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 the forward progress.
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. Give your teammates plenty to work with. BIG PROBLEM: Middle School Kids do not like to loose. It’s instinctive, they have to win or else. This hurts Improv. You must be willing to take the fall, be the one who’s wrong if that’s the direction your scene is going. 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 Disneyworld) 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?

Each team comprising of between 4 to 6 performers shall stand before the judge at the appointed performance time. The judge shall select the participants and 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. There is no penalty if the performance exceeds the eight minute limit as it is the judge's responsibility to control the time. The team shall perform three (3) games. Time Limit: 0-12 minutes Number of Participants: 4-6 Props: Maximum of 5 chairs Each student in TI must be entered in a scripted event.

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 Line Talk: 3 Invention: 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.

Invention: Try to avoid the obvious. Instead, find the most circuitous, ridiculous way possible to the conclusion of how the thing was invented. Line Talk: Smooth, seamless transitions from one speaker to the next is what makes this work. Give your fellow team makers plenty to work with by going off on tangents.

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 Wonderland.” Then something like, “You know, one of my favorite parts of the movie was when Batman met the Killer Bees from the Wonderland. 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. Just because a person is good at Improv that doesn’t mean that he or she is good a Team Improv. 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!”