Game Library: “Key Word”

At its core the short-form game Key Word offers a helpful mechanism for rehearsing and polishing the craft of making strong Entrances and exits.

The Basics

I’ve found that four players work really well for this game as it provides a manageable tension between the playful staging chaos and the requisite focus needed for crafting a cohesive story. A location serves as a helpful initial ask-for, followed by providing each player with their own specific audience-inspired “cue” or “key” word. I’ll typically use targeted prompts to get a good variety of options, such as “a word to describe the weather,” “an occupation,” “an object you might find in the kitchen,” and “a four-syllable word.” Each “key word” is clearly assigned to a particular player and will serve as their staging impetus in the scene to follow. If another player says their word, a cued onstage player must immediately make an exit, while if the player referenced is offstage, they must quickly enter the action. In this manner, players deliberately and accidentally can signal for their teammates and adjust the stage combinations accordingly. It’s important to note that due to the central premise of the game, players cannot enter or exit freely at will unless they have been appropriately signaled by another. I also tend to think of it as a cheat to call out key words as an offstage character in any circumstance other than a true last resort to assist a stranded fellow improviser.

Example

Players are provided with the location of a national park and assigned the following key words: Player A “cloudy,” Player B “painter,” Player C “spoon,” and Player D “remarkable.” Players A and B opt to begin the scene mid-hike with the other two players standing clearly offstage.

Player A: (with excitement) “I think we’re getting close to the summit!”

Player B: (with notably less excitement) “You’ve been saying that for nearly an hour now honey! My feet are killing me.”

Player A: (taking it in their stride) “Come on! This is doing us good. We said we were going to get out more this year.”

Player B: (with renewed effort) “No, no, you’re right. We’re not going to be one of those married couples that just sits on the couch every day.”

Player A: “And look at that view!”

Player B: “OK, I’m not going to lie, this is definitely worth the effort.”

Player A: “Isn’t it remarkable!?”

Player D, having heard their word, starts to descend the trail from the opposite direction.

Player D: (pleasantly) “Good day for it. Passing on your right.”

Player A: “Oh, fellow traveler, would you mind if we bothered you for a photo?”

Player D: “No, of course not. It’s actually part of my unofficial job.” (pointing at a “ranger” badge or similar)

Player A passes the ranger their cell phone.

Player B: “I can’t imagine having this as my ‘office’ every day!”

Player D: “I know I’m lucky! I’m constantly reminded of how nature is truly a master painter.”

Player B, having heard their word, starts to pat their clothing.

Player B: “Hold that thought… and phone. Honey, I must have dropped my water bottle when we stopped a little while back. Wait for me here.”

Player B scuttles off back down the track...

The Focus

The mechanics of the game resemble many short-form scenes that involve an outside caller only here the adjustments are made internally by the improvisers themselves. Consequently, many of the tips I recommend in my caller entry here strongly apply to this setting as well, especially balancing the roles of “playful torturer” and “patient helper.”

Traps and Tips

1.) Prioritize story first. A rookie fumble with this game is to hit the stage and then immediately start using key words at a rapid-fire pace to call on and off other players. This rarely works or allows for any strong balance or platform from which to build the scene. It is foreseeable that this sort of staging chaos can form the climax of the game, but if the audience doesn’t understand the world and needs of the characters, starting at this intensity won’t serve you well. I strongly recommend beginning with two players onstage for this reason as any more or less might require using a key word too quickly: for example, a player who starts alone may find themselves wanting a scene partner and therefore will hastily throw out another player’s word. Invest in the given circumstances and pace the arrival of new characters in a way that will purposefully forward the story arc.

2.) Justify justify justify. It’s critical that every entrance and exit is adequately justified within the premise of the scenario or otherwise the scene can become a rather random dance of inexplicable movement. On a technical note, if you have said another player’s word – thereby inviting them to the stage – you should probably leave them a window to make the required entrance rather than just continue talking unabated: in addition to cuing staging, key words are also embedded vehicles for sharing and directing focus. Justifications are often most successful and effective when they occur alongside the triggered stage direction, but you can also stagger them throughout the action. For example, Player B could just immediately rush offstage when hearing “painter” and provide the water bottle justification or similar when they next return. Another oddly common trap is players accidentally repeating or echoing a key word when it’s offered up (perhaps in an attempt to make sure that it was heard), so that “Nature is a fine painter,” might be followed immediately by “A fine painter indeed!” Repeated words cue a chain of stage directions with Player B now leaving only to quickly return again. This can surely add to the fun, but it quickly becomes tiresome if players fall into the trap of making this choice repeatedly and inadvertently. Such playful torture moves need to be patiently earned.

3.) Focus on relationships. Thinking of Key Word as largely a relationship game helps steer the action in a fruitful direction. It’s traditional for players to only assume one character each so that we see the four personae in different combinations that allow us to discover their different faces and facets. Assuming a new role for every entrance in many ways diffuses the innate challenge of the structure (although you could argue that it replaces it with another). Similar to the related game Entrances and Exits, it’s helpful to at least initially strive for two-player vignettes as these allow some real space to develop and explore relationship energies and nuances. When Player B leaves, we may now learn that Player A and the ranger have some heretofore unknown history or agenda, for example. As the scene finds its footing, it can be helpful to mix up the character combinations as much as logically possible.

4.) Use your words strategically. There are some best practices in terms of how to most effectively use the assigned key words. In addition to not saying your own word and avoiding needlessly repeating a word when it appears in the dialogue (as mentioned above) I would also recommend avoiding using derivatives or substantial parts of the four assigned cues. If the word is “cloudy” and someone ways “clouds” or “cloudiest” it’s likely to cause confusion for the audience and players alike in a fashion that isn’t adding any real value to the scene. There can also be a tendency to become or have in possession your “word” (if it’s a noun or prop) which I find more often than not creates rather uninteresting games. If Player B becomes the “painter” or Player C walks around the whole scene holding a “spoon” they often are inhibited in terms of how they can deeply contribute to the action. By the end of the scene, it’s effective to make sure everyone’s key word has been uttered at least once so that every character has a chance to play the central dynamic and no player is left offstage (or onstage for that matter) for the scene’s duration. This will prove difficult if players cannot remember each other’s words, so I’ll usually have the team repeat them all once or twice before the scene begins. No, seriously, repeat all the words in unison. Trust me!

In Performance

While there is a really strong and clear handle on this scene, I’ve found that Key Word is also a great vehicle for developing good stories when players understand how to gently ramp up the central dynamic. If you only focus on moving players on and off stage you will likely have little more than a frenetic parlor game; when you invest in purposeful characters and relationships and then add some mischief with the cue words, on the other hand, your chances of crafting a robust scene improve dramatically.

There’s a related version of this game – I call it Key Sound – where players are each assigned a unique sound effect from the booth. These noises (such as a doorbell, siren, hammer, or bird screech…) should be previewed for the audience and improvisers. During the scene when the technical improviser uses these established sounds the pertinent improviser must justify an entrance or exit. The mechanics are very similar to Key Word although the booth now holds the primary responsibility of shaping and pacing the action. While this changes the source of the torture, a similar brand of fun awaits.

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

Connected Concept: Entrances

“E” is for “Entrances”

How a character effectively makes their way into the playing space.

Under-utilized Ways to Get Onstage…

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

Related Entries: Edits, Initiation, Stage Picture, Take Antonyms: Exits

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

Connected Game: Key Word

Game Library: “Go”

I find that I keep returning to the warm-up Go again and again as few games rival its innate ability to bring the Ensemble together at the beginning of a rehearsal or performance. When played with focus and commitment, it’s not uncommon to feel that the space has actually changed from a group of individuals into a more self-aware and present team.

The Basics

There are three common phases to the warm-up. The exercise begins in a circle formation.

Phase One: One player (A) begins the exercise by pointing to another across the circle (B). Think of this gesture as asking permission to move and assume the selected player’s spot. The chosen player (B) gives this permission to move by clearly saying, “Go.” Player A may now vacate their original position and walk across the circle to their new home, Player B’s current space. To facilitate this move, Player B must now leave their current position and does so by repeating the pattern, pointing randomly across the circle to another improviser (C), thereby asking them to make room. It is important to the flow and dynamic of the game that players do not move until their teammate has verbally signaled that they may do so with the “Go.” Improvisers continue to change places at a gently increasing pace, each time asking and receiving permission to move.

Phase Two: Once the exercise has been strongly established, players may initiate the second phase of the game. While the basic signal of deliberate pointing remains the same – with the “tagged” player then looking for a new spot in the circle – improvisers now show their agreement by clearly nodding rather than saying “Go.” When this new response is introduced, all players should adapt and join the second phase. Participants should also continue to exercise caution that they do not move until clearly invited to do so by the player across the circle that they have nominated. Generally, the pace will increase a little with each phase, especially if the focus of the ensemble proves strong.

Phase Three: The process evolves into the third phase once the group has found a steady rhythm and “success.” (For the purposes of this particular exercise, I’d define that as jaunty momentum and effective communication.) Now players dispense with the clear and directional “point” that designated their intended target. Instead, improvisers seeking to vacate their spots in the circle make strong and deliberate eye contact with another person who completes the pattern by nodding as they did in the above phase. This dynamic of a chain of position swaps continues until the game reaches an organic end or climax. This may be joyful collapse or joyful success, but in any case, it should be joyful!

The Focus

Speaking of focus, it is difficult for this exercise to “land” if players are not able to give it all of their focus, commitment, and attention. Discourage any side conversations or distracting behavior as the exercise begins and keep commentary or sidecoaching to an absolute bare minimum.

Traps and Tips

1.) Model the preferred dynamic. I imagine many improvisers have encountered this exercise in one form or another, but if you’re facilitating a new group or workshop where you expect to work alongside first-timers, don’t rush over the core dynamic. Many find the critical restriction of staying planted in their spot until receiving the “Go” or nod as surprisingly counterintuitive. Take a few moments (or more) to break this down into bite-sized instructions: it’s helpful to identify the initial “point” as an equivalent to the improv offer, the “go” as the acceptance or “yes,” and the subsequent movements across the circle as the “and.” The exercise demands a level of ceding control that some can find a little challenging when they are first exposed to the technique.

2.) Discourage insider games. Experienced players can sometimes distrust the beautiful simplicity of this game that brings the ensemble into shared time and space. This may manifest itself in creating “sub-games” such as I’m just going to point to the person right beside me or keep the focus moving between two or three of the same people or add an unnecessarily quirky energy or expression during the focus exchanges. This is a major pet peeve as such diversions nearly always undermine the group cohesion. Stress the importance of full involvement as no one wants to feel like they are being excluded from a group warm-up and reiterate the need to select players across the circle if for no other reason than to keep traffic patterns safe and open.

3.) Pace the phases. A well-established ensemble may quickly be able to read each other and move through all three phases with delightful efficiency, but it’s not a race to get to the end of the warm-up. Especially when there are new members present who may have little prior experience with the logistics, it’s antithetical to speed through each phase in a way that leaves some participants disconnected or overwhelmed. If one player is struggling, the ensemble should be cognizant, patient, and helpful. I would offer that the group shouldn’t move to a later phase until there is a sense that everyone has found connection and success in the current phase. This would also necessitate that everyone has been in the chain at least once as well. There is something poetic about the group collectively deciding when this dynamic shift should occur (as opposed to an instructor or coach announcing it), but players should develop an awareness for when the whole ensemble will benefit from advancing to the next level of challenge.

4.) Embrace the connections. Among the many things I value about this exercise is that when played with deliberateness and awareness it provides an opportunity for improvisers to have at least a brief connection with many if not all of the other players in attendance. Take that moment to really see each fellow teammate and to check in or reconnect with them. This is why I discourage adding quirky mannerisms, winks, or the like as such “additions” puncture this simple but important opportunity. Having a smile behind the focus gives and takes – or at least an honest pleasantry – can surprisingly change the tone of the game and, frankly, the mood in the space. If it becomes too “efficient” or hurried, you may be losing out on this somewhat intangible but nonetheless important outcome.

In Performance

And that’s the basics of Go, a sleek (and rather pervasive) improv warm-up that offers more than might immediately meet the eye. Avoid end gaming and pushing to the perceived goal; rather, let the process unfold as it needs to on this particular day with this particular group of players striving to find each other and forge an ensemble in this particular space.

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

Connected Concept: Ensemble

“E” is for “Ensemble”

A company of improvising collaborators.

Marks of a Healthy and Aspirational Ensemble…

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

Related Entries: Commandment #3, Looking Good, Rehearsal Etiquette, Trust Antonyms: Shining Synonyms: Professionalism, Teamwork

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

Connected Game: Go

Game Library: “Endowment Circle”

I appreciate the simple elegance of Endowment Circle and how it quickly reveals the multi-faceted allure of complex and interesting characters. As the name would suggest, the exercise embodies the core concept of Endowing or how we as improvisers can give each other powerful character-centric gifts.

The Basics

Players form a circle and one improviser (Player A) volunteers to serve as the focus of the game. Player A places themselves in the middle of the circle, often on a chair, and one-at-a-time others enter to perform a brief vignette of approximately three to five lines. By the end of each vignette the entering player should have successfully endowed a new quality, trait, or biographical detail for Player A to assume. A series of disparate vignettes unfolds, with new players entering at will. While the scenes may move around a little in time, players should strive to avoid factual contradictions that could not coexist (such as Player A is a five-year-old child and a parent of a five-year-old child).

Example

Player A sits in the middle of the circle. A random player (B) enters and begins.

Player B: “I just know that you’re going to say yes to the next dress.”

Player A: “It’s just such a big choice, Angie! Am I rushing into this?!”

Player B: “That’s crazy talk! I’ve never seen a couple better suited. Ooo, here’s the next one…”

Player A: “It has a lot of ruffles!!”

Player B: “It’s your big day girl! You deserve to have ruffles!!!”

Player B gently exits as a new player (C) enters the circle, holding a mimed clipboard.

Player C: “And you realize you were going 45 in a clearly posted 40 zone?”

Player A: “I must have been distracted officer.”

Player C: “You didn’t use to be so reckless when we were dating…”

Player A: “Look you can’t keep pulling me over, Steve, just cause you want to talk.”

Player C: “Is that an engagement ring on your finger…?!?”

The Focus

Those players who assume the endowing position should work to help make Player A’s new persona as well-rounded, nuanced, and interesting as possible. Avoid the over-original or “clever” choice that might needlessly complicate the path for those that follow in lieu of something more relationship-based and honest. It’s difficult to come back from a revelation that the subject is, in fact, an alien wearing a human skin for example!

Traps and Tips

1.) Vignettes needn’t connect. At least as the game is launching there can be a joy in exploring a wide field of different characters and connections. The temptation to connect and hurriedly build story lurks strongly for many improvisers, so try to relax that inclination. (Even in my own example above I couldn’t help but make the two stories at least reference the pending nuptials which isn’t necessary or perhaps even helpful in the opening moves of the exercise.) It’s worth a side coaching adjustment if this tendency immediately starts to dominate as it will make it much more difficult for new character shades and facets to enter the mix which is, in no small part, the purpose of the game. Eventually players will unavoidably start to connect some dots, but don’t rush to this later evolution of the exercise.

2.) Relish consistent inconsistency. Another temptation players may face is a desire to make every choice and energy line up neatly and orderly in a row. This line of thinking would suggest that if Player A is established as “nice” or “competent” or “organized” then they should be “nice” or “competent” or “organized” in every subsequent relationship or situation. In theatrical reality the opposite instinct is nearly always more engaging and lifelike. If our protagonist is a nice co-worker, perhaps they are a belligerent and entitled customer; if they are competent as a parent, they may feel completely overwhelmed when they interact with their own parents; if they have a tidy and organized home, it might follow that their love life is an absolute disaster! I refer to this rich messiness as consistent inconsistency as it doesn’t mean that choices are factually contradictory or random, but rather that our characters do not show the same face to everyone they encounter in their life. Much like the similarly complex concept of specific ambiguity, assuming such an approach to character creates fertile inner dynamics and tensions.

3.) Protagonists should play along. While it’s important that each new entering player initiates their vignette with a clear or loaded offer – “Hi, how are you” and similarly empty choices won’t help much here – it’s equally crucial that the protagonist (Player A) doesn’t merely become a ploddingly passive passenger. This can be a difficult line to walk at times, but the exercise tends to prove more playful and revelatory when Player A bravely responds in kind, returning endowments with details of their own once they have a sense of the latent potentials intended in the opening salvo. If Player A is initially unsure as to what they are being pitched, it is certainly in the spirit of the exercise for them to patiently give their scene partner a little grace so that they can re-frame or solidify the original intent. But the game attains more energy and joy when the protagonist then clarifies endowments and ideas by responding with their own point of view. There can be a tendency for the outer players to deliver a series of mini monologues in their efforts to communicate clearly; ensuring there’s room for the protagonist to play back enables a more bracing use of the vignettes.

4.) Focus on a day. I find it helpful to provide clear boundaries for the game in terms of time and space. When the encounters occur in the span of one day, perhaps jumping back and forth a little, it becomes easier to track and honor previously established choices. If the protagonist leaps from their childhood self to a modern-day adult and back again, players can strain to maintain the thread (although it’s certainly worthwhile to develop an ability to leap around in time as well). The same holds true in terms of the geographic focus or parameters. I’ll introduce the game as a “neighborhood of characters” meaning that these are people who are likely to commonly appear in each other’s daily spheres. There are always exceptions to the guidelines, and a cutaway scene to the home country and grandparents of our protagonist might unlock some really cool nuances, but in general it’s helpful to consider who they might bump into during their day-to-day routines.

In Performance

When you’re using this exercise to build skills and a deeper understanding of endowing it’s worth your time to debrief after each protagonist has been fully fleshed out by the ensemble. Were there any glaring contradictions or examples of endowments being misunderstood or clumsily communicated? What rich consistent inconsistencies emerged that would prove exciting to explore further? Were endowments offered with a sense of joy and generosity in a way that set the central character up for playful success? Did the protagonist feel supported by the ensemble while also retaining agency? When the group truly takes care of Player A the experience can prove quite freeing and exciting as their primary responsibility becomes bravely listening and reacting organically.

I love the moral and biographical complexity that routinely emerges from this exploration and can see a great value in building characters and relationships in this manner for use in later performances if you’re so inclined (and perhaps even as a way for giving depth to a cast of scripted characters during a traditional rehearsal process). The exercise encourages us to think of all the different types of relationships and interactions that define us, from the deeply personal to the seemingly more mundane.

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

Connected Concept: Endowing

“E” is for “Endowing”

As a type of offer, Endowing usually provides an enticing piece of information or detail about your scene partner or the world you are inhabiting.

Elements of Effective Endowing…

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

Related Entries: Assumption, Complementary Action, Initiation, Offer, Relationship Antonyms: Bulldozing, Pimping, Waffling Synonyms: Shivving

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

Connected Game: Endowment Circle

A Peek Inside: ImprOvientation


As noted in my earlier blog here, ImprOvientation is an original long-form designed to welcome first year and transfer students to campus each year at Rollins College. Exploring transitional issues, expectations, and stresses inherent in a university setting, the piece seeks a playful but earnest tone and is book-ended with personal narratives and stories reflecting the company’s own experiences that might resonate with those present within the audience. The emblematic phrase of the piece is, “That reminds me of the time,” and this motif reoccurs at regular intervals, particularly in the opening sequence.

Much of the rehearsal process of ImprOvientation involves reconnecting players with their own stories and experiences that thematically echo the intent of this orientation production. If you’re familiar with Kim Howard Johnson’s Truth in Comedy you might know the game Hot Spot where players take turns singing loosely connected songs and replacing each other in the central “hot spot.” The current game under consideration takes some inspiration from this basic model but focuses on sharing personal narratives rather than popular tunes, and so I call it Story Hot Spot.

Join me for a peek as to how to get the most out of this exercise:

The Basics

Players form a circle, and an initial prompt or theme may be offered – such as independence or discovery – or a player may volunteer to go first if they have a particular story or memory in mind. One player enters the circle and begins with the phrase, “That reminds me of the time…” and starts to narrate their story. Once the story has been clearly established, a new player can gently “tag out” the first player by entering the circle and editing the current speaker with the same opening phrase. The original speaker should wrap up their current sentence and return to the perimeter as the new player takes focus. This process of tagging out speakers continues through several rounds, ideally until at least every player has had at least one opportunity to share.

The Details

There are a lot of different gifts you can seek from this exercise, from simply generating material for a rehearsal or performance, to building group awareness and listening, to exploring pace and build and how to craft an energetic crescendo. Perhaps the most important “rules” of the exercise are that stories must be true and have occurred personally to the speaker. This isn’t an exercise to share urban myths or that family story passed down from generation to generation. As with the related Hot Spot game, it is also important (if not critical) that no one speaker is abandoned in the middle of the circle and that the ensemble supports each other with timely and generous edits.

Example

The theme of “The Unknown” is offered.

The first player steps into the circle and begins, “That reminds me of the time that I arrived in the United States to begin my university education in Chicago. I miraculously made my way through the airport and found a taxi. I’d never been in the city before, so I was quite nervous as I got in and sat down…”

A second player has begun during this third sentence with “That reminds me of the time I was meeting my girlfriend’s father for the first time. We had taken her car to drive up to Iowa City, and soon we were winding into a lovely little suburban area where each house seemed nicer than the last…”

A third player has tagged in as the second sentence culminates: “That reminds me of the time I sat for an English as a Second Language test…”

Traps and Tips

1.) Make sure tags are acts of love! The tags in this game are almost metaphoric and players need not physically pat each other, but their move into the circle should be clean and resolute so that it clearly communicates to the current speaker (and those waiting on the periphery) that they are taking focus. It will become obvious to the group (hopefully!) if someone is struggling to continue or has run out of material, and it’s important not to leave this person stranded. Players may be tempted to seek “the best story” before entering, but in many ways any story at the right moment will serve much better than the “perfect” story twenty seconds too late.

2.) Finish your thought. Connected to the above, the intent of the game is for players to overlap and edit each other, so don’t be thrown when a new energy enters the space. Be sure to confidently finish your final thought, although perhaps be wary of suddenly trying to cram in three extra sentences as you make your exit. Related to this advice, it’s helpful not to preamble your story too much with generalities and context as you’re likely to be edited before you get into the meat of the narrative. For example, starting with “That reminds me of the time that I learnt a very important lesson as a child. You see, I was always rambunctious and never paid much attention to the rules my parents set. On this one particular Saturday when I was five, I was headed for a comeuppance…” And tag. And we’ll never know what happened!

Members of the original ImprOvientation company

3.) Defer to new energies. This is my standard advice for most of these types of games, but if two or more players begin to enter the space, it’s a good rule of thumb to defer to the new player or the person who has had a more difficult time finding an “in.” When I’m working with my campus troupe, we always have a mix of returning players and those new to the troupe and our exercises: in this case, I’ll always encourage returning players to have an increased awareness that they don’t let their comfort or familiarity with an exercise prevent others from participating. It can take a while for everyone’s internal performance clocks to get in sync so it’s kind to wait that extra second if you’re about to tag in for your third or fourth narrative while others are yet to enter at all.

4.) Explore variety in content and connections. This strategy may be most useful for the way in which I use the game for ImprOvientation and other similarly toned formats, but there can be a tendency to get a string of stories that all connect in a really obvious way if you’re not mindful. Someone offers a story about getting their first pet and then there are suddenly five stories in a row that are all explicitly about pets. As is the case with word association exercises, this can be indicative of players banking an idea and not letting it go or neglecting to actively listen to new threads or details dormant in the current narrative. This isn’t uncommon as new players experience the game, especially with the added risk of offering personal material. A string of similar stories tends to collapse the brainstorming element of the exercise, and so it can be helpful to nudge players to skip the obvious connection. If someone is narrating about their pet and I think of mine, can I then extrapolate at least one remove to the old house we used to live in, for example. (This is the general idea behind the principle of the “third thought.”) If you’re using this game as a material generator, this ability to skip a replicating step so as to maximize variety becomes particularly important.

5.) Honor the momentum and build. Story Hot Spot organically invites you to pick up the pace of the edits. If you’ve played it before, you’ll want to be aware that you don’t prematurely push the tempo in such a way that new players are uncomfortable or don’t have a real opportunity to contribute. But after a handful of stories, it’s typical for the length of each narrative to shorten a little before the next edit. In the example above, players were getting two or three substantial sentences out: this is less likely in the later rounds. Endeavor to avoid editing before the gist of someone’s story is established (hence the import of not offering a rambling preamble). If this happens, the edited player should just take that extra moment to finish their thought in a meaningful way. The group may instinctively drop the mantra, “That reminds me of the time,” as the game builds, and that’s fine too.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve not played with personal narratives in your troupe or process before, I can’t overstate just how much I love this game and its tone. It’s a great way to learn about your fellow company members, build connections, and find material and characters that are grounded in honest experiences. ImprOvientation uses a polished and cleanly staged iteration of this simple dynamic with players in a semi-circle, and even after over twenty years of working with this form I still find myself deeply engaged and surprised by the narratives that emerge. There are certainly many valuable skills that are honed by this game, but don’t underestimate the simple power of just sharing personal stories.

“That reminds me of the time…” we took a peek inside the rehearsal process for ImprOvientation, my first improv Orientation show devised for Rollins College in 2005. (We just completed our 20th season in the fall of 2025!)

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

Game Library: “Theme Scenes”

Many years ago, I set myself the task of compiling a bunch of potential themes and putting them on card stock. There have probably been few improv-related investments of time that have been of greater and more consistent use – from audition prompts to quick warm-up focal points to launches for larger exercises and long-form rehearsals. There is something about focusing on a theme that can inspire players to dig a little deeper or connect a little more fully in their quest for Emotional Truth, and so I give you Theme Scenes as a tried, tested, and loved exercise.

The Basics

I use this technique in several different ways – as a quick circle warm-up with a cascade of scenes to “presented” pair work in front of the ensemble. Here I’d like to offer an all-play variant where players work in unobserved randomly assigned duos. This anonymity will often allow players to take larger risks when it comes to the material. Once everyone has found a space to serve as their stage, provide a thematic word as inspiration for the group: pulling from my current stack I have concepts such as stress, understanding, avoidance, and rejection. If you don’t want to commit to the labor of crafting your own stockpile, I’ll often just ask for someone’s middle initial and then brainstorm a suitable theme that starts with that letter. Offer players a general time limit and set expectations that scenes should explore the theme from a personal or honest perspective. Pairs perform the scenes and may then offer reactions or feedback at the conclusion of the exploration.

Example

Players are assigned “cruelty” as their inspirational theme. Player A starts and places themselves in a community bathroom, adjusting their “look” in the mirror. Player B has been watching coldly from a distance.

Player B: “That’s a bold choice for your body type…”

Player A: (Taken aback) “I’m sorry?”

Player B: “It’s just that it’s prom, and I would have given a little more thought about hiding my problem areas if I was you…”

The Focus

Scenes can take on a sillier or more whimsical energy – this tends to happen when I play the circle warmup version of the game – but I’d recommend encouraging a more heartfelt approach that, frankly, can often result in comparably silly and whimsical scenes that also have the benefit of being substantially more grounded and earnt.

Traps and Tips

1.) Think broadly. I’ve endeavored to assemble a bank of theme words that are wonderfully opaque and open to interpretation. Avoid any inference that there is a “correct” or “preferred” angle into any given topic. For example, “stress” could evoke vignettes about tensions in a romantic relationship, anxiety around an important exam, or the weight of hikers on a suspension bridge. I also like to offer that considering the opposite of the given theme can also reveal interesting potentials that will still likely represent the topic at hand. (This strategy proves particularly helpful if you are doing the circle version of the game around one given theme.) In this manner, “understanding” could inspire a scene that begins with confusion, “avoidance” might launch an encounter where a character has found a hard-won sense of bravery, and “rejection” could see a flustered job seeker finally landing a position. Trust your instinct and don’t feel the need to spell out the connection if it is delightfully honest and ambiguous.

2.) Speak bravely. I’m not sure if this is a pervasive trend elsewhere but I’ve found that when an exercise or game is offered with a more earnest or sincere focus in mind that improvisers can tend to become under-energized. Scenes should still pursue full engagement, light and darker hues, and not indulge in an air of “we are doing real acting now.” Often, this potentially problematic tone manifests as an almost whispered or uncharacteristically soft vocal quality that would have difficulty filling most performance spaces. Also avoid the trappings of a melodramatic style that tends to take itself much too seriously. Yes, pursue characters and dynamics with a sense of integrity and truth, but still embody flesh and blood people that are multi-faceted and nuanced: let the significance of the theme or material emerge organically rather than preemptively pushing for the meaning to appear. In addition to talking with full energy and presence, attack your physical work as these scenes can incline towards talking head dynamics if you’re not mindful. (I consider these traps in more depth in my consideration of drama here.)

3.) Resist shortcuts. A pet peeve in this exercise is when improvisers needlessly announce the theme word within the scene: this feels very much like the self-conscious moment in a scripted piece when the title of the play is awkwardly uttered. Sure, you could say the theme to make it abundantly clear, but that’s not really what this exercise promotes; instead, you’ll find more fulfilling journeys when you play with the embedded meanings of the theme and what it suggests to you and your character personally, rather than racing to the finish line with a clumsy announcement designed to remove any doubt as to the scene’s purpose. Relish the messy journey. Risk that while the theme might have inspired your work that the resulting scene might (should?) end up being much more than just that one word or idea. Trust that an audience will find more significance in its meaning if you give them credit for putting together some of the pieces of the puzzle for themselves.

4.) Push boundaries. Once you’ve played and found meaning in the original version of this exercise you can shake up the challenge and journey by adjusting the focus or set up. Players can be invited to leap right to an instinctual response to the prompt in the opening beats of the scene or encouraged to start far away and then gently make the theme prescient. If your ensemble tends towards the literal, explore scene work that privileges subtle or unexpected applications of the topic. If you are sliding into melodramatic hues, play with a deliberate sense of lightness. I sometimes use this basic model for auditions and in these cases might pair the theme with a given relationship (I have a smaller stack of those cards too!) as I like the out-of-the-box thinking that comes into play when two divergent prompts initiate the action. “Cruelty” will invite very different scenes when played with fellow students than with a parent and child or teacher and pupil.

In Performance

Whether or not you are actively assigned a theme to ignite your scene work or show, I find this lens such a powerful way of developing and deepening material. A seemingly stale scenario or relationship will become imbued with new life and promise when you view it from a thematic perspective. This exercise provides a window into this way of thinking and working if this is not already a norm for you when you approach the improv stage.

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

Connected Concept: Emotional Truth

“E” is for “Emotional Truth”

A brave commitment to exploring varied and honest characters, relationships, and material.

Inviting the Emotion In…

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

Related Entries: Comedy, Commandment #6, Drama Antonyms: Cartooning, Commenting, Talking Heads, Waffling Synonyms: Acting, Culpability, Love, Vulnerability

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

Connected Game: Theme Scenes

Game Library: “Verbal Freeze Tag”

Equally useful as an Edit device, warm-up, or structural component of a long-form, Verbal Freeze Tag promotes listening, connections, and leaping into the improvisational fray. I’ve woven some variant of this dynamic into many of my own original pieces, such as The Renga, Murder We Wrote, and E Pluribus Unum. It’s a helpful dynamic for picking up speed and cutting quickly between action on various parts of the stage.

The Basics

When explored as a warm-up, the ensemble forms a large circle with chairs placed at the “compass points” for easy access during the process. A pair of improvisers (A and B) start a scene, perhaps centered on a prompt such as a theme or relationship. Players should fully commit to the action at hand and not rush through the beats. When any player standing on the perimeter (C) hears an inspiring line and feels that the current scene has enjoyed sufficient time to develop, they step into the playing field and repeat or paraphrase the last spoken line as an indication they are starting a new and unrelated scene. Player C should then indicate a scene partner as needed while the original players accept the proffered edit and return to the circle to recycle into the action later (likely as new characters in new situations). Scenes continue to edit each other in this fashion as players improvise a variety of brief vignettes.

Example

Players A and B begin a scene in the middle of the circle based on the suggestion of moving.

Player A: (carrying a large box) “And I think that’s the last of my stuff.”

Player B: (looking around) “The apartment looked a lot bigger before we moved all of our junk into it…”

Player A: “I can’t seem to find the box with the list of what’s in all the boxes…”

Player B: (mildly annoyed but looking anyway) “It’s got to be around here somewhere.”

Player C enters from the sidelines crawling on their hands and knees.

Player C: (panicked) “It’s got to be around here somewhere.”

As Players A and B retreat to the circle, Player D enters with a mimed flashlight to join the action.

Player D: “You’ve retraced every step back to the parking garage?”

Player C: “I have! I was showing Alexios how shiny the ring was under the lighting here.”

Player D: (pointing the flashlight down) “You don’t think it could have rolled down that storm grate…?”

The Focus

Encourage strong and deliberate focus grabs as the dynamic loses its effectiveness when wimping sneaks in. Even when players only have a raw impulse to enter as opposed to a formed conceit (which I’d posit should actually be the norm) it’s important that they make their edit clean and confident. Depending on the size of the group and what you hope to get out of the exercise, it can also prove helpful to establish some simple goals – such as every player initiating one edit before the game finishes – to encourage bravery and participation.

Traps and Tips

1.) Leap before you look. As I note above, there isn’t a lot of room in this exercise for careful contemplation and consideration. Much like physical freeze tag games, if you attempt to construct the outline of your choice before jumping in to start the scene, the moment where your envisioned idea would best serve has likely already passed into the ether. (If players are repeating lines that were said a few beats ago as their tags this is symptomatic of a pre-planning approach.) It’s more invigorating and dangerous to trust and simply grab at a line that you like as an edit. As you then quickly take the focus you can figure out more details in real time knowing that your scene partner is there to help as well. It’s also in the spirit of the game to gently smudge a word or line – changing the tense or subject – but I’d caution against wholesale adjustments that are intended to make the line of dialogue bend forcefully to an ill-fitting predetermined conceit. This strikes me as an equivalent to tagging someone out in a physical freeze tag game only to completely drop the specifics of their pose when starting the next scene. There is a wonderful inherent disposability in this game as one vignette quickly disappears into the mix after another, so embrace the joy of living truly in the moment and risking that some scenes will fizzle a little.

2.) Practice pitching your edit. Edit lines will certainly just emerge randomly from the scene work, and much of the joy comes from delightful verbal stumbles that invite creative or unexpected next moves. That being said, this frame also offers a helpful means to practice offering up edits or buttons to our teammates. When we know that others are dependent on our specific words for their inspiration we can use this knowledge to our advantage. There are some common traps in this regard. Lacing your sentences with needlessly repetitive scene-specific jargon can thwart those waiting to tag you out if they don’t want to follow one scene with another based on similar material or actions. Here a little specific ambiguity can go a long way once everyone is on the same page in terms of the scene’s focus. Replacing “I can’t believe how well you’ve trained your dog” with “I can’t believe how well you’ve trained her” is more likely to open a new door for the next players. Generally, any scenic dynamic that circles aimlessly around the same few words will invite a similar challenge. If you’re confident that a strong CROW has been established and your scene has had its moment, offering up a juicy open-ended line serves as a generous focus give.

3.) Select your intended partner. There are numerous ways for the incoming player who has verbally “tagged” the action to find a scene partner and most of these will probably emerge organically given the chance. Strong eye contact across the circle to an intended improviser usually suffices or gently tapping someone on the back or arm who’s standing beside you to invite them to join. If you tend to use improviser’s real names in your work, this is another clear approach; if you prefer invented names then you’d need to combine it with one of the approaches above. It can also prove exciting to just enter alone, make your need or premise clear, and trust that someone will just randomly self-select and come to your aid. This might result in some three or four player scenes – which I wouldn’t recommend as the norm as pairs enable a cleaner flow of focus – but a few larger cast vignettes can add some nice variety and challenge. I don’t generally play this with improvisers keeping a character from the prior scene in the mix in a “run” or “revolving door” manner, although this is certainly a valid way of working with the frame. In these cases, you’d want to set a clear mechanism for adjusting the current cast, perhaps through strong eye contact with an existing player you’d like to remain and waving off those who are no longer needed.

4.) Take your time with callbacks. If your company loves reincorporations and callbacks, and most companies do, I’d gently recommend that you endeavor to at least begin the game without utilizing these techniques. You are more likely to inspire a broader and more interesting array of material if scenes are initially unrelated, or perhaps just gently connected by a suggested theme or subject. Such a scattershot approach tends to give the exercise more room to grow organically as early callbacks will frequently hasten on the curve of absurdity and unnecessarily shorten the duration of scenes while players race to grab the next obvious connection or bit. I deeply enjoy the generative nature of this exercise when the assumption is that there is no expectation for scenes or characters to reappear. This mindset also results in some wonderfully unexpected non sequiturs. When played in this expansive fashion if an occasional callback does emerge, it shines all the brighter and will often provide the button or “out.”

5.) Know your focus. I’ve partnered Verbal Freeze Tag with the concept of Edits as this skill is unquestionably sharpened when playing the game thoughtfully. But this is not to say that there are not many other improvisational techniques that can be placed front and center with similarly helpful results. I’ve used the form with strong effect to explore how to unpack a theme in complex ways. It’s similarly helpful if you’re looking for a way to rehearse strong character entrances or scene starts. Other lenses I’ve incorporated include workshopping how to craft dynamic locations, providing an opportunity for a newly formed company to get in rotations with a variety of other players, or getting out the “bad” improv if everyone has been away from the process for a while. Regardless of the focus, it’s generally helpful to make this intent explicitly clear as it not only centers the work but can also provide a freshness to an exercise that players might have played on many occasions.

In Performance

Verbal tags would rank amongst my favorite forms of edits as they are elegant, versatile, and not dependent upon a heavy level of technical support. In looser long-forms my troupes will often use this technique to signal a split scene (or revolving door) where action is temporarily suspended as a new scene introduces a contrasting or heightening energy. Once both or several scenes have been established we’ll then continue to use the verbal freeze device to move focus back and forth. Often this establishes an awareness and rhythm that can ultimately transcend potentially belabored verbal repeats as scenes begin to comment upon and respond to the dialogue of their counterparts in more delightfully varied ways.

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

Connected Concept: Edits