» initiation

Watch the Johnsons heighten the mechanics of an emotionally active first beat into a fun found-joke. [wpvideo gq7ZwXcT]

Don't be the improver who initiates a scene by running to center stage and delivering a premise. Don't be an improviser in a scene where two players stand shoulder-to-shoulder, cheating-out, and talking about something not in-the-moment. Don't be a point in the arch of a group game where improvisers stand in a semi-circle and discuss […]

Objective: To build scenes by exploring and heightening committed perspectives.

Objective: To focus on strong initiations that heighten established games with new stakes, situations, characters and relationships.

Objective: To practice initiating and supporting moves from the bag of tricks players utilize when entering scenes-in-progress as a tertiary addition. 

Objective: To focus on strong initiations that endow personal and scenic games and leverage those quickly defined games with subsequent beat initiations that heighten characters and relationships.

When we show make a bold choice the moment we step out on stage, a blank slate is immediately endowed with an active element that provides fuel for a scene to grow.  If we put off making a choice - instead timidly walking out to the center of the stage to meet our scene partner and cautiously […]

When your initiation is all about you - your perspective toward where you are, who you are and/or what you're doing - you establish a solid foundation for your character to move forward from while keeping the door open for many potential paths forward, confidently capitalizing on the improv "magic" of "making it up as you go along."    If instead […]

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 Scenes: “How we feel about who we are, where we are and what we’re doing,” and “How we feel about who our scene is, where they are and what they’re doing” should be our focus in improv scenes. Let “How we feel” trump all else, especially plot and “sense.” Suggested Exercises: “I [FEELING] YOU.” […]