Testing out my Improv Game

by jloftus1189

Hey everybody,

This weekend, I decided to try out my improv game that we played in class last Monday. In case you don’t remember which one it was, we all were assigned an individual of either upper, middle, or lower class status, but had no idea who the person actually was. We were forced to figure out our own identity through observing how the other people involved in the scene interacted with us.

I thought the game went well enough in class, but I was worried it would prove too difficult or intimidating for friends who had never had experience with improv before. I got a group of twelve friends together and explained the rules of the game to them. I sort of led the first scene and commented on what to do next while the scene was unfolding. Once everyone seemed to have an understanding of how the game was supposed to work, I let the first group of three give it a try on their own. To my surprise, the game worked extremely well! Everyone really found it fun and interesting, and a couple people even commented on how they gained some insight into social class perception and treatment. Most if not all of them were able to guess their assigned character by the end of their scene.

I was surprised that a group of improv rookies could tackle the game with such enthusiasm and success. I guess any group of willing people can improv with the best! I think it really helped that I didn’t emphasize the fact that it was an improv game. I merely told them that it was a party ice-breaker type of game. I think some people can be intimidated by the word improv, because they think the skill of improvisation is reserved for those who have either taken improv classes or are skilled in that area.

I also think the fact that I really tried to make the parameters of the game pretty tight, showing everyone how they should proceed if the game took various turns. With examples on what kind of questions to ask and how to respond to them, I gave everyone a templet to follow for their own acting.

However, it is always very important to emphasize creativity and spontaneity. I told everyone numerous times that if they had an impulse to say or do something, then they should go for it, even if they do not know how their action would turn out. I think this was one of the reasons everyone seemed so natural in the improvisational environment. That and the fact that we had all been friends since freshman year and felt comfortable around one another.

 

-Jason