Visualizing short form improv
An attempted visualisation of the dynamics of short form improv theater:
About a month ago I was preparing for my short form improv games workshop; what they are, how to play them, and how to discover our own games.
There’s also a focus on the different roles and responsibilities involved. My intention is to take the pressure off the players shoulders by showcasing that improv is all about sharing responsibilities and taking care of our partners.
Then, for some reason, my brain wanted me to visualize these roles using props, i.e., toys. Because that is what I had.
Which sort of turned into a model.
And I was so happy with the result that I wanted to share it with you!
Meet the team
The Players (rubber ducks).
The Director (Mechagodzilla).
The Audience (Homer Simpson).
We’ll get back to the poker chips in the middle.
Rubber Ducks
are fun! Here we see two small ducks playing an improv game, seemingly all alone out there in front of an audience and very, very vulnerable.
But they’re not, and if they are they shouldn’t be!
It’s their teammates responsibility to pay attention and be ready to enter the game at any moment. Or support the players or game in other ways, such as adding sound effects or music. Or lights, the people in the tech booth can also be improvising.
You’re never alone on stage. You always have this support system!
All you need to do is to play the game with good nature, connect with your partner, take risks, and fail gracefully. Trust that the other ducks are taking care of everything else. Not to mention…
Mechagodzilla
The most important responsibility of the director is to facilitate a framework that is safe and predictable enough for the audience and players to have as much fun as possible.
For the audience that includes explaining the game in a way that they’ll understand what’s going on and let them know that they’re in safe hands: yours! Explaining games will at the same time take care of the players who may not know or remember the game they’re about to play.
Another way to take care of the players is to check-in to see if they’re up for the challenge of a specific game before playing it (“would you like to do this?”), pause the game to give additional instructions, and eventually end the game.
I’ve always admired directors who take the blame for when a game crash and burn (“that’s on us for doing that/not explaining it well”) and let the players take the praise for when it doesn’t’.
Some prefer to direct in pairs, other take turns, whatever your choice is the director needs to be in charge. When someone in the room goes too far both the audience and players will be affected by an infectious feeling of doubt and uncertainty. They will look to you for help.
Don’t be afraid to be the powerful and villainous monster by calling people out if and when needed. Because everyone makes mistakes, even…
Homer Simpson
It’s easy to forget that the audience is a vital part of the three-piece dynamics that is a short form improv game or show.
The director and players need to be aware of the audiences’ responsibility, even if they themselves are not.
Their role is to engage in the playful games as much or little as they’re comfortable with for the duration of your show.
Being entertained is engagement. Shouting suggestions, sharing stories or personal property as sources of inspiration is another form of engagement. Being an active or passive participant on stage with you is engagement. Being an active or passive part of a conversation between the director and players is engagement.
Their main responsibility though is to let you entertain them. If it weren’t for them, you wouldn’t have a show, so get up there and take risks on their behalf.
They’ll love you for it, because in a weird way you’re representing them on stage. You’ll also lose them just as fast if you’re punishing yourself onstage for making mistakes, so practice failing with grace.
Always assume there’s a Homer Simpson in your audience and that you’ll need to explain the game to him in a way that he’ll understand.
And never be afraid to take the audience by their hand and, in response to them, lead them safely through your show.
(fun fact: Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, is also an improviser and you might catch him perform together with wonderful improvisers Jeff Michalski and Jane Morris at the Fanatic Salon in Los Angeles).
What about the poker chips?
That was my attempt of visualizing that overlapping circle you see in VENN diagrams, the one thing that connects all three elements.
Originally the poker chips represented playful risk, then it became commitment in the form of a bet, and then I got a little lost. I can’t decide 100% what it is.
Feel free to use your own interpretation and make it your own. Here’s a template to get you started.
Additional comments
This is my attempt to visualize the roles and responsibilities we all share to make it easier to understand the dynamics of short form improv games and shows.
This is not meant to be read as a list of rules. There will always be local variables in every improv community.
Most improv games do have rules though. They’re based on the best practice of the improvisers who have gone before us and we’re standing on the shoulders of giants. Their rules will take care of us if we let them. We’re also always free to break or discard them all the moment we find something that is more fun.
The players can make their own suggestions. Or they can ask for them from the audience instead of the director. Or not take suggestions at all. The person doing light can also end a scene by fading to black. These dynamics apply to longform improv too, except every player is now a director as well, merging the roles and responsibilities into a new species, the Rubber Mechaduckzilla.
And if we get lost, we can always go back to where we started, start over again or play something else.
Thank you for reading!
Terje Brevik is a teacher and performer of improvised theater on and off stage and he loves to travel. He’s the founder of Tøyen Impro, Oslo Impro Festival and the former director and co-funder of Impro Neuf. Check out his stuff and connect at terjebrevik.com.
Bloink.
