A pattern is established. It pops. What if it then gets put away out of play for a while? Tension, that’s what. The ability to Cap a pattern takes restraint and can help increase the impact of the pattern once it returns to play.

A teenage boy confronts his mother with his sinful proclivities. Mom tries to be understanding but her mimed preparation of dinner grows more and more aggressive with every shared sin. In response to the son’s third admission, mom, in her aggression, cuts her finger; “Goddamn, kale,” she shouts. The son relents, going to his mother’s aid with warmth and concern. Together they dress the wound, sharing memories of when she took care of his injuries. Bandaged and soothed with a glass of water that her son poured thoughtfully, mom sighs, “My carelessness will be the death of me.” That reminds the son, “I also once fucked a corpse.” Mom shatters the water glass in her hand; “Goddamn, water!”

Our inclination upon finding something fun for us and the audience is to play it to death. We beat a dead horse until the audience, too, is dead tired of it and then we scramble for something new – an edit having never arrived because our fellow players, excited while the pattern was hot, don’t dare kill the scene in the overplayed-pattern doldrums.

A pattern put away while still hot returns like a volcano. The audience may be caught up in our new pattern and their surprise at the return of a loved reaction is that of seeing an old friend again – “I know that guy!” Maybe, even, the audience thought we forgot the character’s old habit and the return to form evokes the laughter of relief – relief being a proven source of laughter. For the improviser, the ability to cap and re-trigger a pattern – and especially the ability to cap a pattern with another pattern’s trigger – helps facilitate sustainable scenes that yearn not for an edit but rather provide multiple edit points at the nodes of oscillating trajectories.

And one does not need to wait to cap a pattern’s trajectory. “I’m a Tea Party member.” “Fuckhead.” “What’d you call me?” “Luck ahead. I said. For you. I meant.” With triggers and caps so clearly defined so early in the scene we’re quickly playing with dynamite.

If this Weakenss is identified, the following posts may prove useful in coaching to the Opportunity:
* Two Person Scene theory
* Two Person Scene practical
* My 3 Rules: A Triggers and Caps Warm-up Activity