Tag Archives: heighten

Mar 1

Organic Tag-Out Triangle video example

Yes, when approaching Tag-Outs it can be helpful for the sake of focused heightening to only tag-out one side of the scene – keeping one character consistent and heightening his/her Personal Game. And yes, when choosing between two players to tag-out it is often advantageous if you replace the catalyst and keep the character reacting to that catalyst.

But there are no “rules” in improv, just tools and considerations.

Sometimes what feels “right” in the moment goes against a standard guideline. The game below is one of those times.

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Sep 8

Forging an Organic Format: part TWO

The first time it’s random. 

The second time it’s purposeful.

The third time it’s expected.

This progression informs how we build collaboratively in improv, be it in service of a pattern of emotional behavior, a relationship dynamic, a group game, or forging an organic format.

What is necessary to elevate a random occurence into a shared experience?  It requires that second move – the choice to make the first move matter.

Derek Sivers gets it.

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Jul 28

Body Snatcher & Double Body Snatcher tertiary moves

Ask your troupe what they want to work on. A comment by Alan Volmer during a Johnsons rehearsal led to this move being added to the group’s bag of tricks.

THE BODY SNATCHER:  A third player takes over either Player One’s or Player Two’s character. If Player Three chooses to take on Player Two’s character, for example, Player Two then exits.

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Jan 19

Editing Thematically – The Johnsons 1.16.16

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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Jan 19

Call & Response Hey Everybody group game

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.

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Dec 29

Massage Convention Hey Everybody group game

“A Massage Convention’s an HR hotbed.” –> “If OSHA says this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.”

With Hey Everybody mechanics in our back pocket we can confidently jump into chaos knowing that all we need to do is each stick and heighten our individual perspectives while collectively sticking to the order of individual contributions. With these tools we harness the power of the chaos, enabling it to swell and pop.

We can relax, too, in the knowledge that every player doesn’t need to nail it; they just need to participate. Especially in that first pass, what’s most important is just for each player to say/do something, anything. And if “anything” is too broad and therefore crippling then we remember that we can always align and agree with one another as well.

Watch this example. Note how the first pass gets established – who agrees with whom, who has a different perspective, who doesn’t speak. How many different perspectives would you say are in play among these 7 improvisers?


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