone in their preassigned emotional state. When a second player enters, they bring their new emotion through the door with them, and now both players experience and justify this new feeling. The third player then enters, and everyone embodies this new state, as is the case with the fourth character and their specific mood. Once all four characters are onstage, the process inverts with the fourth character leaving first, thereby returning the players to the prior (third) emotion. The third player then finds a reason to exit and the scene returns to the second emotion, and finally the second player leaves so that we are once again left with just the original first player who is experiencing their initial emotional state. And, obviously, all of these changes are justified and take place within the greater construct of the scene. The mechanics are similar to Space Jump or Growing/Shrinking Machine, just without the leaps in time and context as this story occurs in uninterrupted real time.

Example

Players A, B, C, and D obtain the emotions of “guilt,” “excitement,” “confusion,” and “anger,” respectively, and explore the premise of a surprise birthday party. Player A volunteers to begin alone...

Player A: (pacing around the space while preparing) “I’m just not sure if I’ve done enough. Shonda is really such a good friend. She deserves better than this. Why did I think I even had the talent to make handcrafted decorations? She’ll never forgive me if this is a disaster. Who am I kidding? I’ll never forgive myself…”

There’s a knock at the door. Player A nervously approaches it.

Player A: “I should just call the whole thing off…”

Player B bursts through the door bringing “excitement” with them.

Player B: “Wow! Just wow!”

Player A: (their guilt slowly fading) “You really like it?”

Player B: “This all looks so professional! Who did you use?”

Player A: “Well actually, I sort of did this myself…”

Player B: “You are amazing!”

Player A: (now fully excited themselves) “I just can’t believe you’re here, Rina! You’re such a busy person. Shonda will be so happy to see you!”

Player B: “I can’t wait to surprise her! I’m going to hide behind the couch.”

Another knock at the door sends B darting behind the couch with anticipation. Player C enters instead of the guest of honor, bringing on confusion...

Player C: “Oh, I’m so sorry. I must have got the time wrong…”

The Focus

Enjoy the emotions and fully exploit the transitions as you move from one state of being to the next.

Traps and Tips

1.) Plot your course. While emotions will be gathered in a certain order, this needn’t default to the order of your entrances. Organize your characters and emotions to maximize the scenic arc and avoid placing similar energies or tones back-to-back. Some emotions are tricky to explore alone onstage in the first position, such as jealousy or infatuation, so look to program these later in the mix. Placing the “largest” emotion in the last position also gives the scene a nice crescendo before the characters start peeling away. A little thoughtfulness prior to hitting the stage can help your team avoid unforced errors.

2.) Infect your teammates. It’s traditional for entering players to have their emotional energy already clearly activated; therefore, much of the entertainment and challenge arises from the other characters finding a way to switch from their prior condition. Each entrance undeniably affords a moment to appropriately shine, but then make sure teammates have sufficient stage time and focus to justify their own adjustments. Each character doesn’t need to portray each new emotion in the same way – or for the same reason – but it’s important that the audience can see everyone in the current emotional climate before the next entrance or exit occurs.

3.) Honor your premise. The requisite shuffling on and off of characters can make it difficult to hold onto any nuanced story threads. It’s advisable to set up some clear and simple goals in the early (less cluttered) stages of the scene that can serve as a story north star. Will Shonda arrive and find the party joyful, or will her entrance be accompanied by inexplicable anger?! If there’s a guest of honor, as is the case above, it’s useful to have them either arrive as the final entrance in a climactic fashion (if they show up at all) or begin the process and thereby assume the role of the protagonist. Your particular assortment of emotions might suggest a different playful choice, but I’ve found these options structurally astute in the past.

4.) Hide your game. Before the action commences, I find it beneficial for the players to quickly repeat their assigned emotions so that they are front of mind for their teammates and the audience. This also affords a moment to confer as to a preferred entrance order. Once the game is up and running, however, players should avoid saying or announcing their emotions at all costs. Emotional Door becomes elevated when characters show rather than tell their feelings as the latter approach essentially names (and subsequently punctures) the game. It’s easy for Player B to enter and just say, “I’m excited to be here!” – and, sadly, it’ll probably get a polite chuckle. But the endeavor levels up when everyone commits to embodying and reflecting the emotions in nuanced and surprising ways.

In Performance

Players need to carefully share focus and lean into their own characters in this format that nicely requires balancing responsibility and generosity. Each player should embrace their entrance and emotional contribution, and although the last entrance may get a little less stage time, they are nonetheless critical and routinely provide the most dynamic fireworks.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: James Berkley
© 2022 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Concept: Shining

“S” is for “Shining”

Shining reflects an insatiable act hunger that inadvertently places the individual’s ego and desire for accolades over the greater good of the show and ensemble.

Signs You May Need to Reduce Your Luminosity…

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Related Entries: Bulldozing, Commandment #3, Ensemble, Upstaging Antonyms: Looking Good, Sharing Focus, Teamwork Synonyms: Competitiveness, Selfishness, Winning

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2022 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Game: Emotional Door

Game Library: “Chapters”

The short-form game Chapters deliciously complicates the improv tradition of Shelving and reincorporation as players construct a linear storyline that has become jumbled out of sequence.

The Basics

An audience-inspired title informs the action as well as an elicited number of chapters (something in the eight to twelve range works well). At irregular intervals, an offstage caller shifts the action by nominating the next out-of-sequence chapter number. Improvisers perform the selected chunk of the story, giving heed to both past and future events that have already been established. The scene ends when the “last” chapter is performed, although, in all likelihood, this will be any chapter number other than the last!

Example

Based on the suggestion, “Beach Day,” and the number “nine,” the scene begins with a blackout and the offstage caller nominating “Chapter Eight” as the first offering.

As the lights rise, Player D has thrown themselves onto the ground, and a panicked Player B kneels over their body.

Player B: (calling into the void of the cave) “Jorge, are you out there! Hang in there, help is coming soon. I promise.”

Player D inaudibly grumbles.

Player B: “Why did we ever step foot inside this cave? What was I thinking?”

Another moan from Player D… Player B adjusts the makeshift bed. The sound of falling rocks grabs their attention.

Player B: “Jorge?”

Caller: “Chapter Two.”

The stage plunges quickly into darkness. A moment or two later, the lights rise on all four players assembled around what is soon revealed as the family car.

Player A: (unloading the trunk) “You’re right, honey, there’s barely another person in sight!”

Player B: “I thought we could use a change from the regular family beaches. What are you looking at there son?”

Player C: “Just a sign post. There’s no life guard on duty here…”

Player D: (looking at their cellphone) “I’ve not been able to get any service for the last few kilometers…”

Player B: (grabbing the phone and throwing it into the car) “Okay everyone, this is a technology free adventure!”

Player A: “I agree! It’s a beautiful day and we have the beach all to ourselves… Lead the way Jorge!”

The family locks up the car and starts down the sandy path to the beach…

Caller: “Chapter Six…”

The Focus

There’s no denying that this jumping back and forth in time requires unflinching focus alongside an ability to track shelved details and a heightened awareness of where you are in the established story arc at any given moment.

Traps and Tips

1.) Transformations. When the lights plummet between the various chapter calls, it’s crucial to leap into action. Take full advantage of these opportunities to craft novel stage pictures that are clearly different from what has just gone before. It’s exciting for the lights to rise on a dynamic tableau – perhaps even a slightly inexplicable image – that the resulting scene must quickly incorporate and justify. If each chapter starts with lethargy or under-energized characters wandering aimlessly around an unnamed location, players will have to work hard to sell each scenic unit. Later chapter numbers, in particular, probably represent story moments deep within the rising action and the climax itself. Subsequently, these vignettes need to hit the stage with some sense of stakes and urgency. Dynamic new poses also discourage going to the same story well time and time again or too quickly connecting distant choices.

2.) Combinations. Related to the above, much like a game of Entrances and Exits (see here), look for strategic ways to shake up the character combinations, especially early in the game. While a protagonist might find themselves in the majority of the chapters, even this character (when you figure out who it might be!) should rotate out as this enables other unexpected relationships some time in the sun. They can always enter the chapter later on if their absence becomes unhelpfully conspicuous. Sticky feet can quickly squelch the hopes of varied stage pictures, especially if you’re also inclined towards a “stand and deliver” style of play. Once you have a few benchmark chapters established, combinations may be largely predetermined by what bookends the current offering, so investments in this area early on really lay the groundwork for later fun.

3.) Complications. As we experience plot points out of sequence, there are delightful opportunities to forebode events, heighten emotions, and lay contextualizing groundwork for future events that have already made it to stage. When the game is played under typical short-form conditions where you might only have four or five minutes maximum to complete your haphazard journey, it’s wise not to overburden the improv shelves with an excess of details and ideas. Look to polish and add on to others’ offers rather than scattershot a disconnected pile of possibilities. The story proves most satisfying when the major shelved elements are all skillfully incorporated. Chapter eight, above, focused on the climactic event of one of the party needing medical attention, while Jorge, presumably, went for help. (Who knows what’s happened to Player A…?) Chapter two establishes the remoteness of the beach. Too many other facts or curve balls decrease the chances that many (any?) of them will reappear meaningfully.

4.) Facilitations. There are some helpful pointers to shape the impending madness from the caller bench. It’s useful to have all the chapter numbers written down so you have a visual guide and can make sure every chapter is seen once before the game ends. On rare occasions, I’ve seen the caller return to a previously embodied chapter, thereby inviting a replay. The players have a lot to juggle and remember so I’d warn against this gimmick unless the team is on fire or you’re faced with a peculiarly low chapter number and need to build energy before the “out.” I like the device of starting with a chapter somewhere near the end (or making such a call reasonably quickly) as this invites bold emotional choices and the joyful challenge of now reverse engineering the requisite story points. Where did Jorge go? What happened to Player D (and A for that matter?) Why did they go into the cave in the first place? If the team is really struggling in a way that isn’t serving anyone in attendance, the caller can also gently guide them by providing brief chapter headings that allude to previously established moments: “Chapter One: Heading to the Beach,” “Chapter Nine: Is That You, Jorge?” and the like. This, of course, requires that the caller had been paying close attention themselves and probably taking some really good notes.

In Performance

Chapters requires and reinforces a sound sense of linear story construction and action. (Utilizing a more theme-based or circular organization wouldn’t maximize the gifts of the game as such stories already frequently shuffle plot ideas around or use seemingly unconnected vignettes.) While each chapter should begin with gusto, make sure choices are deliberate and grounded or a sense of panic can take hold.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Tony Firriolo
© 2022 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Concept: Shelving

“S” is for “Shelving”

Shelving is the improvisational act of strategically storing the pertinent details and offers that shape spontaneous stories in meaningful and satisfying ways. This skill innately connects to that of reincorporation.

Stocking the Improv Shelves…

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Related Entries: Callback, Connections, Curve Ball, Looking Backwards, Names, Reincorporation Antonyms: Over-Originality, Randomness Synonyms: Offer

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2022 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Game: Chapters

Game Library: “The Café”

This exercise works well as an all-play experiential game or could provide a starting point for a large cast long-form piece. The Café, by design, involves a sizeable cast all interacting at the same time so necessitates Sharing Focus with purposefulness and finesse.

The Basics

I teach this game with several stacked phases that gently increase the challenge and freedom. To begin, players are randomly assigned partners that will occupy various Café tables scattered aesthetically through the space. Each pair is given a number that corresponds to their assigned table as well as a scenic starting point or relationship. For example, table one may consist of two colleagues where one is trying to secure a promotion, while table two might be occupied by two former high school sweethearts reconnecting after many years. I’ve successfully explored the game with as many as nine or ten pairs, and you can also deploy one or two waitstaff as well that either have their station assigned a table number or they operate as free floaters as outlined below.

Phase One: Caller’s Choice

Players can begin either offstage or already stationed at their numbered table. It’s helpful to have a mix so that every vignette doesn’t start with predictable and potentially empty small talk or examining the menu. The caller nominates which table currently serves as the focus by announcing the corresponding table number. The selected players should use this signal to take the lead while others recede into soft focus and gentle activity. If one or more of the designated table occupants is offstage, this would also serve as an invitation for them to enter and take focus. When the caller names a new table, focus should shift to this new part of the stage with the current speakers finding a suitable button or focus give. Depending on the time available and the size of the cast, the caller may randomly rotate through the tables two or three times in this fashion. Characters generally remain at their own tables and in their original combinations for this part of the exercise.

Phase Two: Waitstaff’s Choice

This phase can be optional if it doesn’t suit your numbers or training goals. If deployed, phase two now utilizes a member of the waitstaff to move attention between the various focus areas. If you’ve assigned one or more players to fill this role, they now should strategically move from table to table taking the “eye of the camera” with them. I’ve also assumed this role as the facilitator, entering the scene as a fellow character. It’s important to note that the employee needn’t talk and typically shouldn’t become intimately involved in the action at each table or else you tend to get a lot of vignettes about food and the quality of the service: the intent is not for a member of the waitstaff to become the star of the greater story. Rather, the waiter’s mere proximity can reignite a paused action or facilitate a focus throw. There isn’t one way to make these focus exchanges elegant and, frankly, exploring the myriads of possibilities is largely the point of the exercise. There might be some minor shuffling of characters between tables during this round.

Phase Three: Players’ Choice

This can feel like quite a leap if you don’t deploy the second phase so it can be helpful to set some simple expectations as you step up the dynamic. Tables and players should now seek to give and take focus at will. Initially, smaller areas of focus should still serve as the scenic norm (as opposed to considering the whole Café as being in focus with all its characters fully activated at once). Players should clearly give and take focus and may use this phase as an opportunity to shake up character combinations or just the staging in general. Often characters will intuitively begin to interact in larger clusters and it’s not uncommon for the phase to culminate in something resembling a full ensemble moment.

Phase Four: Necessity’s Choice

Especially if you’re using this frame as an experiential opportunity to explore focus and relationships, an organic ending frequently presents itself. It’s helpful to have something in your pocket in case this doesn’t materialize and recalling a prior dynamic will often do the trick. Returning to the waitstaff as focus facilitators can give just enough structure to generously move focus through the ensemble one last time. Similarly, the caller can reintroduce the device of announcing table numbers to give everyone at least a fleeting chance for some denouement, although by this stage of the play, occupants are rarely at their original tables so characters might need to deliberately move to unoccupied areas to facilitate enjoying a few finals moments of attention.

The Focus

It’s no small feat to successfully share focus with so many active players onstage all developing their own characters and storylines. Generous awareness is key, as is a willingness to throw focus to those who might otherwise fall to the wayside.

Traps and Tips

1.) Pace yourself. It’s helpful to consider each phase as a conscious step in the dramatic arc. Phase one serves as the routine or introduction, creating independent threads to weave later in the action. By the end of this phase or going into phase two, characters and stories should be truly ignited and committed to a rising action and energy. Phase three offers a less structured moment to explore a greater climax, confrontation, or revelation that changes the world of the Café for most, if not all, of its occupants. And phase four allows space for the falling action, ramifications, and tying up any loose ends or subplots. It’s dynamic for the tables to start in different ways and with different energies, but if one storyline resolves in its second appearance those characters will likely become passengers for the rest of the event.

2.) Control focus. Even when focus exchanges are being announced by the offstage caller, improvisers should seek to firmly create and pitch their own edits, buttons, and transitions and not just wait to be interrupted by the caller (or waitstaff if you use the second dynamic too). Vignettes should start, pause, and then restart from a place of conviction and strength. Ideally outside edits should really just recognize what the players have done and want rather than impose a random adjustment. This takes heightened awareness and generosity as it’s tempting to just riff or sort of prolong the moment especially when you’re enjoying yourself, so remind all involved to…

3.) Do the math. If you’re exploring with eighteen improvisers sitting at nine Café tables and you keep having the focus every three or so vignettes you are unquestionably shutting out other players and potentials. Now improv math is a tricky affair as it’s likely that a handful of characters may emerge as more prominent voices when the scene builds to a climax, especially if they have come to represent protagonistic and antagonistic energies respectively or are higher status personalities in the environment in general. For these moments some focus unevenness will serve the greater need, but this shouldn’t become the norm. If you’re an eclipsing energy, look for ways to leave for a while, or pointedly give attention to a lesser featured patron, or fall unconscious… Just find a way to harness yourself. And the inverse is true if you’ve taken on a quieter energy or demeanor. The exercise is about sharing focus, so don’t justify reasons for not doing so.

4.) Earn connections. Finally, avoid the temptation to make everything related the second it hits the stage. If you start the exercise thinking “what is this all going to be about” or “how can I weave together everyone else’s choices” then the stories will quickly collapse in on themselves. I’ve routinely seen forty or fifty minutes of material rather easily discovered when each table begins by delightfully and selfishly figuring out their own deal and arc with little apparent regard for others’ content (but incredible regard for actively listening and sharing time and space). If the boss at table one is immediately revealed as the spouse of one of the high school sweethearts at table two, the choice may feel desperate or manufactured. The same choice gently alluded to and foreshadowed in the second and third phases could, on the other hand, beautifully raise the stakes as the game approaches its zenith. Trust that these connections will emerge rather than grabbing at them from a place of panic.

In Performance

I’m always sad when my class schedule doesn’t have room for this exercise as it has so much to offer and allows players to really sit in a character and ensemble experience for a protracted period of time. The evolving phases provide just enough structure to get the ball rolling and to set some parameters for sharing the joy of creation.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Tony Firriolo
© 2022 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Concept: Sharing Focus

“S” is for “Sharing Focus”

The simple (in theory) but difficult (in practice) art of adeptly moving the attention from one area of the stage to another so as to serve the greater needs of the story.

Tools, Tips and Traps When it Comes to Sharing Focus…

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Related Entries: Commandment #2, Commandment #3, Give, Take Antonyms: Split Focus Synonyms: Focus

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2022 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Game: The Café

Game Library: “Home Shopping Network”

This energetic tie-breaker provides a sound example of a competitive game that can give an otherwise lagging show a boost to go out on. In competent hands, Home Shopping Network offers a strong button when a more organically discovered Shape of Show alludes you.

The Basics

Two team representatives (one from each competing camp) leave the space and will serve as the home shopping network hosts upon their return. While absent, two different invented products are brainstormed and set: usually they each consist of three unrelated elements so each team has a unique item that is an “adjective noun that verbs” – such as a revolving television that ignites. With the assistance of a caller who serves as a timer and moderator, teams take turns pantomiming clues that describe their odd product while their “host” pitches and describes the unknown item to the potential buyers at home. The audience should applaud or similarly encourage the hosts as they get an element correct. When the caller announces “switch,” the active host should turn around and face away from the playing field while their opponent now turns to receive clues from their own teammates. The hosts continue to alternate the narratives inspired by each teammates’ strictly physical clues until one side successfully identifies their item. (If such a moment clearly seems unlikely, hosts can be asked to state their “best guess,” and the audience can vote on which team was closest.)

Example

Team A receives an “oscillating loaf of bread that entertains” while team B gets an “energetic spatula that calculates.” The two previously absent hosts return to the space and take their positions upstage, facing away from the audience, while their teammates wait to the side.

Caller: “Player A, you get the first twenty seconds starting… now!”

Host A spins around as their teammates rush to the stage and start to meticulously mime the activity of baking bread, pointing at the host whenever they are on the right track…

Host A: “If it’s 1:00am, it’s time to get shopping! Thanks for joining me, Sarla, on this very special edition of ‘Around the Home’ where I’ll help you drag your living into the twenty-first century. Now I know what you’re thinking, ‘What if I don’t have a lot of spare dough for elevating my standard of living, Sarla!’ And that’s where I come in with this exciting and affordable product that no home should be without. It’s a slice above the rest…”

Caller: “Switch!”

Host A stops mid-phrase and turns around as Host B now faces their clue-giving team…

Host B: “Welcome back, friends, to the Home Shopping Network, and does your new best friend, Jane, have just the thing to make your life complete. Are you hungry for more in life…?”

The Focus

Though this format is loosely related to the category of endowment games, in reality, it’s more of a charades affair that deploys good doses of “telling” rather than subtler “showing.” All of the techniques that you might use in the parlor game version – breaking words down into syllables, miming homonyms, or tugging on your ear to denote a “sounds like” offering – should be liberally used here. That being said, leaning into character, story, and playful connections – all more the domain of improvisation – will elevate the experience beyond simply a charm offensive.

Traps and Tips

1.) Sequencing. Venues can tend to have their own best practices for games such as these, so make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to the preferred approach. I like pantomiming the noun element first as it tends to be a little more concrete and accessible. Once this is known, you can then adapt it to reflect the obtuse adjective and verb components. Others see similar wisdom in tackling the product in the order in which it was elicited: adjective, noun, and then verb. (To this point, if assuming the above strategy, I’ll typically get the noun first, then the adjective and verb…) At the end of the day, do what works for your ensemble, but just make sure everyone knows the assumed approach. Frustration awaits if the team is pantomiming the noun while their host is looking desperately for an adjective.

2.) Staging. On a proscenium stage, the angles necessitated for visibility can prove tricky. When hosts stand upstage – on a higher level if at all possible – their teammates can mime in front of them ideally angling themselves in such a way that both the host and the audience can appreciate their moves. Placing these players diagonally across the stage helps a great deal in this regard, so if team A’s host is stationed upstage right, their teammates perform downstage left. There is something exhilarating about the hosts snapping around between their turns with their team returning to the wing to “strategize,” so take full advantage of this staging dynamic.

3.) Hosting. This is one of a mere handful of games where a waffling proclivity may actually serve you and your team! Assume a strong late night home shopping network persona and point of view, and confidently extol the endless virtues of your unknown product right from the get-go. Sell that item! Strive to keep this playful narrative developing, complete with ripe details that might assist your fellow players, while also tactically weaving in your best efforts to define the physical clues. A lot is lost when the hosts drop the game show façade and just blatantly guess. If you’re getting the feedback you’re close to the pertinent word, be careful that you don’t just keep repeating an incorrect approximation again and again. The pantomimers need new content to help move the ball further down the playing field.

4.) Pantomiming. It can be a fun conceit to try to immediately hit your host with your best effort to pantomime the whole product in all its absurd details as an opening move, but generally smaller pieces of the puzzle will prove more manageable and delightful. If you have more than two players at your disposal to mime clues, be extremely cautious of creating split or competing focus. A crowded performance area also increases the likelihood that your host or the audience will miss a particularly helpful or amusing clue as well. As the other side competes you actually will have a few moments to briefly strategize and determine who or what choice should take the lead next. You’ll want to be brave and hit the stage with energy, but don’t overwhelm the game with scattered focus or empty movement.

5.) Calling. The caller has a lot of responsibility in this format to shape the game, especially if it’s been slated to help the shape of show as well. It’s traditional to state changes will come at set intervals – fifteen to twenty seconds often works well – but don’t be afraid of having a “faulty” stop watch. If one team is excelling or benefiting from a clearly easier goal, it’s in the spirit of the format for their time to move a little quickly. Similarly, if a host is on the cusp of correctly announcing their last element, skewing the playing field a little in favor of the underdogs can orchestrate a more exciting finish. When you’re using this frame for your finale, you don’t want to inadvertently let the steam run out of the whole event. Keep the stakes and urgency elevated. If the energy is deflating, quickly edit the game and deploy the voting system mentioned above.

In Performance

You can play this game with both teams working towards the same peculiar product – this certainly provides a quicker result. But even though the competition is likely only a thinly veiled conceit, I’ve found audiences react unfavorably when opposing teams quickly benefit from the hard won victories of their rivals’ efforts. Subsequently, the variant described above has become my norm. (If you use a common target it can actually become an interesting tactic for hosts not to actually say or repeat successful clues – saving the product elements for one last impressive salvo – so as not to gift them to the opposition, but this can prove rather challenging in practice!) I’ve confessed elsewhere that I’m disinclined towards parlor games masquerading as improvisation, but this offering can allow players to polish and present a variety of important skills, such as clear physicality, bravery, teamwork, and grace under pressure.

Connected Concept: Shape of Show

“S” is for “Shape of Show”

A term used to denote the flow, design, or arc of a larger improvisational performance (as opposed to the smaller units of a scene or individual game).

Shaping the Show…

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Related Entries: Hosting Antonyms: Chaos Synonyms: Structure

Connected Game: Home Shopping Network

Game Library: “On the Back Word Endowments”

Secrets are at the core of this spirited endowment game that requires players to simultaneously wear the hats of endowers and endowees.

The Basics

While players are sent out of the playing space so they can’t hear, an array of words are obtained from the audience, one for each of the team members. These words are written clearly on sheets of paper, cardboard, or similar. When the team returns, they face the back wall, and other improvisers tape one word onto the back of each player as the game title would suggest. It’s important that these are fastened in such a way that players are unable to see their own word. During the following scene – inspired by a new ask-for that is typically unconnected to the elicited words – players strive to learn and say their assigned words while, at the same time, providing clues as to the hidden words of their teammates. The scene ends when everyone has been successful in this charge, or a time limit or clear story resolution has been reached.

Example

While outside the theatre, players are assigned four random words from the audience, “fortune,” “insensitive,” “skyscraper,” and “philanthropy.” When the players return, these words are taped to their backs, Player A receiving “fortune” and so on down the line. An end of the year teacher’s party serves as the premise. As the scene begins, players mull around a snack table clearly eyeing and reacting to each other’s words. Player A, taking on the part of the principal, approaches Player B.

Player A: “It’s hard to imagine this school without you next year. 44 years in the profession! That’s remarkable.”

Player B: “I’m looking forward to seeing what the next chapter of my life holds.”

Player A: “Look, I feel the need to apologize again. I really should have made a bigger deal of your retirement.”

Player B: “You’re new to the principal’s office. I know it wasn’t personal.”

Player C, who has been listening, chimes in…

Player C: “We should have made a bigger deal of you, Isabella. 44 years is quite the accomplishment.” (pointedly to A) “And heavens know none of us do this for the money.”

Player A: “I know, I know. I should have been more thoughtful. You can say whatever you want about me. I won’t disagree…”

The Focus

Alongside the fun visual component of characters moving through the action with paper on their backs and straining to see each other’s target words, this scene is just an amped up endowment game, albeit a more complex one than average with clues moving in multiple directions at once. General endowment best practices apply as a result, such as not saying others’ “on the back” words, and attempting to lead players to the “correct” answer through subtle inference (at least initially) rather than a “fill in the blank” or charades mentality.

Traps and Tips

1.) Remember the logistical needs. As is often the case with endowment formats, there are some unique intricacies when it comes to setting the game up. On a purely material level, you’ll need to preset appropriate paper or cardboard stock, thick markers, and reliable tape that will stick to the clothing of your players for the duration of the scene. The game loses some charm if the audience is unable to also see the words throughout the action, so write accordingly, especially if you’re in a larger performance space. A team of three or four works well; more than that and the resulting scene can tend to become epic, perhaps painfully so. It’s helpful to elicit a variety of words in terms of type, length, and challenge. Technically, they need to be legibly written on the papers, so anything too long will cause issue. Artistically, it’s nice to have a word (or two) in the mix that is reasonably attainable so that there is the likelihood of a victory in the early stages of the scene.

2.) Remember, you’re an endower. As players explore the scene, all the while searching for clues as to their own hidden word, it’s easy to forget that you should also be actively providing help to your teammates. Part of the fun of the first phase of the game is watching players jostling to read each other’s words, so make sure you have at least one word front of mind that you can work towards. Focus is particularly important: your intended partner needs to know that you’re offering them assistance (as opposed to just launching clues into the ether). I’ve found it a useful strategy to muster the team’s resources towards one word and player at a time, even if this shifts multiple times from player to player as characters come and go or if the current line of inquiry proves unsuccessful. If you find yourself needing to break down an unfamiliar or multisyllabic word into smaller constituent parts, this tactic is particularly critical. There is entertainment value in an initial scattershot approach with everyone working at cross purposes, but this rarely holds interest or utility in the long run.

3.) Remember, you’re an endowee. And the opposite holds true as well – don’t lose sight of the fact that teammates are trying to endow your hidden word. Remain attentive for unexpected or peculiar phrasing or vernacular that is likely nudging you towards your intended destination. As is the case with all endowment frames, avoid a “guessing” mentality and language: “is my word ‘fortune?'” Make sure you’re responding through the lens of your character: “I really do have great fortune when it comes to friends.” And be wary of letting the uncertainty of your goal infect every choice you make or line you utter; as always, make big choices unimpeded by the fear of being “wrong.” A predictable but effective scenic button can consist of everyone confidently utilizing their assigned word in back-to-back sentences in quick succession regardless of whether or not they are all actually known.

4.) Remember, you’re in a scene. A playful panic can pulse just under the surface of this format if you’re not mindful, and that usually isn’t a great energy from which to construct grounded scene work. Take the time to set up strong CROW elements – every line needn’t be a clue or response to one, especially initially. Make sure characters are going on an interesting journey separate (but perhaps connected) to the game conceit. Dynamic and clear relationships also help steer the focus around the stage, as does a central action or dramatic goal. Excited overtalking can easily emerge, so avoid crowding the stage or find ways to fade into the background when you’re not actively needed. Particularly if you’ve already determined your assigned word, it’s generous to cede the stage to others still engaged in the struggle for knowledge unless you’re sitting on the next needed move or piece of information. Well-timed exits and entrances will serve just as in any other scenic exploration.

In Performance

If endowment games are a newer addition to your repertoire, review my earlier Game Library post on the format Naive Expert here for additional thoughts and pointers. I’m not sure if I’d recommend this current offering unless your company already has a strong sense of the foundational skills involved as it demands a lot of shifting focus and multitasking that in adept hands creates enthralling controlled chaos, but for the less able just results in chaos of the everyday nontheatrical variety!

Connected Concept: Secrets

“S” is for “Secrets”

Hidden or unvoiced information that adds to the stakes and energy of a performance.

Secrets Secrets are So Fun…

This is just a taste of this entry/concept. Go here for more information.

Related Entries: CAD, Character, Commandment #1, Dramaturgical Improv, Objective Antonyms: Cartooning, Truth Synonyms: Lies

Connected Game: On the Back Word Endowments