Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation (6 page)

When performers truly commit to a scene, they
take care of
each other. Whenever
someone makes what appears to be a mistake on stage, the others will immediately justify it
and weave it into the pattern of the entire work. More often than not, those "mistakes" become
valuable contributions to the piece. The entire ensemble winds up looking brilliant because,
like the Sufi weaver, they acknowledge mistakes and incorporate them into the larger work to
add extra texture and depth.

In other words, justify!
If a scene fails because a player makes a wrongmove
the whole
group must share the blame if they didn't justify the move. Each improviser shares a small
portion of responsibility for the piece on stage. They must focus their concentration on the
work of the group —
not
the work of any individual.

One other approach, according to Del, is to attack the stage —
advice which Chris Farley
took to heart during his very first improv class with Del.

"I got up there and tried to impress him with as much sweat and blood as I knew how,
because that's all I had," says Farley. "I just went up there with as much physical movement as
I could, because that's all I knew. I could do physical movement because I played football.
Maybe I was
too
aggressive because I was nervous.

"I remember reading that Del told John Belushi to attack the stage, and so I tried to attack
the stage like Belushi. He said 'Settle down, son! You're sweating too hard. You're like the
guys they strap to the front of a battleship when they go into battle —
fearless, but you have to
have some control, too.' That's one of the first things he ever said to me, and he taught me the
balance. He taught me everything I know," says Farley.

"From Del, I learned to face my fear. He taught me to follow that fear and trust that
something will come to me, to step
off the cliff and take a risk."

Of course, it's much easier to fearlessly attack the stage when a player can trust his
teammates to support him. One of the best ways to teach support and trust —
and reinforce the
use of patterns and connections —
is through a game called "The Hot Spot."

THE HOT SPOT

When "The Hot Spot" is played correctly, it's a joy to behold, and even more enjoyable to
create. When it's not done well, it can be excruciatingly embarrassing for all concerned.

This game utilizes several of the previously discussed improv principles. The Hot Spot
demonstrates how easy it is to make connections, even when players don't realize they are
doing so; it also teaches the absolute necessity of players supporting each other. Students
quickly learn that the game is more important than its individual players; egos have to be
sacrificed for the good of the game. The greater the trust, the faster and funnier the game.

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The rules are actually quite simple. The players gather on stage in a loose half-circle
around an imaginary "hot spot," located down stage center. The group must create a musical
pattern of ideas, using lines from real songs, inspired by a previous scene or the general theme
of the piece.

To do this, one person stands firmly on the hot spot. He has the "spotlight," and must
begin a song, singing loudly and confidently.

Before he can finish the second line, however, another player literally pushes him off of
the hot spot. The new player loudly and confidently begins singing a different song that has
been inspired by the one he has just heard.

He is immediately interrupted by a third player, who knocks
him
off the hot spot and
begins singing another song, similar in theme. This continues at a fast pace, with players
bumping each other away at a rapid clip (just as acts used to get the "hook" in vaudeville days).

Each of the players is responsible for keeping the game moving at a very fast pace by
pushing each other off the hot spot as soon as the idea has been conveyed.
Game moves may —
and should, be —
repeated
to keep the pattern circling back.

EXAMPLE: If the theme of the Hot Spot was "Sex," the game might start out with players
singing the following:

PLAYER ONE: "I'm just a girl who can't say no —"
PLAYER TWO: "But will you love me tomorrow —"
PLAYER THREE: "Girls just want to have fun —"
PLAYER FOUR: "When will you marry me, Bill —"

Obviously, this is the beginning of a pattern of songs dealing with commitment (or the
lack of) in relationships. This might be inspired by the theme of sex.

Another example of the Hot Spot was used in a Harold inspired by the theme of "growing
up." These songs actually built the story of a life, while returning to key points of that life:

PLAYER ONE: "Happy birthday to you —" PLAYER TWO: "I won't

grow up! I don't want to go to school —"

PLAYER THREE: "Smokin' in the boys' room —" PLAYER FOUR:

"When I was 17, it was a very good year —"

PLAYER ONE: "Happy birthday to you —"

PLAYER THREE: "When I was 21, it was a very
good year —"
PLAYER TWO: "When Johnny comes marching
home again, hurrah,

hurrah —"

PLAYER FOUR: "Get a job, sha na na na —"

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PLAYER FIVE: "Workin' nine to five, what a way
to make a livin' —"
PLAYER TWO: "Take this job and shove it, I ain't
workin' here no more

—"

PLAYER ONE: "Happy birthday to you —"

PLAYER TWO: "When I was 35, it was a very good year —"

PLAYER FOUR: "When I get older, losing my hair,
many years from now

—"

PLAYER FIVE: "Old man, take a look at my life,
I'm a lot like you —"
PLAYER TWO: "Day is done, gone the sun —"

Clearly, the
players dealt with birth, childhood, school, the army, jobs, marriage, and
death —
a musical pattern
exploring the idea of growing up in the Hot Spot!

As a theme emerges, the game takes on its own pace. The Hot Spot is similar to the
Pattern Game, but the
music and physical elements of the Hot Spot result in a wilder, more
frenetic pace.

(This is also a good game for a large number of players, and is sometimes played with two
or more teams; 10, 15, or even 20 players can create an effective, highly charged
"Hot Spot"
game.)

Even if the players don't have a song in mind, they should still be encouraged to push each
other off the hot spot, for several reasons.

Primarily, this is a perfect opportunity for players to exhibit support for their fellow
players. The best way to support the teammate on the hot spot is to rudely shove him off that
spot.

The game is at stake here. If one player is stuck on the hot spot for too long, he grows
embarrassed; even worse it makes the group look like it isn't working together. And if that
playter has to sing more than two lines, it isn't.

Again, the only way for the group to look good is for each of its members to commit
himself to keeping the game moving rapidly. When a player jumps out without an idea, he
discovers that a song sung off the top of his head at the spur of the moment usually connects to
the theme better than anything devised while waiting on the sidelines.

The Hot Spot is a great opportunity for a player to put his mind to the test, to see how it
kicks in during
an emergency situation.

In the unlikely event that the song doesn't connect, the group makes it work by weaving it
into the pattern. This is a chance for the other players to show their confidence in their fellow
improviser's idea, trusting that it must be brilliant. If the group treats each of its players as a
creative genius, they
will be.

The Hot Spot is a high-energy game that's easy to learn, and as much fun to watch as it is
to play.

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KEY POINTS FOR CHAPTER THREE
*Respect choices made by others.

*There are no bad ideas.

*There are no mistakes. Everything is justified.

*Treat others as if they are poets, geniuses and artists, and they will be.
*The best way to look good is to make your fellow players look good.

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CHAPTER FOUR
Agreement

Conflict is about as necessary as the Mad Scientist's daughter in a science fiction film. It's
an arbitrary convention that need not be respected.

In the early days of improvisation, the molders and shapers of the art discovered very
quickly that arguing on stage accomplished little, except to delay the action that would have
naturally arisen in the first place.

"While improvising scenario plays at the Compass Theater, we discovered that when
actors would go on stage, given the choice of agreeing or arguing, they would
inevitably
argue," observes Del. "Consequently, a scenario would last six or seven hours!

" 'Hand me the wrench.'

" 'I don't have it.'

" 'Go get it.'

" 'I don't know where it is.'

" It's in the car.'

" T don't want to go to the car.'

" 'But I need the wrench.'

" 'Then go get it.'

". . . And on and on. What would happen if we
agreed instead of disagreed? Problems
would be solved, and there would be more action —
'Here's the wrench, and I'll hold the light
for you.'

"Business is taken care of in a lot less time! Freud, in his essay 'Psychopathic Characters
on Stage,' called
Hamletthe first truly modern play, because the conflict is not so much
between the characters as
within
the characters.

"It's too easy to find ways to disagree. It strikes me that t
more interesting thing for the art
form —
and for the planet —
is to look for ways to agree, rather than disagree. At the Improv-
Olympic, the principle of agreement is taken even further by the 'Yes, & ...' approach."

This is, in fact, a major difference between improv and scripted material. Much of drama
is based on conflict, but when a playwright is devising the script, the arguments do more than
delay action. Performers like Laurel and Hardy could probably perform the exchange about the
wrench as written and have audiences rolling in the aisles because of the familiar interactions
of their characters, but during an improv, such bickering only delays the furtherance of action.

In the hands of a writer, a disagreement can reveal hidden aspects of characters, aim
the
scene in a new direction, or convey other valuable information. When two improvisers are on
stage arguing, they are only preventing something more interesting from happening.

Fortunately, there is a very simple way for even a first-
time player to promote agreement.

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Yes &

"Yes, & . . ." is the most important rule in improvisation (the corporate name for the
ImprovOlympic is "Yes & . . . Productions"). By following this simple rule, two players can
build a scene before they know it.

The "Yes, & ..." rule simply means that whenever two actors are on stage, they agree with
each other to the Nth degree. If one asks the other a question, the other must respond
positively, and then provide additional information, no matter how small: "Yes, you're right,
and I also think we should . .." Answering "No" leads nowhere in a scene:

A: Do you want to go to the movies?

B: No.

Even a positive answer is insufficient:

A: Do you want to go to the movies?

B: Yes

The "Yes, & ..." rule will lead players to their scene:

A:
Do you want to go to the movies?

B: Yes, and let's go off our diets and eat a lot of greasy popcorn.