Play (Patterns and Game)
Game
Game is anything that is fun to play with within the scene for the improviser and the audience. We usually know we have stumbled upon game when the audience laughs or reacts big in other ways.
For Intro we focus on patterns for game but it can also be heightening, emotional reactions, emotion shifts, etc, etc. (all of which we dig into in the Level 2 class).
Patterns
Discover patterns such as catch phrases, movements, etc. We forced them a bit in the class exercises to show how and why they work, but, when doing scenes, it is always best to stumble upon them naturally (and you won’t always have them). As stated above, you will know you’ve found it when the audience reacts strongly.
Patterns can also have variations. The rule is if you do it the exactly the same the second time as the first, then do it exactly the same the third time – if different the second time, then make it equally different the third time.
Let patterns breathe for awhile in between returning to them. It gives them more weight if you let there be around 30 seconds or more between coming back to them.
Rule of Threes
Rule of Threes
If you find something that the audience clearly likes, do it again, and then do it again for a total of three. Game usually happens best in threes. If you have a pattern, do it three times. If heightening do it three times. Return to scenes in threes. Our brains like the number three and find it entertaining and satisfying.
Multiples of three also work, so if you go beyond three, go ahead and make it six. If beyond six, go to nine.
Here’s why Rule of Threes works:
First time: You stumble upon something. You hear the audience react and file it away to bring back in a bit. Don’t do it right away, but let it rest for a bit.
Second time: You’ve now created a pattern. The audience watched you do it. They are in on the joke.
Third time: Since the audience is in on the joke, they WANT you do hit it a third time and either fulfill their expectations or subvert them.
Heightening
Heightening is another example of improv game. It’s taking the base thing and then making it bigger and more extreme, and then doing that a third time for the rule of threes.
Heightening isn’t actually a quantity. It’s more of an escalation.
“I bought a boat.”
“I bought two boats”
“I bought three boats.” Is okay, but kind of boring.
Instead we want to go bigger and more extreme.
“I bought at boat.”
“I bought a yacht.”
“I bought a cruise line.” Is way more fun!
The reason we encourage grounded and normal scene initiations is because a grounded start gives you somewhere to heighten to later. If you start big and crazy it makes it hard to build from there.
You can also heighten by going smaller each time.
Video: Metaphor for Improv
Keegan-Michael Key give a great analogy for how improv works!