Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation (8 page)

(Group praise)

AD EXEC:
(Repeating all suggestions so far, so that all is remembered)

Okay! Dinner Companion Dog Food. "When you're lonely, feed your

dog." Hmmm . . . how are we going to market this? RESPONSE: TV!

AD EXEC: Yes! Now, who should we get as spokesperson for this type of

product?

RESPONSE: How about the perfect conversationalist —
Barbara Walters?

(Screams of delight)

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AD EXEC: Perfect! What's this commercial going to look like?

RESPONSE: I see a candlelight dinner for two. A beautiful table

exquisitely set.

OTHERS JOIN IN: And between the two candelabras is a gleaming silver

can opener!

Yes! Seated at the table are Barbara Walters and her dog!

She is, of course, asking the dog a lot of very personal questions ...

Which he answers with charm and wit!

AD EXEC: Wonderful! Is there music playing?

RESPONSE: Yes! Violin playing "Talk to Me, Like Lovers Do."

ANOTHER PLAYER: The label of the can will have a picture of a dog

dressed in a suit and tie, with a boutonniere in his lapel and bouquet of

roses tucked under his paw.

AD EXEC: And above that, the words "Dinner Companion. When you're

lonely, feed your dog."

Another example was an Ad Game played during a Harold with the theme of
"advertising." The Ad Game was used to show the important role advertising has played
throughout history.

The scene takes place between Jesus and his disciples in a brainstorming session for ideas
to enhance the number of Jesus' followers. They immediately agree that rumors of a couple of
miracles would be helpful, and agree to say that his mother was a virgin (although some resist
this idea, thinking it too unbelievable).

Judas has an idea for a jingle. He sings "Silent Night, Holy Night/We're gonna rock
around the clock tonight."

All the other disciples laugh and chide him
for his musical ideas, especially his earlier
suggestion for a musical play called "Godspell." He becomes angry and storms out. Trying in
vain to get Judas to return, Jesus calls out to him, "Come on, Judas, turn the other cheek!"

Peter seizes this opportunity to use Jesus' statement as their new slogan. "After all," he
says, "It's so much easier to understand than It is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to get to heaven'."

All the disciples agree.

Now a spokesperson
is needed. Simon shouts, "John the Baptist!"

"Yes," all agree. "There's a man with a head on his shoulders." (The audience groans here
set off the Joke Alarm, warning the players not to get too "jokey.")

In heavy thought, Jesus paces back and forth across the room. He says, "We still need
something else. Something big
that will sell the crowd."

Meanwhile, the waitress begins removing the dinner dishes from the table. Noticing that
Jesus' plate is still full, she asks, "Is he finished, or is he coming bac
k?"

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In unison, the disciples scream with delight, "HE'S COMING BACK!"
Using the basic idea of the Ad Game, the players rewrote biblical history.

KEY POINTS FOR CHAPTER FOUR
*Yes, and ...
Accept and build.

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CHAPTER FIVE

Initiations and Game Moves

Giving
Gifts

Improvisation is like steering a car by looking through the rear view mirror, according to
British director Keith Johnstone. You don't know where you're going, you can only see where
you've been.

When two improvisers step on stage, neither one should know anything about the scene
they are about to create —
they basically start with nothing.

In improvisation, an initiation is the first information provided by one of the players. This
can be a line of dialog, a gesture, or even an attitude.

A good initiation is vital to the scene, because it provides players with information that
forms the foundation ot their scene. The be5st initiations make assumptions, usually about
their relationship, roles, Dislocations. Naturally, the other player accepts, embraces and builds
on whatever is offered in that initiation, so the scene will be off to a rousing start.

A scene that begins with one player saying "Hello" to the other generally indicates a slow
start, while a line like "Guten morgen, Herr Doctor, your experiment is on the slab" offers all
sorts of potential to a fellow improviser.

Whatever the initiation may be, the players then take turns adding information. They'll
soon discover that they've built a scene through their responses to each other's initiations.

He who
gives information is a gift-giver; he who asks questions is a thief.

Questions —
asking other players for information —
are an unnecessary evil for
improvisers. Instead of providing fellow actors with facts, questions place the burden of
invention upon the other players. It's much better for an improviser to
assume
he knows the
same information as the other actors, and use the opportunity to contribute his own share of
information to the scene.

When a player asks a question, he usually has an answer
in
mind. So, why ask the
question in the first place? If he wants to bring a particular idea into the scene, phrasing it as a
question is usually a bad move. After all, his fellow player may not have the same idea that he
does, and he may get a completely different answer than he had hoped for.

When two actors in a workshop were portraying a homeless couple, the wife had the idea
to find a lottery ticket in the street. Unfortunately, her husband didn't know this, so when she
pointed to the ground and said, "Look, what's that?", the husband replied, "Uh ... it's just a pile
of shit."

The woman was flustered. "No," she said, completely denying his on-the-spot
assumption. "It's a lottery ticket."

Wrong! It
was
a pile of shit. It would
have
been a lottery ticket, if only she had said so in
the first place!

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Of course, some questions are worse than others; some questions provide information,
rather than require it. Asking, "Look, what's that?" is much less helpful than, "Look, is that a
lottery ticket?" Of course, it's easier to simply say, "Look, there's a lottery ticket."

GAME MOVES IN SCENES

People are natural game players.

Some of the games are obvious, like
Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, and
baseball. Dr. Eric
Berne's book Games
People Play
deals with more subtle, psychological, interpersonal games
that people play to get what they want out of a specific relationship.

Likewise, improvisers initiate game moves to indicate the types of games being played in
a scene. The game provides the structure needed to solvethe problem of the scene.

The games, or scenic structures, are always created on the spot as part of the improvised
initiation. Picking up on the game move separates good game players from those who don't pay
attention. When an actor discovers what his fellow improviser wants, he should, by all means,
give it to him!

Some scenic games (games that develop in the context of a scene, as opposed to those
performed as the result of a deliberate decision) are standard, easily taught techniques, like
one-upmanship or speaking in verse, while others are invented on the spot.

Most of the time, the scenic game is discovered within the first three lines of the scene.
When it is missed, it's usually because the players haven't paid close attention.

Film and televisioncomedy are filled with scenic games. The Marx Brothers' "Stateroom
Scene" fromA Night at the Opera
is really a game of "How Many People Can We Cram Into
This Tiny Room?"I Love Lucy
usually involved a game of "Try to Sneak Into Ricky's Act." In
their slapstick films, Laurel and Hardy generally played a game that critics refer to as
"Reciprocal Destruction," which is just what it sounds like.

Even Monty Python's "Argument Sketch," like the majority of their sketches, is a good
example of a scenic game. Ifit was an improvised scene, a player would have no trouble dis-
covering the game to play from the first three lines:

"Is this the right room for an argument?"

(Even though this is a question, it is loaded withinformation and clear intent to play a
game.)

"I've told you once."

"No you haven't."

The game, or structure of the scene, is already crystal clear from those lines alone, and
any experienced improvisers could step in here and keep it going.

When an improviser finds the game within a scene, he's found the scene, and that's why
it's so important to pick up onany possible game moves. If a game move is clear-cut, it can
excuse almost anything —
as actor George Segal told Del, "Even if you're five minutes into a
scene, it's not too late to put on a foreign accent!"

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Another good example of a game being discovered in a scene occurred during a workshop
involving six players. One of them was to receive a huge promotion from the company
president, and they waited anxiously in a conference room for the decision
to be announced.

PETE: My son is on a kidney dialysis machine.
(An obvious sympathy ploy)

JENNA: And you're not with him?

PETE: No, I had to be here today.

JENNA: Oh, you should be with him every second. At times like these, a

child needs a father.
(The others all agree, increasing Pete's guilt.)

PETE: You're right. I'm going to him now. Thanks, guys.
(He hugs the

others and exits.)

DENNIS: Thank goodness my kid is healthy.

JENNA: Is he?

DENNIS: Yes, and athletic. A little league baseball player.

JENNA: Does he play in little league games after school?

DENNIS: Yes, he's pitching today.

JENNA: And you're not there?

DENNIS: Why, no. I had to be here.

PAT: When I was a boy, my dad never watched me play. I once pitched a

no-hitter, and he missed it. I never forgave him.

(Others chime in, once again indicating Dennis is
neglecting his son,

jeopardizing their relationship.)

DENNIS: You're right. My son is only young once.

What's more important than my son? I'm going to him. Thanks, guys.

(Dennis exits. The others look around at each other,
sensing fully their

intent to get rid of each other.)

JENNA:
(Relieved)
I have no kids. Nowhere to go, nothing to do.

PAT: That explains that nice tan. Plenty of time to lie in the sun and pamper

yourself on the weekend.

JENNA: Yes.

PAT: That's a cute little mole on your arm. Probably from the sun.

MARK: Sounds like something that could develop into cancer. I knew

someone who had a mole just like that, may she rest in peace. The sun

is very dangerous.

PAT: You should have that checked immediately.

JENNA: It's just a little mole. Do you really think I should worry?

PAT: What's more important than your health?

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JENNA: You're right. I'd better go. Thanks, guys. (She exits. There are just

three men left.)

PAT: Can you believe it? Twenty-seven million dollars in the lottery. Did

you guys get your tickets yet?

MARK: Yep.

BILL: No. But I've been playing the same number every single day for a

year and I never win. I'm not too worried about missing this one day.