At a glance
Pairs · skills built in class from Thread 2, Day 6 onwards · performed cold on Thread 2, Day 17 · scenes run one to two minutes
What you are making
You and a partner will perform a short improvised scene built from three slips of paper drawn from three envelopes: a location, a relationship, and an objective — something one character wants from the other. You will not know your slips until moments before you begin. There is no script and no rehearsal of the scene itself; what you rehearse, for two weeks of in-class games and exercises, is the skill of building a scene with another person in real time.
Performed cold does not mean unprepared. It means the preparation is in you, not on paper.
How to work
The whole showcase rests on one habit: accept and build. Whatever your partner offers, you treat as true and add to it — “yes, and”.
- If your partner says “Doctor, it’s spreading,” you are a doctor now, and it is spreading. Denying the offer (“I’m not a doctor”) is called blocking, and it kills a scene faster than any bad idea can.
- Make your partner look brilliant. The strongest improvisers are not the funniest — they are the most generous. That generosity is the same trust we built in Why Trust Comes First.
- Let the objective drive you. A character who wants something is interesting; two characters who want different things is a scene. That gap is tension, and it is your engine.
- Use Voice and movement to establish who and where you are within the first few seconds, so your partner has something solid to build on. Status is the fastest tool you have: who stands taller, who looks away first.
You play with a partner, and you are marked as yourself
There is no shared mark for a pair. What I judge is your offers, your acceptances, and the character your voice and body make readable — not whether your partner had a good night. A scene can go sideways and you can still meet every criterion below; that is most of what improvisers get paid for.
Success criteria
| Quality | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Accepting offers | Every offer is treated as true and extended — no blocking |
| Building | Each exchange adds new information; the scene moves somewhere |
| Character | Voice and body make who-you-are readable without announcing it |
| Objective | We can tell what your character wants without being told |
| Partnership | Both players share focus; neither drags nor dominates |
If you go blank (click to expand)
Going blank is normal, and there is a reliable exit: stop inventing and react instead. Look at your partner, name what you actually see — “you’re shaking” — and the scene restarts itself. The audience never knows the difference between a plan and a recovery.
Curriculum connection
A1.1
use a variety of print and non-print sources (e.g., a still photograph and/or instrumental music; current events headlines from print media; situations and characters from nature) to generate and focus ideas for drama activities and presentations
Link to original
A1.3
use role play to explore, develop, and represent themes, ideas, characters, feelings, and beliefs in producing drama works (e.g., use improvisation exercises to explore how they might think, feel, and act in specific real-life situations; write in role as a character who is reflecting on the people, events, and relationships affected by a personal, social, or environmental issue)
Link to original
A3.2
use a variety of expressive voice and movement techniques to support the depiction of character (e.g., use volume, tone, accent, pace, gesture, and facial expression to reveal character and/or intention)
Link to original