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 […]
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?
Whatever we have to say on an improv stage can be spun into gold with enthusiastic agreement. So we shouldn't feel like we have to deliver some killer creative line to start a scene. We should remember, in fact, that what we bring authenticity - what we care about - however mundane - is rich […]
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 […]
Getting synced with your teammates is why we warm up. Give this activity a try! Everyone in a circle. One by one, in no particular order, we enter the circle. "Tonight I'm..." First we share our current mindset with the group. For example, "Tonight I'm feeling tired. I stayed up too late and woke up […]
It's a fine line between a character evoking a plot and a character reacting to their reality. A very fine line. But I believe that attention to that line can mean the difference between a scene where improvisers force a sequence of events dependent on an audience's satisfaction with a resolution and a scene where […]
I sat with across from an executive. It was a benign conversation - a check-in meeting. Neither of us was all that engaged. Looking down at his desk, I noticed he'd arrayed files on his desk in the order of a rainbow - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple (though Roy G. Biv forever, squad). I […]
Everyone in a circle. Starting Player starts with a Self Contained Emotional Statement through the filter of being a "crazy" character-type (a pirate, a monster, a nun.. see nonMECE list HERE.). For example, (proudly) "The full moon's rising and with it my transformation." The Player to their right interacts through the lens of a "normal" […]
I love World Building in improvisation. With World Building in mind we can bring focus to our Organic Formats. The first scene of a show starts in a train; the rest of the show exists in that same train. The first scene of a show starts with Little League players. The next scene focuses on […]