Player One stands rigidly on stage, stroking an imagined object on his right wrist and says, “I love my shield.”
Player Two enters stage, stares agog at the imagined shield and says, “Wow-wie! That is one awesome shield.”
The question for you is: If you were told to enter the scene as the third player to establish a group game, what would you do?
As a warm-up exercise or a short-form performance game, Four Corners is a fun way to explore two person scenes and subsequent beats.
Check out this wonderful example from The Coalition Theater‘s class showcase. I am particularly fond of the players’ choice to enthusiastically agree and trust in the power of emotion alone when met with the suggestion of “Trump rally.”
Performers are Sheldon King, Cindy Nester, David Pratt and Britne Walker
Here’s an example of a Tag-out from The Johnsons. Notice how they leverage the Help Desk dynamic, repeating/heightening the sequence of dialogue.
I’d’ve preferred they’d’ve never sat down, instead playing out being high on the job. It’s hard to keep a scene active while sitting down. Chairs are a privilege, not a right.
The Johnsons are Scott Beckett, Shawn Hambright, John Hilowitz and Jonathan Nelson.
The Johnsons have been working on building a more collective world in their long form performances.
One tool they’ve practiced is using their scene edits to establish and heighten an organic pattern progression.
And on January 16th, 2016 they did it on stage for the first time. Watch. Enjoy.
First time is random. Second time is purposeful. Third time is expected.
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Hey Everybody game mechanics allow a group to build a focused direction out of disparate parts. They are so named because, though they have wider applications, they are useful to a player in navigating a scene initiated with a rush of players to the stage.
When Townsend Hart starts The Johnsons‘ group game with “Emergency meeting,” we get a rush of players to the stage. Now, instead of quickly establishing a sequence in which every player gets to contribute in the scene’s early goings, this particular Hey Everybody game starts off in the call and response category of initiator as facilitator that I caution against – Townsend speaks, then Scott speaks, then Townsend again. The danger here is that with the initiator interjecting between each other player’s comments, it can take a long time to get through players, which can seem stilted. And an audience’s eyes start to drift to s/he who hasn’t contributed yet, which can both be distracting.
How do The Johnsons surmount this potential obstacle? Watch.
Mikael Johnson, Jason Saenz and I are Best Friends. And our Best Friends format is one of my favorite.
This show was the only show we taped. And while it isn’t our best, it’ll suffice to document our Slideshow Opening and our Three Character Format.
Enjoy “Drunk Camping.”
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Be careful changing a scene’s reality.
In improv we’re building something out of nothing. So if improvisers make a choice on stage they’re moving forward and to negate that choice threatens to stall that forward motion as they scramble to justify the contradiction. Not only do contradictory choices disrupt the scene for the improvisers, it erodes the audience’s willingness to engage in the scene – if the players aren’t seeing eye to eye, what hope does the audience have to understand what’s going on?
Admittedly, a contradictory choice can get a laugh – but if in the aftermath of that choice the scene is compromised you have to ask yourself whether that laugh was worth it?
Now, if you’re on stage and a scene’s reality is changed on you, here’s what you do: Don’t justify or explain away the contradiction; Embrace it. Commit to heightening both sides of the contradiction, allowing them to coexist. If we confidently accept both realities the audience can relax and buy in as well.
Check out this example –
Something fun happens in the Cat Pelts organic group game performed by The Coalition‘s Fall 2015 Patterns and Games class.
Four improvisers enter stage together and navigate the chaos by Seeking Symmeteries. And the audience stays with them through the initial uncertainty because they’re comfortable and committed.
Watch.
Just imagine.
I bet this video is cleaner than your imagination. In fact, this example group game runs on so much enthusiasm and support it’s (almost) downright wholesome.
Player are: Shahenn Ali, Teddy Armstrong, Amber Hendrix, Jesse Hill, Meredith Hughes, Laura Kelly and Christopher May
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Don’t solve problems in improv. If there’s a fire on stage we want to throw gas on it, not water.
A lot of group games start with problem statements. “We need to…” “Let’s figure out…” “Brainstorm time!” The problem with problems is that when we’re focused on working up a solution we too often deprioritize emotional in-the-moment reactions which in improv are always more powerful that clever dialogue.
Hey Everybody mechanics keep us focused on heightening patterns of emotional behavior, helping us to exacerbate problems instead of alleviating them.
Want proof? Watch this.