Improvisation (part 2) - The Story (exercises 5-7)

IMPROV Part 2 - A Beginning Middle and End
"Get'n to the STORY!"

EXCERCISE 5

SOLO work with partnered or small group performance

NONSENSE LECTURE. – (max 2 minutes) this is about leading into character driven “givens”, and feeling free to let the topic create some movement during the lecture to help get the visual part of the lecture across.

In this exercise try and let the character  and the story drive the choices.

Some speaker ideas:
An old lady with missing teeth and a dog
A Frat dude with a gun
A Nature enthusiast that's drunk
A wacky chef with allergies
A garbage man with a broken leg
A cat
Your neighbor (do an impersonation)

Some Topics for the lecture:
The new petting zoo in the café
My new rocket powered bike
The dog across the street I kidknapped
My very first pet alligator
A cake for your worst enemy
The amusement park

***(make up some...keep'em on the vague side)

____________________________

EXCERCISE 6

TRIO Work

ENCOUNTERING PROBLEMS
Complicating a task to make it more interesting.

The Tasks

- taking out the garbage

- walking the dog

- buying a pack of gum
- going to bed 

- Drinking morning coffee

- Eating at a restaurant

- Opening the front door

Try to complete the task 
but get interrupted and never quite get the task completed... Possible Interruptions

A ghost appears
You long lost cat arrives
You find a corner of a space ship sticking out of the ground
You get a phone call
A crazy talking squirrel approaches you
You turn into a zombie
You get nauseous from the sun
There is a note on the ground

 _________________________

EXCERCISE 7

Work for FOUR

THROUGH THE DOOR -  Deal with the situation as they find it developing on the other side of the door.

Tell one actor to leave the room

The three remaining actors are told quickly that they have a problem...what's the conflict?

Possible conflicts:

• Just got word they must relocate
• The dog just died in the laundry machine
• Small creatures named "Yuttars" are living under the carpet.
• We all have to make a cake for a competition
• A winning lottery ticket is found under the couch
• The kitchen is on fire
• The police are on their way because of theft
• The window just had a rock thrown threw it

(make up more...)

The first actor returns to deal with the conflict with the group. the scene is started and the actor then comes into the scene and adjusts to all the givens and keeps the scene going.

_________________________________

Follow up

Talk About: What makes the scenes work best.

Talk About: Who had the best story? (Beg, Mid, End)

Question to ponder: "Why is it always in the details?"