GUS, the delightful and talented team from The Baltimore Improv Group, opens its sets these days by asking the audience for "Three non-geographic locations." Asked to come up and lead a practice, I brought this exercise with me. We had a lot of fun with it. You will, too. Have you ever been in The […]
I recorded the session of my Patterns & Games class at The Coalition Theater in which we tackled the My 3 Rules game I've previously presented as a warm-up. One, the camera's distance makes it hard for the viewer to really track the game in play. Two, oh, man, looking for a drinking game? Watch […]
Gretchen Glaeser introduced me to Zane Adickes' "Damn, they call it like they see it!" warm-up tonight. And, well, I see it as a damn fine warm-up. Looking for an activity to practice individual silo-building through an emotional perspective as well as the pacing between individual contributions and group agreement? Try "They call it like […]
The rhythm with which a game’s mechanic is played helps pace the scene and build it toward an edit. The relationship between “When this happens” “this happens” is useful not only to focus improvisers’ choices but it also connects with the audience. In Short Form, where the mechanics of the “game” are told to the […]
Looking for an emotional matching warm-up? Try Carpool! If we agree, we can just be; we don’t have to explain or defend. Have fun just being emotional together, trusting that your commitment to the same emotion is all the context for your relationship that’s needed. [wpvideo XGLFUBhm] Performers are: David Adams, Guy Chapman, Patrice Deveaux, […]
Tonight pre-show The Coalition taught me three new warm-up games. I loved them. I don't know who came up with them but thank you whoever you are. Here's The Deal. Yes, And. I Know, Right?! I Need Three Things Chain. Hype People Here's the evolving list of Warm-up exercises.
We want to avoid conflict, debate and negotiation in our improv scenes. The audience knows we're making it up - building something from nothing - they don't want to see us arguing over imagined reality; they want to see us react to an accepted reality. What's the best way to avoid arguing? Acceptance! Agreeing to […]
Like the 5 Things warm-up? You'll love this one. Or so you will if you're like I was when exposed to this warm-up tonight by Matt Newman. Looking for a nice in-your-head out-of-your-head patterns-on-patterns warm-up?
Personal Games are the focus of the base Mirror, Action, Object warm-up exercise. Engaged in either how they feel about themselves, how they feel about what they're doing, or how they feel about a mimed object, players build progressions of emotional reaction triggered by active endowments. As examples: A player loves his outfit, and as […]
Aaron Grant once took the stage across from me, making eye contact but planting his feet firmly just beyond the stage right wing. I mirrored him on stage left. He mimed the classic flirtatious fishing move. I played his fish but broke his line bashfully, the stage's distance remaining between us. I danced as someone […]