Intro to Improv Week Two: Gifting Information (Say)
GIFTING INFORMATION
Sentences work much better for improv scenes than questions do. The main reason is because when you ask a question, more often than not, you are putting the weight of information on your scene mate, whereas a sentence gifts information to them. Gifting information is always better.
We are all wired up to ask questions. It will slip out sometimes and that’s okay. If you catch yourself asking a question, don’t correct it, but rather quickly answer your own question.
“What are we having for dinner? I’m hungry for meatloaf.”
Some questions are better than others. Questions that provide some specific information are usually fine.“How was your blind date last night?” is good because it brings some information. The other character had a date last night.
If someone else asks you a question in a scene, you can answer it however you want and that becomes absolutely true, because anything you say becomes true in a scene and they have to agree with it. If they ask a Yes/No type question, most of the time it will be more fun to say Yes to it, even if it’s not something that YOU would normally say yes to. But your character can!
YEAH, I KNOW, BECAUSE...
“Yeah, I know, because…” can be a great training-wheels phrase for improv scenes because it establishes Yes-And right off the bat. It also makes it clear that the characters know each other well enough to know just about everything about each other.
Anything your character says in an improv scene becomes reality as long as it doesn’t negate or contradict something that has already been established in the scene.
The word ‘because’ is excellent to use in improv because it justifies things and gives meaning to things.
You can either say “Yeah, I know, because” out loud, or you can think it silently to yourself and then say whatever would naturally follow after for a strong improv scene starter.
STARTING SCENES WITH SENTENCES
Improv Exercises
Five Things
Someone gives a Category to someone else (serious or silly). They are to list 5 things in that category as fast as they can, not worrying about whether what they say is right. Just say something. After each one, the rest of the group counts them off. ONE… TWO… etc. After the fifth one, do a song and dance: THESE ARE FIVE THINGS and then the person who just went selects another person to give a category to. Keep going until everyone has had a chance to do this.
A character variation is to do FIVE THINGS AS A… In addition to the Five Things, someone else gives an ‘as a…’ character. A type of person rather than a specific human being. They then do the five things from the perspective and with the voice and physicality of that person. Example: “Five terrible pizza toppings as a Philly toll booth operator. ”
Two Word at a Time Letter
Stand in a circle and decide what kind of letter you would like to write as a group (Complaint Letter, Break-Up Letter, Employment Letter, etc). The first person gives the opening of the letter – “Dear Sirs” or anything they want. Then the next person in the circle gives two words – no more and no less – to start the letter, then the next person gives two words, etc. and keep going around the circle creating this crazy letter together. Punctuation can put inserted wherever and it doesn’t count as a word. When the letter gets to the end, someone can close it with a “Sincerely Yours,” or other appropriate letter closing. Then the very next person makes up a fictional first and last name of who wrote this thing.