2015 Improv W'shop Notes

Don’t pimp your partner. Listen, trust and “yes, and.” Give your partner an opportunity to respond. Be supportive. Don’t deny, ask too many questions of your partner, or block his or her ideas. You can gently steer things in a different direction if the moment becomes uncomfortable or gets too out of hand and away from the scenario outlined in the copy. Don’t upstage the heck out of your partner; maintain a generosity of spirit in the audition room while making your voice heard.
Silence can be A-OK. When it comes to on-camera, the non-verbal can often carry more impact than the verbal.
Don’t try too hard to be funny. Stay present, in the moment and out of your head. Be honest and specific in each moment, as opposed to playing for laughs or pleasing your auditors. What’s funniest is often the most relatable. Less is more. ACCEPT INFORMATION: YES AND * When you get a piece of information from another actor, first, accept it as fact and second, add a little bit more information to it. If somebody tells you that you're wearing a hula skirt, tell them yes you are, and that you made it right here at Club Med. Keep doing this long enough, and you'll have a scene full of fascinating facts, objects and relationships. Fail to do this and everyone will hate you, even your parents. ADD HISTORY * The swiftest way to add reality and depth to a scene is to have the characters call up specifics from their common history. A simple exchange such as: --“Are you trying to get us arrested?” --“Like the time we ran naked through the Yale-Princeton lacrosse game?” though just a few words, provides a great deal of information. The audience and actors now can infer that the characters are college boys, they are troublemakers, they are educated, they are in New England, they drink to excess, they have police records, they are old friends, and much more. With one sentence, the amount of information the improvisers can now draw on has grown greatly. Some improv teachers suggest staying in the present tense as often as possible. I disagree. I think, however, that you should avoid talking too much about the future. Things in the future might happen, they might shape your characters. Things in the past did happen, they did shape your characters. ASK YOURSELF “IF THIS IS TRUE, THEN WHAT ELSE IS TRUE?”* Often in improvisation, things deviate from the normal, the usual. (This happens for a number of reasons and it is usually not intentional. Improvisation is constrained communication so misunderstandings are bound to occur, and these misunderstandings, among other things, can lead to departures from normality.) When in situations that are fantastic, respond realistically, and heed this simple maxim to govern your action: ask “If this is true, then what else is true?” Each time you find the answer, you can play it out. Example: Suppose, a character picks up the phone and calls Maureen. The improviser on the other end says "sorry, wrong number" and hangs up. The caller says "something must be wrong with me, I keep dialing wrong numbers these days". The other improvisers ask themselves "if the protagonist can only dial wrong numbers, then what else would be true". They come up with new scenes and initiate them. Someone initiates a fire in the scene and tells him to dial 911, inspiring someone else to pick up the call and say "411". The misdialer tries to call his girlfriend and gets another woman on the line, who happens to recognize him from the last times he has dialed the same wrong number. She starts to flirt with him. The real girlfriend suspects something is up, uses reverse lookup, and confrontationally rings the doorbell of every woman whose phone number is 1 different from hers. The what-ifs continue, each person just asking themselves "if this guy only dials wrong numbers, then what else is true?" BE VERY SPECIFIC If you're going to say "nice car!", why not make it "wow, a 1979 Volvo Station Wagon!" If we know the Volvo owner is a 21 year old woman, suddenly we can visualize her (well, maybe you can’t, but I can: she has dried blue and white oil paint on her fingers, wears an extra large men’s dress shirt as a smock, and has long, straight, chestnut-brown hair). A more vivid image opens up a rich, new world. Adjectives accelerate scene development. BEGINNING SCENES Basically, you want to cut to the interesting stuff as soon as possible. This is why we sometimes advise: start the scene with two people on, or start the scene with two people with common history. Why have a scene that goes: --Hi. --Hello. --What's your name? --Jim. And what's yours? --Mike. --What's new? --I've got one month to live. When you can have a scene that goes: --Jim, I've got one month to live. --Let me get you a drink. --No, my treat. COMMENCE WITH CHARACTERIZING ACTIONS Characterizing actions are those which define a character's occupation or role, such as a teacher erasing a blackboard, a janitor cleaning up, or a child playing with toys, are good for starting scenes because they provide your fellow actors something to build on. They say a lot about what is going on and thus help the scene get to the point faster. Note that the scene need not (and often should not) be about drinking a beer or chopping lettuce just because that's what one of the characters is doing. Two people can start a scene engaged in an action together. By putting status into this two-person action, a lot of information can be communicated very quickly. For example, consider a scene which starts with one character hitting tennis balls, and the other chasing around after them. The audience knows what the status is and where the characters are before the scene even starts. DON’T DENY* Denial is trashing what somebody else has set up or is trying to set up. There are many forms: Mime Denial: Somebody spends five minutes setting the dining room table, another character walks right through it. This will make the audience squirm and gasp and have a general sicky feeling. Character Denial: Not letting the other person be what she wants to be. --Hi, I'm your Dentist. --No you're not. You're my gastroenterologist! Location Denial: Contradicting setting information someone else established. --Periscope down. --What are you talking about? We're in a helicopter! The denying actor is not reacting to the presented information. Denial makes audience and cast uncomfortable. All denial can be rectified with Justification, but it's a real skill. People advanced in improv can tell the difference between bad denial and comedic denial. In the latter, denial can make sense within in the logic of the scene: i.e., if Don Quixote were the helicopter pilot, he may say "periscope down" and need to be corrected by his straight-person assistant. However, it requires a lot of respect (the opposite of denial) to get to the point where the audience understands that the captain is a Don Quixote. Furthermore, experienced actors may appear to deny each other when playing games of one-upsmanship, but, upon closer inspection, they are accepting the information the other presents, then adding to it and raising the stakes. For example: --Now you shall die by my sword, certified to be the sharpest in the land. Schiiing. --Sharpest in the land! You mean you don't import your swords? Scha-schiiing. The response accepts what was stated, and one-ups it by finding a way to beat it without denying it. A denying response would be, "Well, your certificate lies. Shluuung". Accept and justify the information that others provide. It makes the scenes flow easier, and is simply less aggressive than denying what your fellow actors have created. Two exercises can help people overcome the denying urge. One is playing the denial game (i. e., playing out scenes where every line denies the other character's previous line) to make one another conscious of the bad habit. Another rehearsal exercise, just for beginners helps to point out each others denials in scenes: simply respond to your fellow actor's denials with "there's no denying that!". ENTER AND EXIT WITH PURPOSE Entering, exiting and staying put should have a reason, be justified. This is the purpose of playing the game Entrances and Exits (go figure) in rehearsal. Don't just say "OK, bye" and walk out of a scene. Give a reason. Unjustified exits tend to be a problem novices have. THE GAME OF THE SCENE SHOULD RHYME AND HEIGHTEN Mark Twain had an adage that history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. The game of the scene is the thing that repeats. However, I don't mean repeats exactly, which is why I say it rhymes. When you rhyme "star" with "are", you take the word "star", generalize it to the "-ar" family of rhymes, and find another specific member of that family. So it is with the game in the scene. You don't want to repeat it exactly, but want to find another specific that rhymes with the general theme and heightens it. Consider the following scene from Spinal Tap, with Marty interviewing Nigel about his Guitar collection: Nigel Tufnel: Look... still has the old tag on, never even played it. (Marty points his finger) Nigel Tufnel: Don't touch it! Marty DiBergi: We'll I wasn't going to touch it, I was just pointing at it. Nigel Tufnel: Well... don't point! Marty DiBergi: Don't point, okay. Can I look at it? Nigel Tufnel: No. Notice that Nigel doesn't insist on the guitar not being touched three times. Here, the pattern is: don't touch, don't point, don't look. This is a rhyming pattern (all concerning observing a guitar). It is also a heightening, which is very important in game playing. Asking someone not to touch a prized guitar is a bit odd but understandable. Asking someone not to point to it is more strange, and asking someone not to look at it is heightening the game of "respecting the guitar" to an extreme. GET BEHIND THE STORY Try not to think about yourself in longform. Instead, always ask yourself "how can I contribute to the larger picture?" and "what is my function in this piece?". A structured longform piece, like an episode of the Simpsons, should have a main character. GET IN GROUPS WHEN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON STAGE IS HIGH When your longform piece is getting out of control, returning to two person scenes and "going line for line" will restore harmony in no time. (Yes, I know this is the third time I’m saying this, but it’s just that true.) The number two can be held steady by having new entrances cause immediate exits of other characters, but this shouldn't go too long. If the stage is crowded, then low-impact is the best policy for the non-essential characters, as well as clustering, that is, forming a group (physically and ideologically) behind a leader. Please don't abandon someone on stage unless they want to be left alone there. GIVE YOURSELF A SUGGESTION WHEN YOU DON'T ASK THE AUDIENCE FOR ONE * We all know scenes are better when you enter them with an attitude, activity, or emotion -- so just pick one for yourself either randomly or in response to the other character, and you'll have a better scene. GO AGAINST THE VOICE OF REASON In our everyday lives, it often makes sense to follow the voice of reason. In real life, if your friend says "I'm ugly", you may tell them they aren't, even if they are. Why? Perhaps because you feel it's not important, you want them to feel better, you want to preserve your friendship, and so on. On stage, a different logic may apply. Audiences come to the theater to escape the mundane logical world, they sometimes want to see the barriers lifted. You may respond to "I'm ugly" with "you know, I've been meaning to say something...". You may rob a bank because someone tells you to. You may play sycophant to your abuser. In short, you may do things onstage the real you wouldn't do. Try going against the voice of reason, it's liberating. You don't have to justify your actions much, sometimes "I don't know why I'm doing this, but ..." is sufficient. GO LINE FOR LINE * You can almost guarantee a good improvisation if each player: 1) Says just one line and 2) Bases his or her line on the last thing the other character said. JUSTIFICATION You must provide reasons for everything the audience sees that doesn't make sense. If you don't, it will disconcert them. That is, if 3 characters each mime the refrigerator being in different places, then the character who damns putting rollers on the thing will put the audience's mind at ease and allow them to get into the story and characters. They will also get a laugh, but that doesn't matter as much. KEEP THE FOCUS HUMAN AND ONSTAGE Careful not to stare too long at objects that are offstage, on the floor or in your hand. What's interesting is a human reaction to an object, person, or event, not the object itself. MAINTAIN YOUR CHARACTER'S POINT OF VIEW If a character starts out adoring spider monkeys, but then decides she hates them 10 minutes later, it may confuse the audience and your fellow actors. Once you like spider monkeys, keep liking them until you have a reason to stop. Very often, you'll keep liking them thoroughout the piece. If you're consistent, then the other actors will best know how to support your character. MAKING JOKES Never try to be funny or tell jokes on stage. Humor will arise naturally out of tight relationships and solid, simple plots. MIME BETTER, MUCH BETTER 50% of what the audience thinks of you as an improviser hinges on the quality of your mime and physicality. Don’t believe me, go out this week and watch the best improviser in your city. I’ll bet you they do incredible object work. Sadly, few improvisers ever do anything to improve their mime and few teachers have any worthwhile mime exercises. Use this fact to get ahead in life, kid. PLAY THE OPPOSITE EMOTION Something to try now and then in two person scenes. For example, if one person is frustrated, come on at ease and relaxed. A basic comedic structure which is the basis of many comedic movies, plays, and TV shows. PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE OTHER PERSON Scene going nowhere? Tell the other character something about him/her self. The simple comment "Nice tuxedo", can launch into a back-room panic session between a groom and his best man. Getting specific makes scenes go somewhere fast. Staying vague leads to scenes about two nondescript people standing in the middle of nondescriptland talking about tacos. Just kidding, tacos are descript. RAISE THE STAKES Scenes that are going nowhere can be much improved by putting more at risk, that is, introducing some large consequence of the wants of a character. Why have: --Hey, if you buy me that piece of candy, I'll eat it. When you can have: --Hey, if you give that cop a wedgie, I'll let you kiss me on the lips. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF * This simply means going into every scene with an activity or emotion. This does several things i) it gets the scene going faster ii) it provides information which your partner can use iii) and, perhaps most importantly, it gives you something to do which makes the audience comfortable. What do I mean "comfortable"? If the audience sees you standing there doing nothing, they think "oh no, he doesn't know what to do. He's worried. He's confused". Then they feel bad. The audience wants the actor to succeed. The moment you launch into an activity (baking bread, counting money, sweeping the floor) or an emotion (hope, love, pride), the audience thinks "oh, I see. They know what's going on. They have a plan" and then they relax and enjoy the show. Of course, you don't really have a plan, and you don't really know what's going on. As Mick Napier said: "improvisation is the art of being completely O.K. with not knowing what the f-- you're doing." In more polite English, the best improvisers appear completely confident even when they have no idea what's going on. THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE ANY IMPROV GROUP * See “Go line for line.” If you are using what the others are giving you, you are improvising well. It’s really that simple, people. QUESTIONS SHOULD GIVE MORE THAN THEY TAKE Why ask a question on stage? Are you expecting your fellow-actor to have a ready answer? What if she doesn't? Doesn't that put her on the spot? Don't most questions slow the scene unnecessarily? If it's a yes-no question, are you prepared to react to both yes and no answers?If no, then aren't you in trouble if the wrong answer comes back? If yes, then aren't you writing? Any question can be turned into a statement. The nice thing about statements is that they provide information you and your fellow actor can immediately start building upon. Why go through: --What time is it? --Uh, 3:30? --Are you ready? --Yeah, are you ready? --What are we doing? --I don't know. What's the capital of South Dakota? --Uh, Fargo? When you could have: --It's 3:30 --We're right on schedule. --Johnson should be handing the teller the note right now. --It's 3:31. Ski masks on. --Think I have time to run to the bathroom? --Why don't I ever get paired with Johnson? Questions which don't require answers are fine. Questions which provide more information then they demand are fine, too, e.g. "Think I have time to run to the bathroom?" This question introduces information, raises the stakes, and doesn't require the fellow actor to come up with a response. Rhetorical questions are fine, e.g., "Why don't I ever get paired with Johnson?" A drill to point out question-asking in rehearsal only, is to respond to each other's questions with "that's a good question ..." or adopt the Yiddish practice of answering with the exact same question: --What do you want? [bad question, contributes nothing to scene] --What do I want? [actor 2 points out that actor 1 is putting him on the spot instead of contributing] --Look, I'll get you the money tomorrow [hurrah! actor 1 gets the message] WHAT MAKES TODAY SPECIAL? IS A FINE QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF Think about a scene as "a day unlike any other day." When it seems like something big or outrageous is going to happen (e.g. someone is about to confess their love, someone wants to rob a bank, wants to swim naked in the river, don't just talk about it -- do it. In relationship scenes, think about saying the thing you've been waiting to say for 5 years (e.g. I love you, I love your twin, I ate your hamster ...) “WHO WHAT WHO WHERE?” ARE GREAT THINGS FOR PEOPLE STARTING SCENES TO ASK THEMSELVES A fine way to start a scene is to lay out who both people are, where they are, and what they are doing. You may provide this information or do it for the other character. Just be sure to accept all information the other character provides for you. Who? what? who? where? is nicely followed by raise the stakes -- sort of an opening gambit for improv scenes. APPENDIX The Five Commandments of Improv

Thou shalt not pimp thy partner Denial is the number one reason most scenes go bad. Any time you refuse an Offer made by your partner your scene will almost instantly come to a grinding halt. Example: Player A) "Hi, my name is Jim. Welcome to my store." Player B) "This isn't a store, it's an airplane. And you're not Jim, you're an antelope."
Asketh not the open-ended question Open ended questions (like "Who are you?") are scene killers because they force your partner to stop whatever they are doing and come up with an answer. When you ask your partner and open ended question, you put the burden of coming up with something "interesting" on your partner - so you are no longer doing a scene together but forcing one person has to do more work than you are willing to do.
Thou need not be funny. The hidden riddle of improv is that the harder you try not to be funny the more funny your scene is going to be. Why? Because it's the very best kind of improv scene you can do is an "interesting" scene, not necessarily a "funny" one. When you do an interesting scene, a very surprising thing happens… the funny comes out all by it's self. The best ways to go are to stick to your character, stick to the story that is being told, and to stay within the reality of the scene you are playing.
Do unto others…thou will look good if thou makes thy partner look good. When you are in a scene, the better you make your partner look the better the scene is going to be and, as a direct result, the better you are going to look. All too often, I've seen players enter a scene and I can just tell they have some really great idea about the character they are going to play or an idea they want to do. This is wonderful, but guess what? Your partner probably has absolutely no idea what's cooking in your evil little mind, and so has no idea how to react. And no matter how brilliant your idea might be, it's practically worthless if the scene as a whole goes bad.
Telleth thou a story. Storytelling is probably the easiest rule to remember but the hardest one to do. The real magic of Improv is when we see the players take totally random suggestions (like a plumber and a cab driver selling shoes in a leper colony ) and somehow "make it work". If all these unrelated elements are going to come together then it's going to happen in the course of an interesting tale. So that's just what the players are going to try and do, tell us all a story.

B. Team Improv

Each team comprising of between 4 to 6 performers shall stand before the judge at the appointed performance time. The judge shall select a game to be played by the team from the approved list. No consultation time shall be allowed; the contestants must begin the game immediately. After the game has progressed for approximately two minutes, the judge will say "Stop". The performers must continue until the judge says, "Stop". The procedure is then repeated with an additional game to be played, then finally with another game to be played. The entire performance, including all three games, shall be kept under a twelve-minute (12) time limit by the judge. The team shall perform a maximum of three (3) games.

A note to coaches and judges regarding improvisation. . . Many of you have expressed how Improv is difficult to judge. At judges’ meetings it’s not unusual to hear someone say, “I hope I don’t have any Improv today.” To that, we would answer with something that Improv coaches often tell their young actors: “Don’t over-think it.” The IESA added improvised duet acting many years ago and more recently put the Team Improv among the contest offerings. Although the two events differ in specifics, the same Improv guidelines hold true for both events. As a judge you are looking for two qualities: acting skill and creativity. Perhaps it would help you in coaching and judging to list some basic tenets that we teach our Improv actors: 1) Don’t deny. Don’t shut down your partner’s ideas. 2) Don’t ask too many open-ended questions in a row. For example one person asking , “Who are you;” and then for their next line, “What do you want?” puts the burden upon the 2nd actor and doesn’t help him a bit. 3) You don’t have to be funny to be funny. The best humor comes from reality when an audience can see themselves in the scene. 4) You can look good if you make your partner look good. 5) Play a story. The real magic of Improv comes when actors take a totally random suggestion and somehow “make it work.” Of course it’s the rare Improv scene that can manage to work all of these traits into the production, but if you keep these things in mind while coaching and judging, you will have covered the basic tenets of Improv. Again, “Don’t overthink it.” A final note: since the event is improvised, the coach doesn’t have the chance to approve what words come out of the contestants’ mouths. Coaches should warn all Improv students about using inappropriate words and subject matter at contest. We urge the judges to use the tear-off section at the bottom of your rating sheet to indicate if the students may have stretched the bounds of good taste.

The Five Commandments of Improv

Thou shalt not pimp thy partner Denial is the number one reason most scenes go bad. Any time you refuse an offer made by your partner your scene will almost instantly come to a grinding halt. Example: Player A) "Hi, my name is Jim. Welcome to my store." Player B) "This isn't a store, it's an airplane. And you're not Jim, you're an antelope."
Asketh not the open-ended question Open ended questions (like "Who are you?") are scene killers because they force your partner to stop whatever they are doing and come up with an answer. When you ask your partner and open ended question, you put the burden of coming up with something "interesting" on your partner - so you are no longer doing a scene together but forcing one person has to do more work than you are willing to do.
Thou need not be funny. The hidden riddle of improv is that the harder you try not to be funny the more funny your scene is going to be. Why? Because it's the very best kind of improv scene you can do is an "interesting" scene, not necessarily a "funny" one. When you do an interesting scene, a very surprising thing happens… the funny comes out all by it's self. The best ways to go are to stick to your character, stick to the story that is being told, and to stay within the reality of the scene you are playing.
Do unto others…thou will look good if thou makes thy partner look good. When you are in a scene, the better you make your partner look the better the scene is going to be and, as a direct result, the better you are going to look. All too often, I've seen players enter a scene and I can just tell they have some really great idea about the character they are going to play or an idea they want to do. This is wonderful, but guess what? Your partner probably has absolutely no idea what's cooking in your evil little mind, and so has no idea how to react. And no matter how brilliant your idea might be, it's practically worthless if the scene as a whole goes bad.
Telleth thou a story. Storytelling is probably the easiest rule to remember but the hardest one to do. The real magic of Improv is when we see the players take totally random suggestions (like a plumber and a cab driver selling shoes in a leper colony) and somehow "make it work". If all these unrelated elements are going to come together then it's going to happen in the course of an interesting tale. So that's just what the players are going to try and do, tell us all a story.

The Five Commandments of Improv

Thou shalt not pimp thy partner Denial is the number one reason most scenes go bad. Any time you refuse an offer made by your partner your scene will almost instantly come to a grinding halt. Example: Player A) "Hi, my name is Jim. Welcome to my store." Player B) "This isn't a store, it's an airplane. And you're not Jim, you're an antelope." The first idea is the best idea…period.
Asketh not the open-ended question Open ended questions (like "Who are you?") are scene killers because they force your partner to stop whatever they are doing and come up with an answer. When you ask your partner and open ended question, you put the burden of coming up with something "interesting" on your partner - so you are no longer doing a scene together but forcing one person has to do more work than you are willing to do. In fact, questions in general are killers because it forces your partner to stop.
Thou need not be funny. The hidden riddle of improv is that the harder you try not to be funny the more funny your scene is going to be. Why? Because it's the very best kind of improv scene you can do is an "interesting" scene, not necessarily a "funny" one. When you do an interesting scene, a very surprising thing happens… the funny comes out all by it's self. The best ways to go are to stick to your character, stick to the story that is being told, and to stay within the reality of the scene you are playing. The best comedy comes from characters who are dead serious.
Do unto others…thou will look good if thou makes thy partner look good. When you are in a scene, the better you make your partner look the better the scene is going to be and, as a direct result, the better you are going to look. All too often, I've seen players enter a scene and I can just tell they have some really great idea about the character they are going to play or an idea they want to do. This is wonderful, but guess what? Your partner probably has absolutely no idea what's cooking in your evil little mind, and so has no idea how to react. And no matter how brilliant your idea might be, it's practically worthless if the scene as a whole goes bad. I know some brilliant Improv performers who I can’t stand to be onstage with.
Telleth thou a story. Storytelling is probably the easiest rule to remember but the hardest one to do. The real magic of Improv is when we see the players take totally random suggestions (like a plumber and a cab driver selling shoes in a leper colony) and somehow "make it work". If all these unrelated elements are going to come together then it's going to happen in the course of an interesting tale. So that's just what the players are going to try and do, tell us all a story.

Organizing your Improv team…. Let me ask you…How do you put your teams together?

The judge or facilitator should indicate which students will take part in each Improv exercise.

This year: Hitchhiker… all members (if only 4, quick changing) Freeze switch: in pairs The Brain: 3 Let’s Try That Again: entire group Movie Critics: at least 4…could be entire group

Tips on Individual games: Hitchhiker… Work for creativity.. (this week…Mackenzie, talking to someone) Try to avoid the obvious…crying, sneezing, etc. Work for attitudes and quirks, not so much physical things. (Good examples I’ve seen Slow Talking,

Freeze switch: Take the scene to a WHOLE NEW PLACE… For this to be good, the action needs to be very physical to give the next pair something to work on.

The Brain: Short answers: bad idea. Use conjunctions to extend it. Work for quickness of response… They must speak up for the others to hear them. End with an end punctuation. We aren’t looking for real answers…just entertaining. Confidence, quick response needed.

Let’s Try That Again: Talk to your kids about the meaning of “genre.” Try to keep the essence of the scene the same and whenever possible the same wording although that’s not necessary. If the judge/facilitator does it correctly, he or she will stop the scene at the same place every time. If they establish a definite character in the first scene, then the others will be easier. The way to start it: One student becomes a character and the others quickly get the idea and jump in.

Movie Critics: Can have several “clips” in one scene if the judge allows enough time. The critics should be the ones who stop each clip. “Hey! Wasn’t that great?” Have critics use an introduction.. “Hi, we’re ______ and ______, and we’re here today to review the movie, “Planet of the Apes Transform into Batman’s Matrix.” Then something like, “You know, one of my favorite parts of the movie was when Batman met the Killer Bees from the Matrix. Let’s take a look at a clip!”

General Coaching Tips: Although Improv is fun, cast kids who are serious about getting good at it. Make sure your group is growing with each rehearsal and not just playing games. Improv seriously helps acting skills. Hardest thing for some of them to get…the art of listening. The best idea is the FIRST idea. Don’t be afraid of silence

“Yes, and…” “I see you got a new hula skirt.” “Yes, in fact I bought it volleyball game.” “The game where the giraffes got loose?” “You were there, too? I thought you were on that cruise to Decatur!” …now…look at all the places you can go with this.

Demo this with two people.. ---give them an opening prompt: “That’s a beautiful alligator in your shopping cart” “When did Grandma learn to fly?” “Are you sure we landed in Oz?” “Let it go! Let it go!”

Demo: Panel of expert

Go through Five Commandments

Demo the games…

Hitchhiker Four chairs set in “car” formation. Three students take their seats in the chairs, leaving the “passenger seat” of the car open. A fourth participant thumbs a ride, they pick him up. The fourth actor has some sort of strange quirk and gradually each member of the family in the car is infected. When the judge shouts, “Hitchhiker!” one member of the family jumps out of the car, the other three switch positions to become the new family, and another hitchhiker presents himself with another quirk. The judge will begin the event by announcing where the family is headed. These destinations will be provided by the IESA. Examples of quirks: Slow motion A comic book super villain Circus performer You are a celebrity that has their name of part of their name You talk like a monkey A comic book superhero Thinks they are a character from Oz You have a very bad French accent Your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth Thinks they are a game show host What to look for: Complete commitment of all team members to each quirk, a focus of the action by all group members, creativity in inventing the quirks. Freeze/Switch Two students stand in front of the judge who will give them an opening line and they begin their Improv. After the scene has been established, the judge will say “Freeze!” and the acting students freeze their position. Two other students then tap the frozen students, assume the first pair’s body positions and begin an entirely new Improv based on those positions. This can be repeated several times at the discretion of the judge. What to look for: Creativity in taking the scene to a whole new place by adopting the previous body positions. The Brain Three students stand facing the audience, one behind the other. The student closest to the judge sits on the floor, the second student is on his or her knees, and the student furthest upstage stands. The facilitator then asks “The World’s Smartest Brain” to answer a question. The three students improv their answer one word at a time with each student saying only a single word. When the students end their answer the final speaker says “Period!” If time allows, the judge will supply another question. Judge will end session with “Stop!” after approximately two minutes. What to look for: Creativity in their responses, a confident, fluid response as if answering as one person. The ability and willingness to stretch out the answer and not be satisfied with a short response. Let's Try That Again Group is given one scenario to act out quickly. Ex: “School bus stuck in snow.” After perhaps 30 seconds the judge says, “Stop!” and then directs the team to act out the same scene in two other genres. Ex: as a Western, soap opera, children’s TV show, opera, in mime, detective mystery, in gibberish, etc. These genres will be provided by the IESA and will be selected from this list: Western, soap opera, children’s TV show, opera, mime, detective mystery, game show, foreign language film, science fiction, cartoon. What to look for: The ability of the group to keep the original idea of the first scene, then change only the genre. Movie Critics Two actors are given the title of an imaginary movie and these two become the “movie critics.” They talk about the film and at various points they “play” a clip from the movie by saying something like, “Let’s see that scene.” The other students act out the clip. At the end of the clip the scene goes back to the critics to continue the process until the judge says, “Stop!” The movie title will be provided by the IESA. The students will be provided with one movie title for the length of this game. What to look for: The ability of the two critics to take charge of the game, the spontaneity of the two actors