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The original version of this document was is a collection of improvisational theatre games played by the group I.T., from the College of William and Mary. I was a member of the group during '86-'90. Some of the games are known by other titles.  There are some game names I have listed without description due to poor memory but sufficient listing skills.  I also added some stuff done by Grins w/o Cats ('91-'92) in the Washington, D.C. area. If you want a more complete list (although done with less panache) check out The Living Playbook. If you have any additions or descriptions your help is appreciated. James

 

v. 9 18 Feb 98 one more game and a link to a huge list of games.
v. 8 10 Feb 98 two more (similar) games: one for performance, one for practice.
v. 7 22 Jan 98 remembered yet another game from the IT days. Rick thinks that Sesame Street may have ripped this off IT.
v. 6 29 Dec 97 Rick remembered another game. added more rules of improv.
v. 5 22 Dec 97 added to rules of improv and missing game. thanks to Rick. added some Gw/oC stuff.
v. 4 15 Dec 97 modified one, added one and increased the attitude
v. 3 11 Dec 97 two more games remembered and defined
v. 2 10 Dec 97 reformatted with more games defined and added rules of improv I thought I should correct some typos and redo the format a bit. also, I have added/removed/redefined some games. thanks to Bill.
v. 1 8 Dec 97 html version

 

large group games(4 or more actors)

AND THEN JAMES CAME (>4) : one actor creates a scene where some thing is accomplished or going very well, then chorus says, "and then James came" and the "James" appears and destroys what has been accomplished in a one liner. suggestions: the actor creating the scene should be prepared to think of his own eventual destruction in case "James" can't.

BEAT POETS SOCIETY (5) : a theme is taken from the audience. the renowned "beat poets society" is introduced, and they have a new poem. the title of the poem is formed from the theme suggestion. each member of the society adds a few lines to the poem, going in succession down the row. the style is generally "beat," although one could have the "positivist poetry society" if they were introduced that way. suggestions: if a storyline develops, do not drop it between speakers. you may want to decide ahead of tie how many times to go through the line of poets if there is difficulty in ending. you also do not have to run through a rigid line. feel free to mill about and go out of order, just make sure that you are not distracting by milling.

DAY IN THE LIFE : actor chooses and interviews an audience member. finds out who the person is and what were the events of the day. once sufficient details are parlayed the actor introduces a day in the life of ... the day is generally told chronologically with other actors jumping in and out of scenes. suggestions: the actor may wish to announce, after the interview, that members of the cast watched the actual day of the audience member and are going to portray it more accurately than it was originally explained. although it is not necessary, the scene usually ends with the actor arriving at the very performance that is currently his source of entertainment! ha ha!

EMOTE-O-RAMA (4) : two off stage actors write down a list of emotions from the audience. each of these actors acts as a controller for one of the two on stage actors. a suggestion from the audience is used to start a scene with the on stage actors. once a beat is reached one of the controllers yells out an emotion from the list. the actor assigned to that controller must continue the scene feeling that emotion. the second controller affects the second actor in the same way. suggestions: use contrasting emotions, if one actor is "despondent" the other actor could be "esthetic." try to encourage the audience to provide interesting emotions, rather than "happy" or "sad," in fact, try some non-emotions if they can be acted out. the controllers should let the actors display the emotion before switching to a new one--do not rush. the actors on stage need to allow the other guy focus to present their emotion.

EVERYDAY OLYMPICS (4) : an everyday event is taken from the audience (i.e., brushing your teeth). two actors are the hosts: a commentator and a color man. the audience is taken to the world championship of the everyday event. the commentator starts by interviewing the color man while the contestants warm up as they are introduced. the competition begins and a victor is declared. the hosts then descend to the playing field to interview the winner and loser. suggestions: the color man is usually a former champ of this sport. the commentator can rewind the tape during or after the event to show slow motion action or things that may have been missed by the naked eye. this gives the actors a chance to cheat. for some reason at least one of the contestants is from a foreign land, not sure why.

FREE FORM (>1) : no rules or game structure. may be played like a Harold. suggestions: risky to perform but good as an exercise.

GRANDMOTHER'S BEARD {dubbing} (4) : the four actors are paired, two stand on stage, two stand just off behind them. the scene begins from audience suggestion. one of the outside actors begins a line but stops in the middle from there the corresponding on stage actor continues the line and may continue with entire lines of his own. the next person to speak is the other outside actor, who starts a line to be finished by his corresponding on stage actor. the scene continues in this pattern, with the off stage actors starting every time the dialogue changes from one side to the other. (see THREE WAY DUBBING)

HAIKU (5) : get a one word subject from the audience. the first person says the subject, the second says two or three words, the third gets a sentence, the fourth gets two or three words, the fifth gets one word. something like a haiku is created, but with just a suggestion of the meter. suggestions: each actor should take his line a step or two beyond the last line.

HAROLD (6-8) : after an opening game and free association, two actors step out to create the first scene, as soon as there is a beat a second pair of actors step out for the second scene, and a third pair step on as soon as the second pairs hits a beat. when the third pair hits a beat, a game is started. when the game is over, the first scene people step out again. they continue their scene, although there may have been a passage of time between this scene and the last. when the time is deemed appropriate, the second pair steps out, and likewise the third. a second game is played and the first pair go on again, then the second and third (usually, but not always) and then an endgame is played. suggestions: the first scenes should not go one second longer than the first beat. when you step out for the next scene, only one person needs to step out at a time. starting with the second scenes, anyone may come into someone else's scene with a save. one thing to look out for is having different characters in different scenes, the actor may be called to justify how he can be so many people at once.

LAST DAY IN THE LIFE OF... (>4) {the natural disaster game} : from the audience the players get: a natural disaster, a famous person, and possibly a couple of people this famous person may see on an average day. the actors create an average day in the life of this famous person until said natural disaster wipes them all out.

LIMERICK (5) : the players ask the audience for a hometown name. when one is decided upon, it is incorporated into a limerick, with each of the actors contributing a line. (rhyme scheme: A, A, B, B, A--with the B's being the shorter lines.)

MEN'S CLUB (4 or 5) : a men's club is formed from an audience suggestion. the game starts with one character on stage preparing for a meeting of the men's club. the second and third characters join after knocking on the door and giving the password. club rites are shown such as: handshake, catch phrases, and meeting ritual. the fourth member arrives and announces that he brought somebody to join the club. although reluctant, the other club members allow the new person in the club house. the new person is as alien to the club as possible. club rites are discussed and the initiation test is given. pending the members' decision, the person goes through an initiation ceremony.

NEWSFLASH (>4) : a well-known children's story or nursery rhyme is obtained from the audience. your regularly scheduled programming is interrupted by the anchor desk. a late-breaking story has developed the anchor relays sketchy details. a reporter just on the scene provides more information and interviews witnesses and those involved. suggestions: if this is used as a HAROLD game, it can be repeated later to show further developments. also, think of less obvious characters. for instance, we once did humpty dumpty and interviewed  representatives from the king's horses and men.

ONE LINE POEM (>4) : just like one word story, but in rhymed couplets. can also be done with dramatic deaths.

ONE WORD STORY (any) : the actors get a them and form a line. each actor contributes one word, going from one end of the line down and back to the beginning. suggestions: the story usually starts with "Once upon a time, a..." pace is the key to this game, not as much word choice. this game can be played with dramatic deaths. the audience is told before the story starts, to boo if someone has either: paused too long, said "and," or used incorrect grammar. if someone is booed, they must have a prepared death. a dramatic death is of someone famous, or a famous event (the destruction of Sodom), who may or may not have died that way.

OPERA (>3) : after getting a theme, some one steps out and sings to start the scene. more characters step out and a scene is played until the problem is resolved. all of it is sung. suggestions: usually a chorus leader steps in front of the chorus to direct the repetition of key phrases, so the actors on stage can have time to think. the operas tend to be melodramatic, which makes them easier to end.

PEARLS ON A STRING (8ish) : get two lines o' dialog from the audience. then two actors stand far apart on the stage, one says one line, then the other says the other line. one by one, other actors come out, between the first two, slowly joining those lines in a story. you go through all the existing lines each time, so the first two actors have said their lines like 8 times by the time you're done. suggestions: the first one or two actors to come out after the first two lines stand vaguely in the middle and say something irrelevant to both the beginning and end - leave room so subsequent people can get in wherever they like.

PENIS GAME : substitute the word penis for a word in the title of a television show. suggestions: never performed this. just theorized that it would would quite well if the entire audience is drunk.

SLAP JACK (4-6) {sleeping bag, entrance/exit game} : each actor takes one word from the audience to be his word, then a setting is taken from the audience. usually two actors start the scene, with the rest off stage. when someone's assigned word is said they must either justify coming into the scene or leaving, depending on whether they are on or off at the time. the scene is played until it is resolved and all actors are off. suggestions: focus always goes to the actor in motion so that he may justify his entrance or exit. pace is vital in this game also. it should start slowly and build. it could be a few minutes before anyone joins the first two people. as the scene goes on, the pace at which the actors come and go should build. some actors could just leave the scene and then have to reappear.

SPACE JUMP (5) : one character starts a monologue from an audience suggestion. when the actor has established his scene a second actor "jumps" in and creates a new scene using the body position of the first actor as a building block (like in freeze tag). once their scene is established, a third actor "jumps" in, again completely changing the scene. the fourth and fifth actors join in the same way. once all actors are on in the final scene, the fifth actor (the last to "jump") justifies his exit, then the remaining four actors go directly back to the scene the fourth actor created--until he exits. this eventually leaves the monologue actor to wrap up and end his monologue. suggestions: timing is important in this game. also, be prepared to change your scene on the spot. when in the elimination mode, you can rejoin your scene where you left off or show what happened afterward. be careful about focus when all five actors are on, generally the actor creating the scene should have focus.

STEAL THE FOCUS (4) : two actors start a scene from an audience suggestion (usually a line of dialogue). once they reach a beat the other two actors cut them off by repeating the last line. the first to actors freeze as the second pair runs their scene. the first pair cuts off the second pair by repeating the last line spoken and the second pair freezes. this continues until at least one pair ends the scene. suggestions: if possible make the two scenes completely unrelated. this helps avoid both scenes merging since some of the dialogue is the same. this game comes off like a competition, so be wary of that. tempo is important--let the scenes in the beginning take more time, gradually work up to quicker interruptions. you may or may not make note of the two actors frozen on stage with you.

THREE RING CIRCUS (7) : actors are paired off. the ringmaster asks for a genre and then characters you might find in said genre. one pair of actors comes out front and center and starts a scene with their chosen characters. the ringmaster cuts them off and, in turn, then lets the other two sets do the same. a story should unfold in their scenes. the ringmaster then picks two characters at a time from the pairs to join together for more scenes, as he sees fit to complete the story.

TORTURE THE ACTOR (>4) : one actor goes away to where he can't hear what's going on. he is the one to be tortured. the remaining chorus gets a well known phrase from the audience ("a stitch in time saves nine.") the tortured one is retrieved and the chorus leads him a word at a time, through small scenes, to the phrase from the audience until the entire phrase is said. suggestions: the audience should be instructed to cheer when the actor gets a word right, and boo when he doesn't. the chorus doesn't have to give the actor the exact word, and it's usually funnier if he doesn't.

small group games (3 or less actors)

ALPHABET GAME (2) : something to start a scene is extracted from the audience (a place where people could meet, a professional relationship, etc.). the actors play the scene with the first line of dialogue starting with the letter A. the second actor must start his dialogue with the letter B, and so on. the scene is over with the letter Z. suggestions: ask the audience for a letter of the alphabet that is somewhere in the middle, start the scene with that letter--but start in the middle of the scene. when you get to Z the scene is over chronologically, but return to A (the chronological beginning of the scene) and work your way to where you started. this has also been done (for added degree of difficulty) with Shakespearean dialogue or some other type of affectation.

BACKWARDS GAME (2 and director) : director asks for an opening and closing line of dialogue. the actors start with the closing line and create a scene that goes backwards though time until they reach the opening line of dialogue. suggestions: movements can be done backwards, but lines of dialogue should be said in normal sentence structure and voice. (do not say, "Store the to going am I.")

DRAMARAMA (2) : one actor asks for a page number from a book (already at his disposal). a line of dialogue is read from this page and the other actor must justify this line in a scene. once the second actor has justified the line, the first actor reads another line from another page. again, the second actor must justify this new line in the context of what has been said previously. suggestions: usually a book of plays or fiction is a good choice, a text book really wouldn't provide juicy dialogue. the reading actor can make the justifying actor's job very easy or very hard. the reading actor should be involved in the scene and not just reading the book.

FIRST DAY ON THE JOB (2 or more) : a profession is taken from the audience. one actor is having his first day at work, the other is a seasoned professional, or a manager. the first actor makes as many mistakes as possible.

GIBBERISH EXPERT (2) : an actor asks for a topic. when one is decided upon, it turns out that the second actor just happens to be an expert in that area. however, the expert speaks no English and requires the translation services of the first actor. the English-speaking actor gets 3 questions from the audience, which are translated into gibberish and answered in gibberish, which is translated back into English (one question at a time). suggestions: never actually speak a foreign language--make the expert from a non-existent place. sometimes long phrases in gibberish require only short translations in English and vice-versa. the expert may make dramatic gestures in answering questions which also need to be justified.

INTERRUPTED MONOLOGUE {fill in the lines} (1) : an actor steps out and asks for a topic for a monologue. the actor explains that he wishes to speak on this subject but has difficulty remembering certain things and would like help from the audience on occasion. as the actor speaks a long pause or "uh"s suggest the audience fill in the blanks. the actor repeats the audience suggestion, justifies and continues the monologue. suggestions: there are two things that can screw up this game: no suggestions (the audience doesn't get it) and too many suggestions (the actor paused to breathe and the crowd starts yelling). to combat the former a member of the group could get the ball rolling with an (in)appropriate suggestion. for the latter the actor could signal for suggestions by saying "uh..." or holding a hand out to the audience. (see MONOLOGUE)

IT'S TUESDAY (2) : four lines of dialogue are given by the audience. the first actor picks one line, says it and freezes. the second actor justifies this line and builds some sort of relationship between them. eventually the second actor works his way into saying another one of the lines of dialogue and then freezes. the first actor justifies and eventually gets to a third (of the given) line of dialogue and freezes. the second actor justifies, wraps up and ends on the remaining line of dialogue. suggestions: the audience has some idea of what you are going to be saying, so don't be obvious. make them think you are going for a certain line and say another one. also, the second time the first actor gets to speak (not the one liner), he gets to give what could be a very different viewpoint from that of the second actor. it is a good idea to post these lines if possible (at least in practice).

MONOLOGUE (1) : an actor steps out and asks for something that drives a short monologue (object, profession, hobby, topic). suggestions: this is a good warm up/audition game. it's can be a good idea to take a pro or con stance if the topic allows. (see INTERRUPTED MONOLOGUE)

OPTION GAME (2 and director) : two actors are given a starting point (professional relationship, opening line of dialogue, etc.). the scene plays until the director stops them by yelling "Freeze" or clapping once. the director asks for something from the audience (a line of dialogue, an object, a response, a dramatic style) that will change the scene entirely. suggestions: the director should be specific in his requests in order to get a specific answer from the audience. a slow audience response kills the momentum. the actors should give the director various things to work with. for instance, the actor can reach for some unknown object and say, "let me get my....", or one actor can ask a question of the other--allowing the director to get an answer from the audience.

PERSONALS GAME (2) : actor one retrieves the personals section of the newspaper and allows an audience member to select one. actor two does the same. the actors read their ad aloud. characters based on these ads meet in a location chosen by the audience. suggestions: when selecting the ads have the audience member point rather than read the paper--saves time and reduces the chance of getting a difficult ad.

PUNCHLINE GAME (2 or 3) : have the audience make up a punchline. actors make up a joke for the punchline. suggestions: never performed this, can't remember if there was more to it or not.

PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE (2) : an occupation and object not necessarily linked with the occupation is taken from the audience. two actors sit facing the audience. one at a time, they explain their encounter to their respective shrinks. whatever happened, whether it was a date or chance encounter, it was traumatic enough for these characters to bring it up in therapy. once a plateau has been reached the characters may or may not meet at a later time. suggestions: this is a point of view game. it is interesting how two different people can perceive something that happened. it is more interesting that you do not see the original encounter.

THREE WAY DUBBING (3) : two actors start out on stage. a suggestion from the audience, like a trivial invention, starts the scene. the actor 1 provides the voice for actor 2. actor 3, initially off stage, provides the voice for actor 1. finally, actor 2 is the voice of actor 3. suggestions : the "body" actor should have the focus. it is too easy to have your attention drawn by who is currently speaking. the "body" actor, who is supposedly speaking, should make dramatic gestures to draw attention for this reason.

TRANSFORMATIONS

WHAT DID YOU SAY? (2 and director) : two actors start a scene from an audience suggestion (place where they meet, occupational relationship), once the scene is progressing the director stops them by asking "What did you say?" the actor who spoke prior to this must then reconstruct a new line that sounds a lot like the last thing he said (i.e., rhyming words) then the two actors must justify the new line and create a new scene until they are again stopped by the director. usually there are three or four breaks. suggestions: the most important thing about creating a new line is to do so quickly. it is up to the second actor to justify the line and create a new relationship if necessary. do not try to continue with the same scene. if the line before "What did you say?" was particularly long, then just try to match the last part of it. the new line does not have to make sense immediately.

games with the chorus

AESOP'S FABLE (2 and narrator, optional chorus) : two actors are animals taken from audience suggestion. the narrator starts the tale of the two animals and their relationship. the scene goes between the narrator and the animals until a conclusion is reached. the chorus may join in the provide other fauna as needed. the narrator then concludes with the moral of the parable.

ANCESTOR GAME {off-stage voice game} (2, narrator and chorus) : narrator takes a surname from the audience and introduces the two actors as the first two people to have that surname. the narrator sets the first scene as where the name originated, whether it was prehistoric or Tudor, or whatever. the two actors show how the name came into being. the narrator takes them later in history for another significant scene in the family's history, which again is acted out. the third scene are the last two people in this family and how the family died out. the chorus is encouraged to participate only by off stage voice.

BAD OBSERVATIONAL COMIC (1 stand up and chorus) : with chorus members planted in the audience a lone stand up get in front of the audience and starts you typical observational jokes ("you ever notice that men leave the toilet seat up and women leave it down... women hate when men do that," or "how come you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway... that's messed up.") after a couple of jokes the chorus starts heckling the comic. eventually the comic leaves the stage throwing away a line like "if you think you can do this better, why don't you come up here?" to which the plants agree. suggestions: we used this as an opening game for performance(s). maybe just once. the goal is to get audience members to empathize for the bad comic. some of the audience are bound to know nothing about improv and really wander what is going on.

DAVE BURKE'S TONGUE OF FIRE (1 Dave Burke and chorus) : the "Dave" repeats (enthusiastically), "Dave Burke's Tongue of Fire!" over and over and then we'd all laugh and try to think of something that would go with that cool title. also, the "Dave" uses a mock dubbed Karate movie accent.

THE FIRST SCENE ONLY GAME

FREEZE TAG (>4) : two actors start a scene from an audience supplied opening line of dialogue, an actor from the chorus yells "freeze" and the actors in the scene freeze. the chorus person taps one person on the shoulder and takes their exact position and starts a new scene. suggestions: take the exact position of the actor you replace. justify not only what you are doing but what the other actor is doing. try to create good, workable body positions for the chorus people to work with.

JUDO WITH BILL (1 Bill and chorus) : the "Bill" introduces his judo tv show and says he is going to display some new moves today. one chorus member at a time comes out from the chorus creating interesting positions. the "Bill" freezes the actor and then justifies the position as a judo move and either: a) how to protect against someone trying to do this to you, or b) how this position is a part of a specialized judo move. everyone bows after each justification--also, if you had a gong, this would be a good time to bang it.

THE LETTER GAME

MOVIE REVIEW {near the movies...} (2 reviewers and chorus) : title for three movies "you'd like to see" are supplied by the audience. two actors take the stage and start a scene reminiscent of one of these titles. they freeze when one of the two reviewers starts to say something like "Welcome to Near The Movies, this is a scene from (title one), and I am (name)." when the second reviewer says "...and I'm (name)..." the frozen actors leave the stage. the plot is expoused a bit and a second scene is shown. the reviewers offer criticism and then continue with the next movie. when all reviews are done a recap of the reviews is offered with actors from each movie showing frozen moments from their respective movies. suggestions: make one of the movies a foreign film and show scenes using off stage dubbing. use actors and/or directors that people are familiar with in the scenes.

THE NEW PRODUCT GAME {yes and...}

OLD TIMER'S GAME (2 and chorus) : two old timers meet on the street and try to remember how long it has been since they've seen each other and where they were. meanwhile the chorus reenacts the last meeting. as most old timers are prone, they begin to recollect stories of the past, that each of them remembers a slightly different way. they tell a story of a meeting in the past, constantly changing their minds and correcting themselves. the chorus attempts to mime the tale, constantly making corrections for changes details. the old timers may completely change a story because of mishearing a word or greatly exaggerate, generally making things tough on the chorus. the game ends when the two old timers realize they really don't know each other after all.

PATTERN GAME

POSITIONS (2 and director) : the director takes a volunteer from the audience to place the two actors in any position they can come up with. the two actors have four minutes to come out of their present positions and justify taking each other's position. suggestions: make sure to remember the exact position of the other actor. one easy way to rush through the game is to justify what the original positions are and then saying, "wait a minute, let me try that." so don't. the four minute time limit is bogus, no one really pays attention to the time if this game is done properly.

ROSE COLORED GLASSES (1 and chorus) : one actor is chosen to put on the rose colored glasses. the chorus takes turns creating depressing or insulting situations, to which the glass-wearer can only reply in optimistic cliches.

SCHIZOPHRENIC STORY (>4) : two actors step out to become the schizophrenic answer man. the two actors should lock arms or something like that. as they speak they alternate words to form sentences. this usually starts with "Hello, I am the schizophrenic answer man. Please give me a topic about which I may answer your questions." or something like that. they answer three questions from the audience about the decided upon topic. after the third answer, they split apart and say "that reminds me of a story." the schizophrenic form is continued, but actors step out to create the story the answer man is describing. suggestions: the actors should follow the answer man unless he is stuck, then the actors may lead for a while. dialogue can be said by the actors, but it is best for clarity's sake to not have too many lines in the scene.

SOAP OPERA (>4) : two actors are the co-authors of a script in progress. they meet to discuss and revise their work. actors appear from the chorus as they are mentioned by the writers. suggestions: the actors are at the writers' mercy. the writers should revise scenes already discussed (viewed) with phrases like: "how about instead of a western we make this set in space..." or something like that. the writers can also change their minds back to something already discussed. also, this does not have to be a soap opera, it could be a tv pilot, horror story, etc.

SOUND AND MOTION {the machine} : an actor gets on stage and performs a repetitive motion accompanied by a sound. a second actor links up with the first in some fashion. this repeats until all the actors are on stage and a giant, noisy machine of some sort is built.

 

harold games for all

FREE ASSOCIATION : usually played in the beginning of a Harold, just before the scenes start. starting with an idea brought up earlier, actors take turns jumping to what the last word(s) reminded them of. suggestions: avoid obvious jumps ("cat", "dog") and instead go for something less obvious ("cat", "Felix") or go ahead two logical jumps.

DATELINE : a chorus member comes out on stage and mimes using a typewriter. a summary or storyline is then read as if the actor is a hack writer and this is the story. it follows this format: "Dateline (name periodical here), (title of story)..." the other actors follow one at a time. suggestions: do not leave your fellow actors on stage typing. limit titles that are not related to the Harold at all to one (if any).

MAN ON THE STREET : a reporter on the street asks passers-by questions about a Harold topic. the chorus roams back and forth across the stage as if walking on the street. three questions and the reporter goes back to the anchor desk. suggestions: if you have something interesting to say make yourself available to the reporter. likewise, if you are not inspired, walk near the other side of the street. also, if you have answered a question, move to the back. the characters that answer the questions may or may not be characters who were in or will be in the harold.

PET PEEVES : can be used to start a Harold, or has been done as an independent game. a director takes pet peeves from the audience (guys who should wear bras) until every member of the chorus has one. the director has the chorus line up and points at them, one at a time so that they may tell a monologue about the pet peeve they have been assigned. the director should switch to another actor at every beat. once everyone has delivered two short monologues the director slowly brings out everyone, quietly at first, and then louder until everyone is shouting. the director cuts everyone off and then points to one person to give a one sentence punchline about his peeve. suggestions: again, do not go for the obvious. once an actor was given "wax in your ears," he told a story of going to sleep on his side on the bottom half of a bunk bed and waking up in the middle of the night to find his younger brother in the upper bunk with a lit candle dripping wax into the older brother's ear. the one liner in the end usually works best if it's short. it really doesn't have to be very funny.

SCHIZOPHRENIC ANSWER MAN (same thing as SCHIZOPHRENIC STORY, but without the story and maybe more than three answers.

SCULPTURE {orchesis} : one actor introduces the unveiling of a new sculpture. the chorus immediately gets on stage and performs exaggerated body gestures. after a short time period the actor yells "Freeze," whereupon the chorus stops. the actor then explains each actor's purpose and place in this sculpture. suggestions: this has been done as a dance as well. it also can be repeated. the actor should make the justifications as quick and complete as possible. some of the chorus may be unable to hold still for a very long time.

SONG (see OPERA) : difference is this can be sung in any style.

STORYBOOK {lost script} : one actor finds a lost manuscript from a well known tv show, movie, novel, etc. this is made known by a line like, "Hey, what's this? A lost script from Gilligan's Island." much like Sculpture, the chorus makes interesting body positions and the reader yells "Freeze." the reader then names the actors after characters from the tv show, movie, novel, etc. and justifies their positions (i.e., "As you can see Gilligan's is messing up their chance to escape again.") this is repeated for three or four segments until it ends. the reader usually says, "no wonder it was lost..." at the end. suggestions: justify quickly and completely. the audience gets annoyed when you skip a character.

adapted television shows

CONNECT THOSE LINES (4 and director) : host (director) introduces the game show called "Connect Those Lines" not unlike "Name That Tune". two random lines are taken from the audience. the four actors, divided into two teams of two, bid on how many seconds it will take them to connect the lines in a scene (one line as an opening line, and the other as a closing line). this is done in the "Name That Tune" fashion: "We can connect those lines in one minute..." "...fifty seconds.", etc. the team that wins the bid must do a scene connecting the lines while the host monitors the time. this is repeated for best two out of three. suggestions: do not start off by bidding ten seconds. this is a justification game that requires a good amount of time or the audience will feel cheated. work the times shorter as the show goes on.

DATING GAME (5) : just like Love Connection but older.

LOVE CONNECTION (5) : host asks for occupations for everybody but himself. host introduces first contestant, asks him a few questions about background and what he looks for in a soul mate. host then shows clips of three bachelors/bachelorettes. the audience chooses the winner and show ends. returning to the next show we hear about the date. can also be started with a setup from the previous show and asking them about their date. suggestions: when rolling the interview tape, start in the middle of a sentence--like "... and I didn't walk normally for two days." also have the three contestants line up, one head over the next, when voting.

OKRA DUNNAFEW (<3) : host asks for unusual occupation or hobby. two experts of differing opinions are introduced. questions from the audience are answered. suggestions: in performance this is a good intro game because the audience is highly involved.

PEOPLE'S COURT

$20,000 PYRAMID

Rules of Improv

version 3

  1. There are no rules.
  2. Just say yes. Ask only yes or no questions. Answer only yes. A better answer is "yes, and..."
  3. You can't mention kick boxing enough. People love kick boxing.
  4. Pander to the audience a lot. Before the show, ask yourself if the audience has something in common — e.g., it's a church show — then make fun of that group all through the show.
  5. To start a game ask for something shiny like a watch or some other jewelry. If you get anything, put it in your pocket and keep it. Suckers.
  6. Make sure the audience knows the difference between improv and written sketches. They will have higher expectations if it appears to be written ahead of time. If you are making it up as you go along then they are in for the ride and are less anxious for the big punch lines.
  7. Have one guy talk in gibberish for the whole show.
  8. Be real sarcastic. Everyone enjoys dripping sarcasm. Nobody wants to punch you in the throat if you are being totally sarcastic.
  9. Refer to everybody else on stage as "Jerry."
 

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