Introduction to Improvising
Warm Up
* Yes, And… 10 Mins
- Put the group into pairs.
- Explain they are going act out a story together.
- One person speaks at a time and the other person will listen, agree and add something new.
For example:
“We were digging a hole.”
“Yes, and we hit a rock.”
“Yes, and we took the rock out.”
“Yes, and we saw it had writing on it.”
“Yes, and it was instructions to where there was buried
treasure.”
“Yes, and we followed the instructions to an island.” - Once they have practiced this in their pairs make an audience.
- Ask for a few volunteers to do this exercise in front of an audience.
Troubleshooting: Inevitably, some people will get stuck and start asking questions or will find creative ways of blocking the ideas.
Blocking examples:
“And I broke my leg.”
“Why did you do that?” – This is not adding an idea.
“I don’t know.”
“Well what should we do now?” – This is not adding an idea.
“And I broke my leg.”
“And you felt sad.”
“And I cried.”
“And I felt sad.” – This is not giving the couple anything to do.
To prevent this, encourage them to give an action each time they add an idea.