A Glossary of Improv Terms the Following Is a List of Terms Used in Teaching and Discussing Improvisational Theatre

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A Glossary of Improv Terms the Following Is a List of Terms Used in Teaching and Discussing Improvisational Theatre A Glossary of Improv Terms The following is a list of terms used in teaching and discussing improvisational theatre. Warm-ups Warm-ups have no performance value. These are strictly participatory events. Although they may be mildly amusing to watch, putting them in the context of a performance defeats the purpose of the warm-up. The goal of a warm-up is to generate camaraderie, trust, and joi de vive between the players that are about to do a workshop together, or go on stage together. They rarely develop any particular skill, but allow people to get in the moment and be prepared to take risks with the other players that they are about improvise with. Most of them are down right goofy, and would be equally good icebreakers at a party. Exercises Exercises are improvisational structures that have a place more in the workshop than on the stage. Each exercise has some specific improvisational rule that it exemplifies. Exercises often break other improvisational rules so that players can focus on certain aspects of their craft. There are many exercises that are also good handles. Keep in mind that all the handles develop improv skills as well Handles These are the bread and butter of most improvisational theatre troupes. They all have the crucial audience participation component and they also have built in gimmicks that greatly increase the chance that comedy will happen. Eventually the games wear thin, but as long as the rules of environment, character and story are being maintained any handle should be as entertaining as any other handle. Accepting - Embracing the offers made by other performers in order to advance the scene. Advancing - The process of moving the scene forwards. Ask-for - The question asked of the audience in order to start a scene. Blocking - Rejecting information or ideas offered by another player. One of the most common problems experienced by new improvisers. In conventional theatre, the term is used to mean something different (pre-planned stage movement). Commenting - Stepping out of the reality of the scene by saying or doing something that refers to the fact that it's a scene being played. Also refers to "playing" an emotion rather than feeling it. Should be avoided, though used sparingly it can sometimes be effective. Conflict - Many (but not all!) scenes are about a conflict of some sort. If there's no conflict, the scene may still be truthful but somewhat dull. Corpse - To break up laughing while playing a scene. Usually not a good thing to do. Denial See "blocking". Driving - Taking over a scene and not letting other performers influence its direction. Makes you an unpopular improviser. Extending - Taking an idea and letting it become the central theme of the scene. Focus - The audience's attention should only be in one place at any given time; that place (or person) is the "focus" of the scene. If more than one thing is going on simultaneously, the focus is split. Experienced improvisers will smoothly share focus, less experienced improvisers often steal or reject focus. Gagging - Trying to make a joke or do something funny that doesn't flow naturally from the scene. Always a bad idea. Gibberish - A nonsense language. Handle - The premise for a scene or game. Masking - Standing in a place where you can't be seen properly, or in such a way that you're hiding someone else or some important action. Should be avoided. Mugging - Making silly faces instead of reacting truthfully. Generally frowned upon. Narrative - The story told by a scene. Scenes should have a clear beginning, middle and end. Objective - The thing that a character in a scene is trying to achieve. Offer - Any dialog or action, which advances the scene. Offers should be accepted. Offer from space - Dialog or action that is bizarre and that appears to come from nowhere. Physicalization - Turning intent into action and movement. Platform - The who, what and where of a scene. The success of a scene often depends on having a solid platform. Setup - Explaining the handle of the scene to the audience before the scene starts. Also involves doing an ask-for. The performer who does the setup usually shouldn't start off on stage in the scene. Space-object - An object that's used in the scene but which doesn't really exist. A mimed object. In general, anything that doesn't support weight (like a chair) should be a space object. Transformation - Turning something into something else (one character into another, one object into another, one environment into another). Waffling - Failing to make decisions. Talking about what you're going to do instead of doing it. Wanking - Doing something cute and silly that makes the audience laugh but doesn't do anything to advance the scene. Very annoying for the other improvisers. ASK-FORS Ask-fors are what separates improvisational theatre from all other forms of theatre. Asking the audience what they want the next scene to be about breaks down the barrier between the audience and the players. Extracting that information is a skill in itself. Every troupe has its own style of asking for audience suggestions. The approach suggested here is a neutral one aimed at a slightly neophyte or recalcitrant audience. Long List of Ask-Fors 1. Can I have a relationship between two people? 2. What is a room in the house? 3. What did you want to be when you grew up? 4. What am I holding in my hands (hold up hands)? 5. What is the opposite of the color (blue)? 6. May I get an occupation that involves no risk of physical injury? 7. May I get a backyard activity? 8. What are you planning to do on your next day off? 9. Can Iget a non-geographical location? 10. What is your uncle's favorite hobby? 11. Please fill in the blank. The -blank- family. 12. What is a lame excuse for not being given a speeding ticket? 13. What is your favorite fruit (vegetable, meat etc.)? 14. What is an annoying personal habit? 15. Fill in the blank. The -blank- holiday. 16. What is the worst excuse you have heard for missing work (school, church)? 17. Can I get a polysyllabic noun that starts with the letter D (F, G, etc)? 18. What is your favorite cereal (ice cream) topping? 19. Where is a bad place to take a date? 20. Fill in the blanks. For every -blank- there are seven -blanks-. 21. A poor choice of collateral. 22. Can I get a crucial moment in history? 23. If you could defy any natural law, what would it be? 24. What does it take to wake you up in the morning? 25. What is the eleventh commandment? 26. If you could invent a new human organ what would it be? 27. If you could work at a Federal Penitentiary what job would you choose? 28. What animal does your spouse remind you of? 29. Why are you limping this morning? Warm-ups Warm-ups have no performance value. These are strictly participatory events. Although they may be mildly amusing to watch, putting them in the context of a performance defeats the purpose of the warm-up. The goal of a warm-up is to generate camaraderie, trust, and joi de vive between the players that are about to do a workshop together, or go on stage together. They rarely develop any particular skill, but allow people to get in the moment and be prepared to take risks with the other players that they are about improvise with. Most of them are down right goofy, and would be equally good icebreakers at a party. Bippity Bippity Bop (warm-up) Introduction: Everyone into a circle with one person in the center. This warm-up breaks the ice, gets people listening and gets the blood flowing. Description: The person in the center of the circle starts to spin madly. They rapidly count up to ten while spinning around. Once they arrive at the number ten they point to one of the people in the circle. The person pointed at sticks their arm in front of their face and dangles it like an elephant trunk. The people on either side of the "trunk person" must make the ears of the elephant. So the person on the left side uses their left arm to touch their head, and the person on the right uses their right arm to form the right ear. Yes it does look really silly. Meanwhile the dizzy person in the center yells "Bippity Bippity Bop". The elephant must be formed before the center person gets to "Bop". If the elephant does not have ears and a trunk by the time "Bop" is called then someone has to replace the person in the center of the circle. Whichever person is responsible for the part that was not formed by the time "Bop" was yelled has to go into the center. I.e., if the elephant has a trunk and a right ear, but no left ear then the person to the left of the trunk goes into the circle. Someone from the circle decides ties. This is continued until someone vomits. Gimmicks: Make more complicated animals that involve several people and are not symmetrical Variations: Count silently, form a bunny instead of an elephant Malapropism (warm-up) Introduction: This warm-up will help us get out of heads, and into the moment for improvisation. Start milling about the room. Description: As the players are milling about they are to point at objects in the room and call out what the object is not.
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