Intro to Improv Week Four: Emotions (Feel)

EMOTIONS IN SCENES

When starting your object work, you can now add in an EMOTION to go along with it. Happy Sad, Angry, Scared, or any offshoot of those will work. 

Characters should have a strong opinion and/or a strong emotion towards each other. On a scale of 1 to 10, we recommend starting at a 6 or 7 so it’s super clear to your scene mate and to the audience. Strong emotions also play better on an improv stage because they tend to project more.
 
As you start your object work, think about ‘how does my character feel right now?’ and go with that. The supporting player should do the same, but it doesn’t have to be the same emotion. It’s great to mirror the emotion, but can also be an interesting dynamic to make a completely different or opposing choice in emotions. 

INITIATING A SCENE WITH EMOTIONS

Much like we did with Object Work initiations, we have a shortcut/training wheels for starting scenes with emotions. This makes it easy to follow for both the person starting and the person supporting the scene.
 

One person comes out to the center of the stage area. They are going to show a strong emotion, but have no dialogue of any substance. Make the emotion big and easy to identify. You can make comments, cuss, etc., but don’t say WHY you feel this way. Your scene partner gets to name the why. 

 

A second person will come out and join them and starts the scene immediately saying why they feel the way they do in their first line. Be specific. 

 

“Oh… you got a D on your report card…”

 

The first person agrees to that and the scene progresses from there. 

SWEEP EDITS / WIPES

Once a scene is over, it is up to the rest of the troupe to edit it in order to end it and start a brand new scenes. There are a few different ways to edit a scene. 

 

A Sweep edit (also called a Wipe) works like this:

Once a scene is over, someone from the back line runs across the front of the stage to signify that it is done and a new scene should begin immediately. By doing this, you are the human equivalent of the line that transitions from one scene to another on a movie screen. In Star Wars, the scene is on Tatooine and the line moves across and now it transitions  to the Death Star. You’re the human equivalent of that line.  It could also be thought of as pulling a curtain to end and start a new scene.

 

Wipes will happen when:

  • A button line is found – a funny moment that is the perfect end to the scene.
  • The scene isn’t getting traction after a minute or so – go ahead and get it out of there.
  • Something offensive to the audience happens. Wipe immediately to move on from it.

For Intro, we want you to learn to trust and depend upon your scene mates, so we’re going to ask that you stay in a scene until someone from the troupe’s back line (anyone not currently in the scene) runs across in front.

Intro to Improv Exercises

Emotion in Motion

Give someone a line of dialogue and say it neutrally. They will mirror it back neutrally. 

 

Then pass the same line to the  next person, but give it a slight emotion: happy, sad, angry, scared, etc. On a scale of 1 to 10, this is very low, maybe a 1 or a 2. They mirror it back. 

 

Now the next two, and take the emotion up a notch. Mirror it back. Keep passing it, getting more and more intense with the emotion until it’s as big as it can go. 

 

Repeat with a new line. Keep going until you’ve covered all of the major emotions.

Video of the Week​

Conan O'Brien - GIVE ME BACK MY SON!!!

Zach Woods (The Office) teaches Conan and Andy an intense emotional improv game based on a 90’s movie.