From Improv Encyclopedia
1) Don’t Deny
Denial is the number one reason most scenes go bad. Any time you refuse an Offer made by your partner your scene will almost instantly come to a grinding halt. Example: Player A) “Hi, my name is Jim. Welcome to my store.” Player B) “This isn’t a store, it’s an airplane. And you’re not Jim, you’re an antelope.”
2) Don’t ask open ended Questions
Open ended questions (like “Who are you?”) are scene killers because they force your partner to stop whatever they are doing and come up with an answer. When you ask your partner and open ended question, you put the burden of coming up with something “interesting” on your partner - so you are no longer doing a scene together but forcing one person has to do more work than you are willing to do.
3) You don’t have to be funny.
The hidden riddle of improv is that the harder you try not to be funny the more funny your scene is going to be. Why? Because it’s the very best kind of improv scene you can do is an “interesting” scene, not necessarily a “funny” one. When you do an interesting scene, a very surprising thing happens… the funny comes out all by it’s self.
The best ways to go are to stick to your character, stick to the story that is being told, and to stay within the reality of the scene you are playing.
4) You can look good if you make your partner look good.
When you are in a scene, the better you make your partner look the better the scene is going to be and, as a direct result, the better you are going to look. All too often, I’ve seen players enter a scene and I can just tell they have some really great idea about the character they are going to play or an idea they want to do. This is wonderful, but guess what? Your partner probably has absolutely no idea what’s cooking in your evil little mind, and so has no idea how to react. And no matter how brilliant your idea might be, it’s practically worthless if the scene as a whole goes bad.
5) Tell a story.
Storytelling is probably the easiest rule to remember but the hardest one to do. The real magic of improv is when we see the players take totally random suggestions (like a plumber and a cab driver selling shoes in a leper colony ) and somehow “make it work”. If all these unrelated elements are going to come together then it’s going to happen in the course of an interesting tale. So that’s just what the players are going to try and do, tell us all a story.
Ten Commandments
Here is another set of `improv rules` that`s been circulating for a while. Also take a look at our comment about Rules of Improv .
Anyway, here goes:
- Thou shalt not block (see Blocking )
- Thou shalt always retain focus
- Thou shalt not shine above thy team-mates
- To gag is to commit a sin that will be paid for (see Gagging )
- Thou shalt always be changed by what is said to you
- Thou shalt not waffle ( see Waffling )
- When in doubt, break the routine
- To wimp is to show thy true self ( see Wimping )
- (S)he what tries to be clever is not; while (s)he that is clever doesn`t try
- When thy faith is low, thy spirit weak, thy good fortune strained, and thy team losing, be comforted and smile, because it just doesn`t matter.
More good Stuff!
The following are David Alger’s First 10 Rules of Improv. Origin of this material (and more detail) is found at the San Francisco Pan Theater website.
1) Say Yes-and!
For a story to be built, whether it is short form or long form, the players have to agree to the basic situation and set-up. The who, what, and where have to be developed for a scene to work.
2) After the `and` add new information.
An improvised scene can’t move forward or advance unless we add new information. That is why new information is added after the Yes of Yes-and!
3) Don’t Block.
The opposite of saying yes-and is blocking or denial.
4) Avoid Questions.
A form of blocking (in its more subtle form) is asking questions. Questions force our partners to fill in the information or do the work. It is a way of avoiding committing to a choice or a detail. It is playing it safe. However, on more advanced levels, questions can be used to add information or tell your partner the direction to go in.
5) Focus on the Here and Now.
Another useful rule is to keep the focus on the here and now. A scene is about the people in the scene. The change, the struggle, the win or loss will happen to the characters on the stage. Focus on what is going on right this at this moment.
6) Establish the Location!
Good scenes take place somewhere and at sometime. They do not take place on an empty stage. A location can easily be established in one or two lines without breaking the scene.
7) Be Specific- Provide Details!
Details are the lifeblood of moving a scene forward. Each detail provides clues to what is important. Details help provide beat objectives and flesh out characters.
Change, Change, Change!
Improv is about character change. The characters in a scene must experience some type of change for the scene to be interesting. Characters need to go on journeys, be altered by revelations, experience the ramifications of their choices and be moved by emotional moments.
9) For serious and emotional scenes, focus on characters and relationships.
A long form improv set should contain a variety of scenes. Some scenes will be emotional, some will be tense, and some should be funny. The easiest way to make a scene serious is by focusing on the relationship of those on the stage (their characters).
10) For humor, commit and take choices to the nth degree or focus on actions/objects.
A good long form set is balanced. Shakespeare knew that too much pathos was wearing on the audience; hence, he had minor characters in humorous scenes such as the drunken porter in MacBeth.
11) Give information to your partner
All too often people in an improv scene will start speaking about their favorite topic- themselves and their character. While something is better than nothing- stronger scenes are built on team work.
12) Listen to your partner
Listen to what your partner says, doesn’t say and the way he says it. Each word, gesture or pause provides tons of offers and information. Listening takes us outside of our focus on self and the worry about trying to think of something to say.
13) Respond to your partner
Improv is about what is happening right now and the changes that occur. We need to respond to what is said, unsaid, done and undone by our partner. Building a scene is a joint process and if we don’t respond we make our partner’s efforts meaningless.
14) See the impact of your response
Give your partner a chance to respond to what you said and did. We expect responses and reactions in real life. We should do the same in improv.
15) Look beyond the words
Words in improv, as in life, are tools to accomplish goals. Character goals often are quite different from the dialogue spoken. The context helps reveals the subtext.
16) Use more than words
Don’t limit yourself to words or assume all responses require words. Improv is about what is being done. What are you trying to accomplish and what your partner is trying to accomplish? Use your body and your communication skills.
17) Accept silence and being self conscious
It is okay to be self-conscious. It is okay not to speak. Conversation is as much about the quality of silence as it is about the words spoken. Don’t be afraid to respond without words. Being self-conscious doesn’t mean we have to entertain or try to please.
18) Be doing but don’t focus the dialog on what you’re doing.
Scenes are about relationships not what we do but how what we do changes our relationship and current position. By focusing the dialog on actions and things we avoid interacting with our partner.
19) Sooner is better than later. Do it now. When an opportunity for an action comes up- do it! Don’t speak about it, don’t lead up to it, don’t put it off.
20) Have Fun and Relax
Improv should be fun. An audience loves to watch someone having fun. By letting go of fear of failure we commit more, focus more and become more fully.
