Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation (7 page)

OR

B: Yes, let's sneak out of the house through the basement.

OR

B: Yes —
is anybody picketing anything? I feel like counter-protesting.

With "Yes, & . .." there are an unlimited number of scenic possibilities, and each player
continues to supply information.

In this way, one step at a time, each player provides a building block, until they have
easily, painlessly, constructed a scene. Answering "Yes, but..."
stops any continued growth,
while a flat "No" erases the block that has just been established.

Construction metaphors aside, this is a very relaxing way in which to work. A player
knows that anything he says on stage will be immediately accepted by his
fellow player, and
treated as if it were the most scintillating idea ever offered to mankind. His partner then adds
on to his idea, and moment by moment, the two of them have created a scene that neither of
them had planned.

Agreement is the one rule
that
can never be broken:
players must be in agreement to
forward the action of the scene.

When improvisers meet on stage, they agree to accept each other's initiations; they must
completely commit to the reality they create^ for each other without a moment's hesitation. No
matter how much of an improv cliché the line has become, if the first player says, "Well, here
we are in Spain," then everyone on stage accepts that they are indeed in Spain. The next player
might say, "Look out for that bull," and everyone
is
in the path of a charging bull. And so the
scene is built.

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Each new initiation furthers the last one, and the scene progresses. The acceptance of
each other's ideas brings the players together, and engenders a "group mind." Denying the
reality that is created on stage ends the progression of the scene, and destroys any chance of
achieving a group consciousness.

Denials are taboo in improvisation. Being a good team player
means having ethics. One
of the best examples of denial in improv occurred during the early days of Second City, when
Del and Joan Rivers were in the same company, and it rankles him to this day.

One night during an improvised scene, Joan told Del that she wanted a divorce. Del
responded as an emotionally distraught husband might, in the hope of getting her to reconsider.
"But honey, what about the children?" She replied, "We don't have any children!"

Naturally, she got a huge laugh. Naturally, she had completely destroyed the scene.

Rivers' laugh was at the expense of the scene, and she lost the trust of a fellow player. Her
reply was a blatant denial of Del's initiation that they had children.

(In fairness, it must be noted that Miss Rivers was capable of brilliant scenic
improvisation —
Joan Rivers is certainly a talented, successful
stand-up comic, but stand-up
comedy is worlds apart from ensemble work.)

What kind of an improviser goes for the quick joke at the expense of his partner and the
scene? Usually someone who is weak, insecure, or egotistical. It is an act of desperation, done
to control the scene or to try and look better. A player who chooses this road finds few players
will work with him on stage, because they know they will be sacrificed for an easy joke.

When an audience watches improvisers setting each other up with information,
supporting each other's ideas, and furthering the scenes, they see true art in action.

So far, this chapter has devoted itself to the importance of agreement and avoiding
conflict. At the risk of confusion, there are ways in which an argument can
be presented during
an improvised scene.

While disagreement is not interesting, the
tension
that conflict causes may be. The players
can agree to disagree (thus turning it into a game), as long as there is agreement between the
players to further the scene. For example, a boxing match is not conflict. It
is
a fight, but it's
actually a game played under an agreed-upon set of rules. Conflict in a scene between the
characters
may be used, but the conflict between the
players
must be avoided.

One of the finest examples of agreeing to disagree is the Monty Python "Argument
Sketch," in which a man enters a room and finds another man at a desk:

"Is this the right room for an argument?"

"I've told you once."

"No you haven't."

"Yes I have."

"When?"

"Just now."

"No you didn't."

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"Yes I did."

"Didn't." "Did."

"Didn't."

"I'm telling you I did."

"You did not!"

"I'm sorry, is this a five-minute argument, or the full
half-hour?"

...
And it continues on into a hilarious argument. Obviously
the scene is tightly scripted,
rather than improvised on stage,
but there is a clear-cut game at its core. It
uses
what
appears to
be conflict, but is actually total agreement, to forward the scene through a disagreement game.

GAMES TO TEACH AGREEMENT

Conflict Scenes

One of the first principles taught to students at the Improv-
Olympia is that agreement is
much more interesting than conflict.

This is done by placing the actors in situations which normally cause conflict on stage.
However, they are instructed to make unusual choices, so that the expected conflict will not
arise. These unlikely choices lead the scenes in interesting directions that could not have been
planned.

However, this exercise is
not
about conflict. It is actually about agreement, and what
develops after agreement is reached.

Conflict is merely the starting point, which leads the players to discover what the scene is
about. It is the
relationship between the players
that makes the scene.

Possible conflict scenes might include "The Arrest," "The Robbery," or even "The Last
Seat on the Bus." One example of a conflict scene leading into an interesting relationship was
"The Robbery."

(A woman enters and finds a man in her home.)

WOMAN: Excuse me, what are you doing in my house?

MAN: I'm robbing you.

WOMAN: I don't know that
I would have anything that you would want.

MAN: Well, these paintings are exquisite! I can tell they're not originals,

but they are worth something.

WOMAN: Thank you. I painted those.

MAN: What? I am impressed! This is incredible work!

WOMAN: I am so flattered —
I insist you have it.

As the relationship grows, they continue to share their expertise in the field of art, while
she assists him in taking her prized possessions.

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Another example of a conflict scene was done by Adam and Rick, portraying a cop
chasing a robber. Both actors were running in place, giving the illusion of an officer chasing a
thief:

COP:(Panting)
Hey —
I'm 50 years old and a little overweight. Can we

stop and rest for a minute?

ROBBER:(Panting)
You're not gonna grab me if we rest?

COP: Promise. Just for a few seconds —
on the count of three. One, Two.

Three.

(Both stop, heavily panting.)

COP: Boy, this part of my job is murder.

ROBBER: It's my least favorite part, too. But, it comes with the territory.

Speaking of territory —
this is a pretty tough beat for a 50-year-old.

COP: Yes. Well, experience counts for something. I'm ready —
how about

you?

ROBBER: Okay. One. Two. Three —
go.

(Both start running.)

This scene continued on with the officer and the robber agreeing to stop every few
beats,
which allowed them to build an interesting relationship —
proving once again that agreement
in a potentially conflictive situation leads to an unusual choice!

The actors quickly discover that the audience laughs at agreement —
a secret of comedy
that veryfew people Audiences aren't used to seeing actors agreeing very often, and
they rarely
see people agree to the things improv forces them to agree with!

Audiences at the ImprovOlympic have become quite sophisticated through the years.
They respond poorly when they see denials on stage —
and a few players are even booed!

The Ad Game

This game is a Del Close Special. It teaches several lessons, but it's particularly useful for
actors to learn the "Yes, & . . ." approach to creating.

Usually played with approximately six or eight actors, the group has five minutes to
create an ad campaign for an ordinary product with an unusual quality. For example: cereal
that plays music when milk is poured on it.

The group must come up with a name for the product, a
package design, a slogan, a
spokesperson, and a jingle to create an entire marketing strategy and finished commercial.

Naturally, the only way to do this in five minutes is through complete and total agreement
—
no negative thinking is allowed. Every idea
is accepted enthusiastically and remembered,
each step is built off the previous idea. In order to properly brainwash the actors with this
theory of acceptance, the director may want to force them to over-accept, screaming "Yes!"

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"Terrific idea!" "Great!" and other praises of brilliance after each idea is stated. This
over-acceptance —
particularly of stupid ideas —
only makes the game funnier.

Most of the time, the players dramatize the game with lots of pacing, thinking, and
enthusiastic shouts of agreement.

The Ad Game also familiarizes actors with important techniques for successfully creating
a scene. The first, and most important, is the "Yes, & . . ." principle.

Everything is accepted, treated respectfully and most importantly, used.
The other players
treat all ideas as if they were their own, and take turns building on them. There is an unspoken
agreement between improvisers on stage: "You bringa brick, and I bring a brick. Then
together, we build a house. You wouldn't bring in your own entire house and slap it on top of
mine. Together, moment by moment, we create a scene."

Since every idea is remembered and used, players shouldn't give morethan one
suggestionfor each topic. One is enough;the first one is always accepted and used —
once the
product is named, suggesting a second name takes the game sideways. The Ad Game teaches
players to go forward. There's no need for a second suggestion, since the group will make the
or suggestion work splendidly. In the Ad Game, the word "or"should never be used.

Since all of the workshop exercises are techniques for performance, they inevitably end
up on stage in some form or another in Harolds (Of course, sometimes games are slightly
amended in a performance situation for a particular Harold theme).

The following game was created by workshop students, based on the suggestion of a dog
food that makes dogs talk (These students were clearly trying to test the theory that any idea
will succeed).

AD EXECUTIVE: We have dog food that makes dogs talk. Now, who are

we
going to market this to?

RESPONSE: Lonely singles.

(All agree emphatically.)

AD EXEC: Okay, we need a name.

RESPONSE: Dinner Companion Dog Food.

(Shouts of approval)

AD EXEC: Great! We need a slogan.

RESPONSE: How about "When you're lonely, feed your dog?"