In this clip, The Johnsons of The Coalition Theater in Richmond, VA use a To The Ether game as their Opening. This one's short and sweet. Following his fellow players after the suggestion of "Giraffe," the third player references "toes" in his Cement move, following the giraffe down its body. The fourth move doesn't follow […]
TO THE ETHER Games I like Frisbee. I like hacky sack. I like hitting this one stick I wrapped in ribbons with these other two sticks I wrapped in different ribbons. I like the Grateful Dead. I like acoustic guitar around a beach bonfire. I like blowing into this diggerydoo I crafted in the company […]
HEY EVERYBODY! START SOMETHING! “Hey Everybody” initiations can lead to some pretty stilted scenes wherein the initiator forces the role of facilitator. If you’ve seen improvisational performance, you’ve seen these scenes. “Ladies and gentlemen, [important person] is ready for your questions.” “I gathered you all here today because...” “Class! Class, pay attention (to me).” Players […]
In pursuing improv as improv does best, we seek to establish patterns of emotional behavior, leveraging them in developing sustainable scenes and subsequent beats. To aid in that pursuit, focus on following a character's "How."
Emotional Heights/Depths: Committed emotion should be an improviser’s base at all times. We need to be able to exhibit the highest highs and lowest lows on stage so we need to practice emotion at the extremes to become comfortable in that space. EMOTION TO 11 – Teacher gives students an emotion. The class gives a […]
ACTION PASS – In a circle, a player turns to his left and executes an action, any action. The next player observes that action and attempts to recreate it EXACTLY in turning to the player to their left. Progression: • Do it once through. Then immediately have them do it again focused on slowing down […]