What we just did there was an improvisation exercise that helps an actor develop their improv technique. Improv is a genre of performance where the story line and development of the plot is left solely to the actors on stage and is performed totally off the cuff. Think of Theatre sports and “Who’s Line is it Anyway.”
The beauty of improv is that there are no rules, which means that you can make anything up. This means that the outcome of any scene is completely unpredictable. And the joy of the audience is in the constantly shifting perception of what is happening.
When the thing popped out of the box, who saw a 12 legged monster?Who saw a saber-toothed bunny rabbit? Who saw the alien from… Alien? And then when I pushed it back down saying DOWN BOY! How did your imagining of that creature change? And finally when the toastmaster named it, how did your perception alter even more? The beauty of that scene was the evolution of what you thought was happening.
Now I said previously that there were no rules with improv. That was a little bit of a lie. There is one rule. Although since actors tend to be slightly anarchistic in nature it’s touted as more of a guideline. That rule, guideline, is you cannot refuse what’s given to you. You cannot say “No but...” you can only say “Yes and...” and where this leads you is accepting what’s given to you and building on it.
Earlier on our volunteer gave me a present. By the way that he held his hands, the way he presented it, it looked like a box. He could have given me a tube, he could have given me a ball, he could have given me a basket. But no he gave me a box. And so I accepted the box. I said yes by taking it, and… when I opened it the story developed. Then when I turned to him and asked him to name it, he said yes, there is something there, and… I’m going to give you its name. Through these “yes ands” our picture of what was happening evolved. My reaction to what was inside the box dictated what you saw, as well as what he called it. He didn’t know he’d have to name it. I told him to mime giving me a biggish present. That’s all I told him. I said nothing about what was inside and nothing about my reaction to it. His naming it then changed how we all saw it because I guarantee you, each of our pictures was different.Now through all of this neither of us said “No but”. That way we built on the beauty of the creation.
When you are doing this exercise with a group of performers inevitably someone knows, like they know like they know, that they are the best, funniest scriptwriter in the room. They think “I’m a funny guy. So I should be in charge.” And they try to control the process.
For example “I’m sorry to see you limping, what happened?”(response)“No, no, no. You’re supposed to say, you’re supposed to say, now listen to me now. You’re supposed to say: A dog bit my leg. That way I can say: But I thought you said you dog doesn't bite? And then you can say: I did, it was not my dog. And then it will be funny!” But it’s not because it’s, contrived. We've all heard that joke before. However she didn't say that. She said to me… (her line) How wonderful is this now? Now we’re sitting on a story. Where did this happen? Why did this happen? What will happen when we’re together and it happens again?
That’s where the magic lies. The beauty of the uncertainty of not knowing where it’s going to go. Her giving me that small lead and together us saying “Yes and” building a narrative more interesting, more powerful than either of us could do by ourselves.
By nature parts of this speech has to be slightly improvised. I had no clue what she was going to tell me. Not the foggiest what she was going to throw my way.
But isn't that exactly what we experience all the time? We’re given something, a situation, a reaction from someone, we can’t turn around and say “I’m sorry, I don’t like this line. Take it back. Give me a new one.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t like this situation. Take it back. Give me a new one.”
“I’m sorry; I don’t like this life…”
We have to respond to what we’re given. We have to make the best of the gift of the situation we’re in. We have to say: “Yes and…”
Yes! I accept it. And! How can I change it?
Yes! I accept it. And how can I make it better?
Yes! I accept it. And how can WE make this work?!
There’re no “buts…” You can’t give back a situation once it’s given to you. You can’t say I don’t want it scripted this way. I want it scripted that way. Make it funny that way! Uh-uh.“Yes and…”
So the next time that you’re faced with a situation that you find impossible, that you find intolerable, that you find is eating away at the very core of your soul. Don’t go “No but this is not me. This is not who I want to be! This is not my life!!!”…. Yes and.
Now I said previously that there were no rules with improv. That was a little bit of a lie. There is one rule. Although since actors tend to be slightly anarchistic in nature it’s touted as more of a guideline. That rule, guideline, is you cannot refuse what’s given to you. You cannot say “No but...” you can only say “Yes and...” and where this leads you is accepting what’s given to you and building on it.
Earlier on our volunteer gave me a present. By the way that he held his hands, the way he presented it, it looked like a box. He could have given me a tube, he could have given me a ball, he could have given me a basket. But no he gave me a box. And so I accepted the box. I said yes by taking it, and… when I opened it the story developed. Then when I turned to him and asked him to name it, he said yes, there is something there, and… I’m going to give you its name. Through these “yes ands” our picture of what was happening evolved. My reaction to what was inside the box dictated what you saw, as well as what he called it. He didn’t know he’d have to name it. I told him to mime giving me a biggish present. That’s all I told him. I said nothing about what was inside and nothing about my reaction to it. His naming it then changed how we all saw it because I guarantee you, each of our pictures was different.Now through all of this neither of us said “No but”. That way we built on the beauty of the creation.
When you are doing this exercise with a group of performers inevitably someone knows, like they know like they know, that they are the best, funniest scriptwriter in the room. They think “I’m a funny guy. So I should be in charge.” And they try to control the process.
For example “I’m sorry to see you limping, what happened?”(response)“No, no, no. You’re supposed to say, you’re supposed to say, now listen to me now. You’re supposed to say: A dog bit my leg. That way I can say: But I thought you said you dog doesn't bite? And then you can say: I did, it was not my dog. And then it will be funny!” But it’s not because it’s, contrived. We've all heard that joke before. However she didn't say that. She said to me… (her line) How wonderful is this now? Now we’re sitting on a story. Where did this happen? Why did this happen? What will happen when we’re together and it happens again?
That’s where the magic lies. The beauty of the uncertainty of not knowing where it’s going to go. Her giving me that small lead and together us saying “Yes and” building a narrative more interesting, more powerful than either of us could do by ourselves.
By nature parts of this speech has to be slightly improvised. I had no clue what she was going to tell me. Not the foggiest what she was going to throw my way.
But isn't that exactly what we experience all the time? We’re given something, a situation, a reaction from someone, we can’t turn around and say “I’m sorry, I don’t like this line. Take it back. Give me a new one.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t like this situation. Take it back. Give me a new one.”
“I’m sorry; I don’t like this life…”
Yes! I accept it. And! How can I change it?
Yes! I accept it. And how can I make it better?
Yes! I accept it. And how can WE make this work?!
There’re no “buts…” You can’t give back a situation once it’s given to you. You can’t say I don’t want it scripted this way. I want it scripted that way. Make it funny that way! Uh-uh.“Yes and…”
So the next time that you’re faced with a situation that you find impossible, that you find intolerable, that you find is eating away at the very core of your soul. Don’t go “No but this is not me. This is not who I want to be! This is not my life!!!”…. Yes and.
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