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 […]
Here's an annoying song my baby likes: Herman The Worm Here's the thing... It makes for one fun group warm-up with echos of One Person, To The Ether, Help Desk and Hey Everybody game patterns. Give it a try!
I'm wishy washy about improv class showcases. On the one hand, if the point of going through classes is to learn to do performance-ready-level improv, then it seems sadistic to make 101 students "put it up on its feet." But on the other, nothing informs an improviser like improvising and all it entails - collaborating […]
Learn rigidly. Play loose. The Johnsons are the most dyed-in-the-wool Improv As Improv Does Best group there is. Makes sense. I coach them. They were taught the contents of this website. They learned the mechanics of spontaneous collaboration. But the desire has never been for them to conform to one style of improv as dictated by […]
A monologist shares a personal story. Ideally one recreating their emotions about a specific moment with rich details. Performers then replace the speaker on stage with a series of scenes inspired by the monologue. Ideally not just scenes reenacting the recollection but scenes that heighten the ideas of the monologue through new contexts. Maybe the monologist […]
Looking for a fun character-based Opening for your long-form improv format? Try a Duologue or, like The Johnsons do, try several. Here are two examples - [wpvideo gLsIn4rT]
I coach The Johnsons, so they've been steeped in a rich tea of group games. They know One Person Scenes. They know To The Ether Games. They know Help Desk Games. And they know Hey Everybody Games. And that knowledge makes them masters of the Organic Game. And that unfortunately means sometimes they perform games […]
I've said it before, I'll say it again, "I love me some Johnsons." Check out this great example as Improv As Improv Does Best...in the face of "mistakes." [wpvideo VTaSJK8G]
Improv As Improv Does Best leverages in-the-moment collaborative discovery. And it's extra special when the audience knows they're "getting it" at the same time as the improvisers. Take this example from The Johnsons. [videopress wP3UmYcM]
Ask your troupe what they want to work on. A comment by Alan Volmer during a Johnsons rehearsal led to this move being added to the group's bag of tricks. THE BODY SNATCHER: A third player takes over either Player One's or Player Two's character. If Player Three chooses to take on Player Two's character, […]