I have recently had an amazing improv theater workshop with Thomas Mook and I want to share some of the learnings with you. After a long time of being stuck at the same level with improv, I felt like I moved forward. This is because Thomas has spelled out guidelines and tricks for improv scenes that I was unaware of (at least not consciously). Knowing and internalizing these rules, has helped me get to the next level with my performances.
Depending on your level of improv, many of the following guidelines might be basic and obvious. For others they might be eye openers. No matter what category you are in, I find it useful to have these rules spelled out and ready to be skimmed through from time to time.
Another way of looking at these guidelines is as at guardrails on a road (metaphor depicted in the main image of this blog post). You can switch lanes, go left, go right, but always within the guardrails. There is an infinite space of creativity within these guardrails. Of course, good improvisers sometimes play with the rules, and they manage to make it work wonderfully.
I will give examples from the workshop or practice sessions to make the guidelines more concrete. Of course, nothing is like experiencing these things first hand, so I encourage you to try and observe improv players (you included) abiding to or breaking these rules.
Improv theater rules
Let’s get straight on to the guidelines.
Don't focus on people / things that are not in the scene
Of course, there will be times when you mention people or things outside of the scene. It usually becomes a problem when they are the entire focus of the improvised play. That’s often not interesting. We want to find out more about the characters and their relationship.
Example Daughter talking to her mom on a bench, in a mall. The daughter is complaining about the two fish in her aquarium, Jeffrey and Patrick, by saying things like: “They make a mess.” Not too interesting. This scene has transformed into a monologue about two fish, while the audience is left wondering about the characters on the bench. Later on, we will see how we can develop this play.
Example Two guys in line at a beverage vending machine. The guy in front is taking a long time to get something. The one in the back says something along the lines: “Hurry! I am late for a meeting!” He just introduced an external constraint, something that he cannot control. He can easily get his ears caught in this constraint. Rather, he could say something like: “I’m really thirsty. Can you please hurry?” He now just made the offer more personal.
Make it about the who, and not about the what
Don’t make it about the object you are interacting with or the action you are performing. Like I mentioned in the previous rule, we want to find out more about the characters and their relationship. Objects and actions in the scene help the players convey a message about their characters.
Maybe a rather advanced example for this rule, but here it goes Let’s go back to the scene with the daughter and her mom in the mall. The description of the fish in the tank is not interesting until the daughter uses the fish as a metaphor for her marriage. “Jeffrey and Patrick have grown apart. They are far away from each other. One sits on one side of the aquarium, and the other one on the other side.” Now it has become about the who. The mom can choose to play a character that does not get the fish talk is a metaphor. She could play dumb: “What do you mean they are far apart? The aquarium is pretty small.” Beautiful scene!
Avoid transaction scenes like the plague
This is related to the previous rule. In a transaction scene, inevitably, the focus will be on the what, the transaction itself (the money or the product / service bought).
Example Scene under the bridge. Jen approaches Phillip and she asks: “Did you bring my weed?”. Phillip then says: “No. I don’t do that anymore”. If the scene goes on with “Give me back the money”, and “I don’t have it anymore”, we get caught in a transaction scene. It’s more interesting to explore why he does not do that anymore. He could go on saying that “I discovered God, and he is against this kind of practice.”
Establish the who, what and where as quickly as possible
This one does not need any example I believe. If you still wonder who, where, or what are the characters doing after more than 30 seconds in the scene, then you have a classic example of breaking this rule. It can be very confusing for the audience.
Give opinions about things
Characters with opinions are often very interesting. An opinion can nicely start off a scene.
Example A couple drinking coffee at their favorite place. One of them says “Coffee here is not what it used to be.” From the way the players play the scene, we might discover that is not the coffee. Maybe this is a metaphor for their relationship, that is not what it used to be.
The next three rules are interrelated, and on the same line.
Apply logic relentlessly / Ask the obvious questions / Be the straight man in comedy
All these rules refer to scenes where one of the characters does or says things that would be considered weird in a real situation. The other character can then try to answer the questions that the audience has about this weird behavior. It’s on everyone’s mind: Why did he say that? Why did he do that?
Apply logic relentlessly example Scene in an office. Jen (she spies on other employees) reporting to Phillip (the boss) on what happened in the mall (the workplace) during the day. At some point she talks about Jeffrey. “He is being compared to all sorts of things by the other employees, like a fish, or a slimy eel.” At this point, the boss can be very logical and say. “What all sorts of things? An eel is also a fish.” The ending of the scene is not related to the rule, but just funny. Jen ends up being the one fired based on her own dossier about her. Great scene.
Ask the obvious questions example One character makes balloons for kids; this is his job. It turns out at some point that the kids he sells the balloons to are his own kids. Absurd. The obvious question is why does he do this? How can he make a living like this? The straight character would ask this. One possible response to this question in the next rule.
Be the straight man in comedy example Scene between Jen and Phillip. They start on a hike through the woods. They literally walk for one minute, and Jen gets a panic attack. “I am tired. What if I can’t make it?”. Phillip can be the straight man right now and say something along the lines: “Honey, don’t worry. We are not far from the starting point. Actually, we’ve just started.” It’s funny and rewarding, because everyone knows they’ve just started.
Don't deescalate things; if anything, escalate
In real life, we often try to diffuse difficult situations, to make excuses for socially frowned upon situations. In improv, it’s fun to go deeper into these situations.
Example Let’s get back to the scene where the guy makes balloons and sells them to his own children. As a response to the previous question, you could find excuses, or you could escalate things: “I am making kids for marketing purposes.” Brilliant!
Be mean to the character to be good to the actor
Oftentimes, by being mean with the other character, we help the improv player with an offer. This rule is also somewhat in line with the rule on escalating things.
Example Two sisters are on a hike in the mountains. One of them makes a fit of rage and does not want to continue anymore. She throws away her walking sticks and sits on the ground. Instead of being understanding and kind to her (as you would probably do in real life), you can escalate things, and say something like “Oooh, quit with the complaining. For once do finish something in your life.” You reveal something about this other sister. You make an offer to the character, that she can now build upon.
Improv theater tricks
At the end of this post, I have one bonus trick for you.
One sentence describing the character
Describing the character in a few words makes for a better platforming. Of course, this needs to be done in a subtle way. You don’t want it to sound like reading from a novel. Do this sometime in the beginning of the scene.
Example “I’m 60, but I party like I’m 50”. Crisp and clear. A sentence that says it all. It’s also funny because not a lot of people party a lot in their 50s.
Conclusion
Of course, these are all just general guidelines. You can always play with the rules. You can always create wonderful scenes by breaking the rules. You often see experienced improv teams doing this.
In the next blog posts on improv, I will talk about more guidelines, or explore in depth one of the guidelines. That’s the plan. Until next time, improv enthusiasts!