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Game Library: “Subtitles”

A personal favorite option amongst the cadre of games that feature Gibberish as an element, Subtitles encourages heightened physicality and well-defined relationships as improvisers work together to craft a playful and clear screenplay.

The Basics

Two players serve as the “actors” in the movie performing in the original (read gibberish) language. Each actor is partnered with an offstage translator who converts each line of dialogue into English (or your native language). The scene unfolds alternating between the gibberish actors and their translating counterparts. Action is typically inspired by an invented movie title such as a country and an occupation, as in “The French Accountant.”

Example

Players A and B perform as the actors while C and D translate and situate themselves to the side of the stage. The scene is inspired by “The Antarctic Optometrist.“

Player B begins by lying on the ground, wriggling in pain. Player A rushes in...

Player A: “Karnardin peesh shalookie ka deenaw!”

Player C: (translating from the side of the stage) “I came as soon as I heard!”

Player B looks up to A with a sense of panic as they gesture wildly towards their eyes.

Player B: “Jaloopida neeva! Jaloopida neeva!”

Player D: (translating from the other side of the stage) “The snow blindness! The snow blindness.”

Player A tries to calm B as they reach into their bag…

Player A: “Jaloopida neeva? Sheepa ka nervadda, Kayshee.”

Player C: (translating) “Snow blindness? This is the third case I’ve seen today, Kayshee.”

Player A begins the examination as B becomes more concerned…

The Focus

In addition to the more obvious areas of focus, such as physicality and the crafting of effective and scene-specific gibberish, Subtitle scenes will typically center on one relationship, so make sure to sufficiently invest in this central dynamic. The language restriction needn’t serve as a barrier for portraying a story and character connection that displays care and detail. An overtly broad or almost pantomimic performance style can greatly reduce the likelihood of discovering a story with depth and significance: consider erring on the side of a more realistic tone and energy.

Traps and Tips

1.) Use the gibberish. This game is partnered with my earlier consideration of gibberish, so I’d recommend that you review those pointers here if you’ve just stumbled across this game and don’t have much experience with the technique. The plus of acquiring a country or region to inspire the action is that it can jump start you out of bad gibberish habits and encourage the team to really listen to each other and build a unique vocabulary. If you happen to know the language in question, this can actually put you at a bit of a disadvantage: it can be surprisingly difficult not to just use the words you know (rather than the more generic sounds) which will generally feel like a bit of a cheat. My major gibberish advice, which bears repeating here, is to repeat. Part of the magic is for some words or phrases to actually start carrying meaning, such as “snow blindness” or the invented character name “Kayshee” above. When we erroneously think of gibberish as random sound, we often neglect to infuse our verbal choices with deliberateness and subtext, and we miss the opportunity to create these joyful language patterns.

2.) Establish a rhythm. As is the case with other scenic games where you are balancing contributions between on- and off-stage players, it can take a little while to get into this groove of give and take, especially at the top of the scene or if players haven’t workshopped this particular dynamic together before. So, in addition to the obvious advice of workshopping this dynamic (!) I’d also offer that you’ll want to default to letting a little more air into the top of the scene to allow sufficient time for translators to insert their choices at the appropriate moments. Players working as the actors should be mindful to give clear ending punctuation and avoid long-winded diatribes as the scene begins; those in the translator positions should leap into the fray on cue regardless of whether or not they have “figured out” what the original line means. Part of the fun is also seeing this process unfold in real time.

3.) Earnestly translate (at least initially). There are a lot of inherited bits and gimmicks that can burden the elegant core of this game, which consists of actors speaking and translators doing their best to interpret the intent as quickly as they can. I ardently believe that this dynamic alone is more than enough to present a surprising and entertaining scene. Much of the joy and humor comes from when the audience and players view a translation as impeccably executed or in the moments when clearly a disparity has occurred in spite of everyone’s efforts to the contrary. In the introductory moments of the scene, in particular, it can be disheartening or outright frustrating for the actors if they are making strong and connected choices that are then undermined deliberately by their offstage partners. This can also reduce the scene to little more than a gag or pimping fest. If your venue enjoys the playfulness of strategic shivving, there are certainly opportunities to surprise the actors with revelatory or unexpected translations or to mischievously thwart a clear character intent or desire. But I’d still advise that such moments should emerge organically and that this approach should not become a substitute for collaborative storytelling.

4.) Lean into emotion and activity. It’s generally strong advice when working with gibberish to rely a little more heavily on your physical and emotional choices than you might in an unrestricted scene. As noted above, this can result in a more stylized or pantomimic tone of play which is by no means inappropriate; but there is also value in maintaining a strong sense of realism while gently heightening how physicality can deepen the relationship and story. A talking heads scene is certainly a trap to be avoided, especially if it involves monotonous or nonspecific gibberish use. Remember that you still want to avoid vague choices as the actors: translators shouldn’t be expected to invent content to make up for a general lack of decisiveness. Audiences delight in seeing a well-etched choice soaring or becoming bunted by a well-intended teammate who experienced and named a different specific than originally pitched. I personally find these honest miscommunications much more entertaining than those that are obviously manufactured with the express aim of eliciting an audience response. An added advantage of creating a strong environment and physical activities is that you can make these your focus in those potentially awkward silences as you await your translations.

5.) Start in the middle. I’d also offer that simply in a mathematical sense these scenes have about half as much room as a regular scene for shaping and presenting a story as each line or choice takes twice as long to present by the time both the actor and translator have participated. If too much of the scene is spent in a state of balance or preamble, it can prove daunting to build to a climax or discovery that doesn’t feel approximated or unearned. Jump into a moment of interest and dynamism. You generally only have the two characters to develop, so make sure this relationship is interesting and important. In the event that a third or fourth character is needed, have another company member also join as a new translator if you have the numbers, or one of the two established translators can just take on this new vocal role as well.

In Performance

The conceit of seeking inspiration from a foreign country can prove problematic and potentially offensive if it is not executed with care and awareness. Make sure you’re punching up if you elect to utilize this frame or at least exercise mindfulness of how your onstage company demographic may contextualize the scene. My heritage, for example, is of colonizers, not the colonized, so I will generally take countries in the former rather than the latter category. It is also more than appropriate to use a more “universal” gibberish that doesn’t replicate the sounds of any given region or country if a more satiric approach makes you or your audience uncomfortable.

There is a version of this game where the translating players literally run across the front of the stage as they speak as if their bodies were the subtitles showing on the bottom of the screen: flashing jazz hands adds to the effect. This certainly enhances playfulness, but I’ve found that it generally becomes clumsy in spaces that do not have sufficient room, and, frankly, the burden of this energy investment increases as you gain decades as a player. This staging variant invariably pulls content towards sillier hues as well, which may or may not be in keeping with your greater goals.

Speaking of foreigners chatting about improv – if you want to find out what happens when a Kiwi and a Canadian walk into a podcast, check out my guest spot on Michael Dargie’s award-winning RebelRebel series here.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2021 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Concept: Gibberish

“G” is for “Gibberish”

A non-sensical and invented language that nonetheless communicates meaning, emotion, and details within the scene.

Bableshing Kadool Galoney (Strengthening Your Gibberish)…

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Related Entries: Physicality, Subtext, Verbal Skills, Waffling Antonyms: Talking Heads

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2021 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Game: Subtitles

Game Library: “Bus Stop”

There are a few improv forms floating around under the name of Bus Stop, so this might not be the dynamic you are expecting! In this version, players work patiently together to build and recognize the Game of the Scene.

The Basics

A simple bus stop is constructed, perhaps with a few chairs forming a bench or similar. A team of four to six players works together. One at a time, they enter – in silence – and start to wait for the bus. As each new character arrives, players should pay particular attention to the choices and assumptions of their teammates and seek to gently mirror and build on any evolving dynamics. By the end of the silent scene, all the onstage characters should simultaneously leave the stage at the same time and for the same reason thereby bringing the scene (and the discovered game or games) to a climactic end.

Example

Player A is the first to enter. They mime that they are bundled up to escape the cooler weather, and after glancing down the street, place themselves in the middle of the petite bus bench. They have a self-conscious air as they sit and wait…

Player B is the next to enter after a few moments of silence. They, too, adjust their jacket, acknowledging the coolness of the day, and as A did before them, glance to see if the bus is coming (but this time in the opposite direction). They look at the bench, and Player A casually moves aside a little to make room. After a moment’s hesitation, Player B sits, and they both wait while avoiding eye contact or any interaction…

Player C enters…

The Focus

There is an innate beauty to this dynamic when players cede control to the group and playfully follow each other’s whims and cues. Avoid overthinking, over-planning, and over-manipulation. Often, the subtlest of choices will result in the most revelatory of journeys when it is given air and attention. While the game occurs in silence, simple utterances (sighs, grunts, coughs…) are certainly in the spirit of the exercise.

Traps and Tips

1.) Accidents should happen. There can be a tendency when we are improvising or teaching the craft to encourage obvious “choices” or “moves.” While Bus Stop requires specificity, the game will generally suffer if players try to pointedly pitch or force a game. Rather, the scene flourishes when players engage in simple and honest behavior, trusting that something of interest will emerge of its own accord. It’s often the innocuous and inadvertent gesture or reaction that unlocks the scene’s potential and launching point. Player C could enter being chased by a swarm of killer bees, but this doesn’t really honor anything that has come before. Instead of “solving” the riddle of the scene, enjoy the process of discovery. Players A and B have already offered several potentials in their seemingly mundane behavior, in addition to the smaller gestural or emotional moments that don’t easily translate into the written word.

2.) It’s about others. When you release yourself of the pressure of having to individually “fix” the scene, you open yourself up to the manifold possibilities exuded by your teammates. Move your focus onto them and their actions. What has someone else done that triggers your interest or imagination? What inspiration are others offering and exploring that you can elevate and join? There are few improv exercises that teach so clearly the gift of releasing personal agendas in lieu of supporting the flow and momentum of the ensemble. Enjoy this individual lack of responsibility. The task isn’t one player figuring out a solution or motivation and then dragging everyone else along but rather everyone finding a common path forward together that can ultimately result in a mass exodus. If you enter the stage having determined how you want to justify the requisite exit ahead of time, the resulting experiment will retain little cogency.

3.) Silence is golden. Silent improv can prove discomforting to many, but it truly provides a helpful frame as you don’t have to worry about the words of the scene or constructing witty or interesting dialogue. The small gestures – a turned head, an awkward smile, a nervous cough – all become the language of the scene. Make sure you are looking for and actively exploiting these subtle gifts. Be wary of anxiously pushing the scene forward too quickly. Entrances should be patiently staggered so as to give your teammates sufficient time to find their rhythms and energies: the more players there are on stage, the more likely it is for something beautiful but understated to go unnoticed. Keep this in mind as you are waiting offstage for your entrance, as inattentiveness will easily trample the embers of the game already in progress.

4.) Parallels reign supreme. I’ve confessed elsewhere that I tend to prefer complementary actions in my own work, but Bus Stop resolutely invites a parallel approach and attitude. If players think and offer up different as opposed to elevate and heighten same, the scene is likely to stall in its efforts to find a collective climax and unified exit. Gently replicating and mirroring the choices of your fellow players will likely elevate existing choices and keep them in the mix. Needless cleverness or originality will usually have the opposite effect. Don’t be afraid of the obvious: if the three players before you have all agreed upon a certain behavior, attitude, or staging choice, then you have been provided a helpful path to follow. If they were a little cold, be a little cold too but in your own way. There’s no need to venture into brave new territory; in fact, such an attitude will likely result in everybody ending up lost!

In Performance

To return to the example above, Player C has been gifted many possibilities that could become the game of the scene with a little attention and heightening: the frosty weather, the way that prior characters have checked the time, or looked in different directions for the bus, or sat squished on the bench, or avoided eye contact, or the dozens of even more nuanced quirks or peccadillos that can’t help but emerge in embodied performance. What’s critical in this scene (and arguably more generally) is that games most readily and robustly develop when we play by the rules and parameters others have offered. One player alone can’t ordain a desired rationale for making everyone leave the bus stop together.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2021 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Concept: Game of the Scene

“G” is for “Game of the Scene”

The Game of the Scene describes the thread, dynamic, or point of view that provides both the players and the audience joy, interest, and creative energy.

A Non-Exhaustive and Glaringly Incomplete List of Some Different Categories of Games…

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Related Entries: Accepting, Active Listening, Ambiguity, Handle, Heighten, Physicality, Verbal Skills Synonyms: The Deal

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2021 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Game: Bus Stop

Game Library: “World’s Worst”

While word play, quirky characterizations, and punning aren’t always examples of Gagging, these tendencies certainly all draw from the same bag of tricks. World’s Worst offers a way to train and tame these comedic habits without potentially stepping on the grounded scene work of your teammates.

The Basics

In this line game a caller (or fellow member of the ensemble) periodically elicits a new occupation for the awaiting players who stand against the upstage wall. When inspiration hits, improvisers step forward and embody an example of the world’s worst… [insert job or role here]. Improvisers scroll through several rounds with the game typically ending on a particular high (or low) note.

Example

The audience suggests “best man.”

Player A: (stepping forward in a flustered and disheveled fashion) “I’d just like to apologize again to the happy couple for over-sleeping this morning… and for missing the actual ceremony… and for losing the ring…”

Player B: (assuming a rather cynical air) “So we all know mathematically that there’s a good chance we’ll be back here in a few years doing this again, so I’ll keep it short…”

Player C: (clearly inebriated) “Well, I for one will admit that I never thought I’d see this day: Rob’s criminal record alone – which I promised not to mention – should have been a deal breaker…”

The Focus

This game benefits from attack and finding both jokes (one-liners) and humor (ironic behaviors) through strategically exploring characters from unexpected angles.

Traps and Tips

1.) Seek contrast. As the very game title suggests, much of the fun comes from seeing a variety of clearly ill-suited characters step into the named job or function. As much as a great zinger can land, there’s usually a lot to mine from simply exploring behavior. Think opposites and contradictions: if the role usually requires reliability, empathy, and discretion, what would the inverse of one or more of these qualities look like? Or, put another way, who is the last person you would like to meet in this job (or perhaps have encountered in this job)?

2.) Inhabit the role. Quick hits certainly belong as part of the mix, but I find it helpful to consider each example as a small vignette in its own right. Snap into the character point of view and don’t rush to the punchline haphazardly. The way you embody the character will often create as much joy – if not more – than the joke they are enabling or embodying. Well-crafted characters also increase the likelihood of callbacks, runs, and echoes which add depth to an otherwise simple game. Perhaps our over-sleeping best man returns later in his day job as an ill-equipped surgeon, explosives expert, or time management consultant…

3.) Seize your moment. Line games live or die based on their level of attack. If the row of improvisers all loiters fearfully against the theatre’s back wall, rehearsing and then dismissing possibilities in their heads in search of comedy gold, the game can quickly stall and feel lethargic. Step forward – even if you only have the seed of an idea. If fellow players are becoming tentative such an approach guarantees that the game doesn’t lose momentum. A brave and charming choice will usually land well, and even if it’s a little shaky, your generosity will buy your teammates a few extra seconds to find their own footing.

4.) Celebrate the effort. An astute caller – either standing aside from the action or playing beside everyone else – can help set everyone up for abandon. I quite like just the simple device of ringing a bell or verbally announcing a button once each character has had sufficient time to play out their angle. (You can also encourage the audience to clap, laugh, or groan so that efforts aren’t met with suffocating silence.) This editing device also offers a safety valve if an improviser had something but can’t quite find it now that they’re standing in front of the audience. When the caller (and the ensemble in general) really communicates a sense of joy, this does a lot to reduce the sting of a “less than stellar” attempt. Furthermore, keep an eye out for when an energy drop or home run invites a new suggestion or calling the game as a whole.

In Performance

Line games tend to privilege individual wit and a more gag-infused style of play. Although these facts hold true for World’s Worst, the frame also encourages and rewards more character-centric choices and develops a taste for irony, inconsistency, and contradiction. These are all improv tools that will serve you well across multiple games and formats.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Tony Firriolo
© 2021 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Concept: Gagging

“G” is for “Gagging”

Gagging refers to an inclination towards honoring the joke or laugh above everything else in the performance event. Many improv styles find such an attitude destructive and limiting.

When is a Gag Not a Gag…?

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Related Entries: Commandment #4, Pimping, Shivving Antonyms: Endowing, Offer Synonyms: Joke Telling

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
© 2021 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Game: World’s Worst

Game Library: “Game Lab”

While this is currently a seldom-played offering at Sak Comedy Lab where I spend most weekends improvising, the inventive conceit behind Game Lab very much thrived in our Gorilla Theatre show where players have a penchant for taking familiar short-form offerings and retooling them with a new focus or finesse. (And now it lingers in the shadows of the R&D Show too!) I first encountered this conceit during my high school improv days but can’t for the life of me can’t recall what we called it back then! If you’re struggling to maintain an air of Freshness in your work, Game Lab offers a loose frame to break away from the grind of over-played standards.

The Basics

I’ve primarily experienced this game as a dueling dynamic between two teams but there is no reason it couldn’t be gently repurposed to serve as a stand-alone game. In the competitive version, the “captains” of each team serve as the facilitators and definers. Captain A obtains an original non-existent game title from the audience, such as “People in Transit.” This captain, perhaps with some brainstorming assistance from their teammates, then improvises the basic rules of the named game: “In People in Transit the team must provide a scene in which characters must always be in or on some form of public transportation…” Team B is now charged with playing this unique improv game for the first time while honoring the boundaries as they have been outlined. The process is then typically repeated with Captain B now returning the “favor” and acquiring a new game title that inspires an accompanying improvised definition.

Example

These two game examples are drawn from two performances I actually still faintly remember many years later...

“Rambo meets Rapunzel” was defined as a fish out of water type scene where the team acquires a well-known fairy tale and a character from a different world entirely that wouldn’t appear in that story or timeline. The team must then craft an original scene that brings these two disparate worlds together. This format had such a unique conceit that I sometimes include it in my Improv I class as an exercise in constructing narrative and breaking routines.

“Three Bears in the Woods” requires my slippery New Zealand dialect for its definition as in kiwi English “bear,” “beer” and “bare” are all essentially homonyms. The rules of the scene mandated that by the end of the scene three conditions had to be met: one character had to be attacked by a “bear,” another needed to be drinking a “beer,” and the third needed to be naked or “bare.” And all of this needed to transpire, as per the title, in the woods. This resulted in a joyfully silly scene, but perhaps predictably has not been added to my repertoire!

The Focus

There is an extremely unpredictable hit/miss ratio with the games constructed in this manner, and this really is the focus. There are no “guaranteed” bits that have been inherited, or experiences in rehearsal to tap into. Players must truly just attack the scenes as scenes and determine the best path forward as a team. This, in fact, should be how we approach all our work as improvisers, but if you’re playing similar games, stories, or tropes again and again, night after night, this sense of true danger may well have subsided.

Traps and Tips

As essentially any game or dynamic can emerge from this prompt, I’ll focus my coaching on the role of the captain or game “definer” as this is a slightly peculiar function that will make or break the experience.

1.) Honor the title. Enjoy the word association component of the game and really use the audience elicited title as your launching point. (To this end, it can be fun to get two or three random words from different audience members so that the resulting game title is truly original.) It’s joyful to see the author’s thought process, so don’t be afraid to voice some possibilities before cementing your final parameters. I’ve seen this process framed as “Oh, yes, I know that game…,” which adds a fun energy as well, as if the captain is actually recalling a game from deep within the improv archives. The process of coming up with the definition can often be as entertaining and exciting as the game that follows, so don’t underutilize this part of the premise.

2.) Use what you know. If the thought of coming up with a completely original game overwhelms you, it can prove helpful to initially draw upon a short-form game or handle that is within your lexicon. People in Transit might recall a “move to talk” dynamic, for example, that you can then shake up. The second part of that statement – “that you can shake up” – is critical as you don’t want to just assign the new title to an old game as that throws away the risk and the promise. But also, freely draw upon what you know as a starting point, especially what is jolted front of mind when you heard the new game title for the first time. Our definitions can certainly benefit from accepting obvious connections and inspirations just as we would within our onstage scenes.

3.) Use what the team knows. Give the team a sound base from which to play. Generally, a definition that allows room for scenic exploration will prove more flexible and “solvable” than a series of instructions that thwart or prevent characters in action: “Each character must face a different direction and is not allowed to talk to or reference anyone else on stage…” As is the case with caller functions, while it appears the captain is providing insurmountable odds, in reality they should be offering delightful challenges and enticing obstacles. Throwing in a musical component for a team that loves singing, for example, will add value in a way that it wouldn’t for a team that struggles to hold a tune on top of all the other restrictions.

4.) And one more thing… Invariably there will be a moment in the definition that the captain will be tempted to add just one more hoop. Almost without exception this final addition tends to overwhelm and stifle any chance of “success.” If you’ve crafted two or three guidelines or facets, that’s typically more than enough. Hastily added “last thoughts,” in my experience, nearly always have a pimping energy or provide the final straw that will break the improvising camel’s back: “And one more thing… everyone has to spend the whole scene crawling on the floor,” “…there are no humans in the scene,” or “…the entire scene happens in reverse.” It’s certainly the spirit of the game to provide rules with an air of mischievousness, but a weighty final adjustment that isn’t in keeping with the tone of the prior elements often scuttles the fledgling scene.

In performance

Few games are more likely to shock you out of your improv rut than Game Lab! So much rides on the definition so it’s worth your time to practice this particular skill before making this a public experiment.

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
Join my Facebook group here.
Photo Credit: Scott Cook
© 2021 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Concept: Freshness

“F” is for “Freshness”

Improvisational performance craves the new and unexpected and so it’s important that we pursue ways of…

Keeping It Fresh…

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Related Entries: Abandon, Commitment, Presence Antonyms: Fatigue, Staleness Synonyms: Excitement, Joy

Connected Game: Game Lab

Game Library: “Two Scenes”

Two Scenes is another of those scenic exercises where the title almost says it all, but this dynamic helpfully illustrates and polishes how to craft and move Focus around the stage.

The Basics

Two pairs of players populate the stage and work on half of the performance area each. Both sides are assigned a location or premise: these may be related, such as two adjoining rooms in a house; or may feel more random, such as a subway station and a garden gazebo. A scene is improvised in which focus moves from one part of the stage to the other through careful gives and takes from the players. Each vignette should be given sufficient time to develop and explore before returning the focus once more to its counterpart.

Example

Players A and B are assigned a library as the stage right location and Players C and D have a dorm room. As the scene begins only A and B are present, scanning the shelves…

Player A: “You’re sure we’re in the right section, Anneliese? I can’t seem to find anything on our list…”

Player B: (checking the notes on their phone) “I’m still not sure why we can’t just use digital resources. The professor is so needlessly old school.”

Player A: (pulling a book) “I think we’ve left this too late. This section has been picked bare.”

Player C has quietly entered the stage left area and sat on a dorm bed.

Player B: “Maybe we should split up. I saw some of our classmates loitering around here as well.”

Player A: “OK. You take the high 800s and I’ll take the low. And we can meet back here with what we’ve found.”

Player B: “Sounds like a plan.”

Player A exits in one direction with B darting off in the opposite. As they do so, Player D joins C in the dorm room.

Player D: “Hey, I’m sorry if they hurt your feelings. My teammates can just be dull sometimes.”

Player C: (clearly upset) “No, it’s fine really. It was nice of you to invite me to the mixer.”

Player D: “I really wanted to – I just forgot how different my worlds can be at times!”

Player C: “I didn’t need you to make excuses for me…”

Player D: “I’m sorry, that definitely wasn’t my intent. I just thought that you might not know all our inside jargon…”

Player C: “I come to your games all the time. I’m not completely clueless.”

Player D: (apologetically) “No, you’re right. My bad.”

Player A has reappeared from behind the shelves…

Player A: (whispering) “Anneliese… Anneliese…?”

Player C: “I just want to listen to my music, ok?”

Player C puts in their earbuds and rolls over on the bed while D looks on. Player A continues to lurk and whisper and is finally rejoined by B.

Player A: “Anneliese!”

Player B: “I’m not finding anything. I think we’re going to have to take this up a notch…”

The Focus

This dynamic requires thoughtful focus exchanges as now players must share the work with their immediate scene partner as well as the pair of improvisers across the divide (while hopefully also maintaining an awareness of the audience and the greater story arc as well). Careless or clumsy gives and takes can quickly decay the tempo and dynamism of the work.

Traps and Tips

1.) Err on the side of generosity. A standard observation that applies to most if not all improv scenes is to allow the start of the scene a little room to breathe and find its footing. If you immediately start fighting for the focus – and pulling it back and forward – neither of the two scenes will likely have a grounded balance or routine. Especially in the first “round,” don’t overwhelm the action; it can be helpful for one side of the stage to remain unpopulated initially to this end, so it is abundantly clear which pairing is making the first move. Dynamic focus moves may feel dramatically sharp and sudden, but it shouldn’t feel as if the players are anxiously competing with each other.

2.) Justify and sell the silences. An unavoidable component and challenge of this scene is the silence: if players are sharing the stage time equitably, their half of the stage will need to clearly and quietly give focus for half of the scene. Effective and interesting ways to achieve this sharing will generally emerge from the playing itself but improvisers need to actively explore and apply justifications that help this conceit “make sense.” I typically advocate “soft freezes” when you are not in focus which just means that you keep the action going but without any dialogue or sudden movements that are likely to steal the audience’s attention. Other helpful strategies include sporadically leaving your location or engaging in an activity that requires your concentration, such as thumbing through a library book or listening to your music. As scenes become more heated, it is almost a necessity that gives and takes increase in tempo as it will strain credulity if characters hold intense emotions for artificially long periods of time without dialogue.

3.) Experiment with the focus shifts. In addition to playing with the silent element of the scene, bravely explore how to move the focus in general. Most edit functions (explored here) can work well in this setting: from verbal tags and repeats, to physical entrances and exits, to purposeful gives and takes. As modeled in the written example above, I find gentle entrances a helpful indication to your partners across the divide that you are preparing for the focus exchange. Similarly, announcing a pending exit or foreboding a move to quiet activity allows the second scene to confidently pick up steam. Trailing sentences with the feeling of an ellipses can also serve well as long as the speaker telescopes their intent: “I just don’t know if I can…” It’s likely that transitions will and should pick up as the scenes approach their climaxes; hopefully players will have built rapport and a sense of the scenic flow by this stage of the action so that focus exchanges can occur with brave resoluteness.

4.) Sharpen your awareness. The scenes will tend to stumble and interrupt each other if players do not actively pursue a heightened awareness that values the successes and needs of both scenes equally (after all, they are really just fragments of the one larger story arc). If the “other side” needs a little more time to develop an important plot point or build an emotion, it is in everyone’s interests that you don’t offer an edit unexpectedly out of an excitement to get back to your own storyline. Instead, deploy edits strategically to best serve both vignettes, pulling focus when your partners have reached a plateau or need a re-set, and then offering up the focus with a line, energy, or gesture that they can use within the context of their premise. It’s human nature, I imagine, to focus a little more on our side of the scenic line, but this game offers an embodied opportunity to recognize the import and contributions of the whole team. Also strive to make sure everyone has a chance to lead and follow (and give and take) as the scene unfolds. If one player on either side of the stage tends to always facilitate the take (perhaps in a manner reminiscent of a bulldozer) it’s likely that their scene partner might not have as much room to contribute their voice.

In performance

Once the scaffolding of the game is learnt and understood, there are many possible adjustments and additions to ramp the exercise up yet another level. Content, themes, and even characters can now move from one world to the other in either subtle or explicit ways. You can also adjust the physical positions of the two scenes, perhaps one is now downstage while the other is upstage. I’m also intrigued to play the game with two locations that essentially overlap each other on the stage, but perhaps that’s a challenge for another day!

Cheers, David Charles.
www.improvdr.com
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Photo Credit: Scott Cook
© 2021 David Charles/ImprovDr

Connected Concept: Focus

“F” is for “Focus”

How we thoughtfully guide an audience’s attention to enable more elegant and effective stories.

For Your Focused Consideration…

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

Related Entries: Commandment #2, Give, Sharing Focus, Stage Picture, Take Antonyms: Split Focus Synonyms: Attention

Connected Game: Two Scenes