3. Yes Let's: Everyone finds a spot in the room where they have freedom of movement. Someone yells out an action sequence by saying Lets all "then they insert activity here" so for example "Let's all go fly a kite" everyone else responds by yelling out "Yes Let's" and goes about flying a kite until a new idea is presented to the group. This allows people to OFFER creative ideas which everyone else must accept by saying "yes Let's" and then doing what ever that activity is. 

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4. What Are You Doing? Everyone stands in a large circle with one person in the middle. That person begins doing an activity "washing dishes" another person from the circle will enter into the middle and ask the 1st person what are you doing? Upon which the first person will yell out a completely different activity which the person asking must now adopt and do until someone else asks them what they are doing. This is done in quick succession.

5. I Am A _________: In this exercise everyone stands in a circle and one person steps into the middle and says I am a  ________ (pirate for example) everyone else one at a time interacts in some way with the pirate until everyone has gone once then another person steps in and proclaims something new by saying I am a bread maker for example. The key here is to rotate with the interactions quickly.

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6. Rapid Fire: Two lines of people single file face one person we will call the pointer. The pointer will give a topic with a lot of possible answers "musical instruments" for example. The pointer then points between the two players at the front of the line upon which they must give a different answer to the overall topic. Trombone, Tuba, Clarinet etc until one of them fails. Send them to the back of the line and start with a new topic!

 

7. Zulu: everyone stands shoulder to shoulder with a pointer standing in front of the group. The pointer will create a topic like in Rapid Fire and then will randomly point to anyone in the line to give a one word answer to the topic created.

 

8. Ping Pong: two players create a story one word at a time back and forth until the story is complete.   

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9. Three Statue Frozen Justification: 3 people all take up a frozen pose, all at the same time on stage. the 1st person activates justifying their pose and creates dialogue, and movement considered to be the scenes opening. They then stop after a couple of sentences of dialogue, and then adopt exactly the same frozen pose they started from and freeze again to end their part. Then the next improviser activates, justifies their position and moves the scene forward with more dialogue adding to the previous improvisers work, then freezes in the same position they started in. They are contributing the middle of the scene content including any raising of the stakes or conflict. Then the last and final person activates, justifies the position they are in and finds a way to bring the story to its conclusion!

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10. Circle Speak: Everyone stands in a circle, someone steps in to the middle and makes a verbal offer. They then step back, someone else steps in and advances on the offer given and so on until everyone has added to the existing offers.  

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11. Big Booty: Everyone stands in a horseshoe shape with the last person being Big Booty. Everyone numbers off and then a sequence of clapping begins where everyone keeping cadence chants Big Booty, Big Booty, Aw Yeah. then the person that is Big Booty says Big booty Number 5, (any number) that person then says Big Booty number 3, and so on until someone messes up. When someone messes up they go to the end of the horseshoe and everyone shuffles down in position and the game continues. 

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12. What's My Line?: At the beginning of the practice or show get someone / audience to write a bunch of dialog lines on to pieces of paper. Scatter those pieces about the floor then have the improvisors start the game. They must incorporate / justify the lines in to their game / scene as if that was what they were going to say. In general, each improvisor should read out four to five lines each, before ending the game. 

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13. Party Quirks: One host starts the party and must guess, as to whom their guests are once they arrive and mingle. Each guest will get an emotion, or a character trait, or a personality from the past. These are hidden / unknown to the host. The players cant say whom they are but must hint and or leave verbal clues for the host to figure out who they are. 

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14. Arms Scene Debate: Four performers onstage, two of which stand side by side facing the audience and have their hands behind their backs. The other two performers stand behind the first two and slide their arms through the nooks left by the first two, becoming the first two's set of arms. Then a host will stand between the first two and begin the debate which has three phases. 1. Opening comments from both guests regarding the topic selected by the audience at the host's request. 2. some back and fourth patter 3. closing comments (usually the debate is about opposites like briefs versus shorts or sugary food versus health food, etc.

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15. Repair Shop: In this game one player is a repair shop owner trying to determine what is wrong with an item brought in by a customer. Before this game starts the repair person is sent away and the player left onstage gets from the audience a general house hold item and then something that is terribly wrong with it (that normally would not be associated with that item, for example a possessed vacuum cleaner) Once those things are agreed upon the repair shop will return to the store (be brought in from outside) and try to figure out what the item is and what is wrong with it. The player playing can not tell the repair shop owner what the item is but must use mime, verbal clues and suggestions as to what it might be, and what might be wrong with it. 

 

16. Freeze: Players are molded into a frozen position on stage by the other team and or the audience and upon starting must justify why they are in those positions. their team mates can yell out freeze change out positions then justify an entirely new scene. 

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17. Line Story: In this game everyone lines up shoulder to shoulder facing the audience with a target pointer (usually an audience member or the host being the pointer facing the players) while the designated pointer is pointing to a player they begin telling a story. Once the pointer moves from that player to another player, the player being pointed to must pick up the story from the previous player and continue on, even if it's in mid word. This continues until an error is made which puts the player that made the error out. The game continues until only one player is left to be declared the winner. For added difficulty the audience can give the players emotions, personalities, and all sorts of variants on what the players should incorporate into the story while playing the game.

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18. Should Have Said: Players create a scene and at any time the audience or other players can yell out "should have said" upon which the players must say something different (and not always the opposite of what was just said) and then continue on with the story. 

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19. Dubbed in Opera: In this game one player sings in gibberish opera then stops long enough for a translator to translate in English as to what they are singing about. when more then one player one stage is creating a story the translator for all the players singing will work together to build the story. (it is important for each player singing to stop and wait while the translator has time to translate before they begin singing again!)

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20. Bing Switcheroo: In this game three people create a story and when the bell sounds they all switch places and characters in the story with each other and then continue on with the story. Example: Mom Dad and their son are all going camping as the scene progresses and the bell sounds the boy may become the dad that then becomes the mom who then becomes the boy either way regardless of whom any of them become the story must continue as if no changes happened at all. 

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21. Crime of the Century: Two cops (players) are interrogating their suspect (another player) The two cops know the following, 1. What the crime is that the suspect committed. 2. What they used to commit the crime with (item) and 3. Where the crime was committed. While they are interrogating the suspect they are dropping hints and clues with the goal being for the suspect to fess up to their crime and tell the cops what they did (crime), what they did it with(the item they used to commit the crime) and where they committed the crime. (location) (the suspect does not know what they actually did, or with what item or where, and need to figure that information out.) At the beginning of this game the suspect leaves the stage while the three crucial pieces of information from the audience are asked for by the players playing the cops. The cops can not say any of the specific information they can only hint towards what it might be. It is up to the suspect to put together all the pieces, clues and such and then at the end say what their crime was, what item they used to commit that crime and where the crime was committed. Usually the crime is not a real life crime, but something made up. An example might be: The suspect stole a cookie from the cookie jar, using tweezers, in the garage. Or the suspect Stole a wig, using a guitar, at church. 

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22. Push to Talk: One player makes random statements as if they are speaking over a p.a. system. The other player must then incorporate those lines to the scene they are adapting. (very similar to Actor's Nightmare) 

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23. Remember When: Sitting as a team, you go around the group “remembering” an event that you’re actually making up on the spot! Begin the game by introducing a make-believe memory that the team experienced together. For instance, “Remember when we went to see the Super Bowl together?”

Each person then adds another detail, creating a story of your time together as you go. The more creative, random, or outrageous the details, the better! Taking left turns and adding funny nuances to the “memory” helps bring out people’s personalities, sparks giggles, and brings the team closer together.

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24. Unfortunately, Fortunately: Someone starts by voicing an issue or problem they have. Unfortunately.... then someone else chimes in with fortunately and creates a positive outlook on the situation and then rise and repeat as often as required.

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25. Fade Right / Fade Left: In this game four improvisors stand in the shape of a square two in front, two behind the two in front. Each person is given a relationship status that they have with each person to the right or left of them as well as the person in front or behind them. When the game starts the two upfront begin a scene with the dynamics of their relationship status being noticeable. When shift right or left is called they shift within the square dynamic to a new positioning introducing a new relationship dynamic. Only the two performers up front are acting out the scene.

 

 

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​ Long Form Improv: Outside of the games and exercises there are also many different formats of long improv. I will be posting those forms here over the months to come. So do come back to get updated on these improv forms as I post them. 

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