Exercises
When I was a child I loved watching the Lone Ranger and his partner Tonto on television. There were a lot of cowboy shows on television in those days, and each cowboy hero had a sidekick who would help him out. The Cisco Kid had Pancho; Wyatt Earp had Doc Holliday; and Hopalong Cassidy had eleven different sidekicks during his career, the most memorable being played by Gabby Hayes. And it went beyond cowboy shows. Batman had Robin; Inspector Clouseau had Kato; Butch Cassidy had the Sundance Kid; and Frodo had three sidekicks – Merry, Pippin and Samwise. The list is endless. Robinson Crusoe had Man Friday; King Arthur had Lancelot; Doctor Who has had a succession of female assistants. Once you start thinking about it you realise that in order to get anything done in this world you need a trusty friend to help you out. Or trusty friends! How about The Three Musketeers, The Fab Four, The Famous Five, The Magnificent Seven, The Band of Brothers, The Knights of the Round Table, Robin Hood and his Merrie Men?
The thing about trusty friends, though, is that they have talents of their own. The mark of a true hero is to recognise the talents of his sidekicks and employ them to overcome the villains. They work together, they allow each other to use their individual skills, and they trust each other implicitly. Two (or more) heads are better than one.
ONE OF THE DANGERS FOR SOME INEXPERIENCED IMPROVISERS is that they feel they have to do it all on their own. They are doing their best to commit to some sort of reality, they are trying to be creative, but they feel that the success or failure of an improvisation is in their hands alone. Well, it isn’t. They’ll always have a trusty sidekick who also has talents and who is there to work with them; to support them; to be supported by them; to fill in the gaps and to help them overcome all difficulties.
It’s vital that improvisers learn to trust each other and understand that their partners will be doing half the work.
Simple Trust Exercises
In order to explore and develop that trust, try starting with some basic trust exercises. Try simple physical contact exercises. Have people gently patting each other’s backs. Massaging each other’s shoulders. (Some people don’t like being touched by comparative strangers, and if physical contact makes them tense it entirely defeats the object. For these people, patting their shoulders and back is best since that sort of contact is brief and fairly impersonal.)
Another thing you can do is to have one person shut their eyes and another lead them very carefully around the room. Ask the person with their eyes shut to talk about something. Maybe their favourite subject. Football. A soap opera. Whatever. As they talk they may forget that they have their eyes shut and as their minds wander through their favourite subjects they will start to associate pleasant thoughts with trust. There are a number of useful exercises in the Appendix of this book. Try games that involve people speaking to each other and sharing words, like ‘1, 2, 3’ or ‘Two People Talking at the Same Time’. You could also ask the whole group to work together and use ‘Zip, Zap, Boing’ or ‘Down, Down, Baby’. (See Appendix: Warm-up Games and Exercises.)
Only when the individuals in the group start to feel confident with each other can they begin to explore improvisation creatively.
Chair is Any Object
Ask the group to stand in a circle and place a chair in the middle of the circle. One at a time, each person has to step into the circle and use the chair as if it were an entirely different object. The rest of the people in the circle have to guess what the chair is supposed to be. It could be a cricket bat; it could be an earring; it could be a tractor; or it could be a hat. It could be anything their imagination wants it to be.
RATIONALE This exercise is to get the group using their imaginations, and having the courage to be observed. I usually start this off by miming that the chair is an earring, because that is so incongruous and it helps them get the idea that anything is possible. After that, anyone can step forward at any time and each person can have several turns. If some people appear to be holding back because they are nervous I usually end the exercise by asking people to use the chair one at a time round the circle. Or sometimes I ask them to do the exercise in pairs.
Talk a Person Off the Chair
Ask the group to stand in a circle and ask one person to sit on a chair in the centre of the circle. One of the other people has to start an improvisation that will eventually get the other person to leave the chair. The person on the chair mustn’t block the improvisation.
RATIONALE This exercise is interesting because it involves negotiation. If the person sitting on the chair abandons realistic reactions in order to ‘win’ the game and stay in the chair, then the two improvisers reach a stalemate. Like this:
‘There is a bomb under the chair!’
‘No there isn’t.’
‘Yes there is, I can hear it ticking.’
‘Well, have a look then, you can see it.’
‘I can’t bend down, I’ve got a bad back.’
‘Oh my God, it’s about to go off!’
‘I don’t care.’
‘You don’t care?’
‘No, I’m going to stay in this chair as long as I like.’
‘I’ll give you a million pounds if you get out of the chair.’
‘I don’t want it.’
Oh yeah? They wouldn’t get out of a chair for a million pounds?
On the other hand, the person who wants the chair mustn’t give up too easily because the improvisation will go nowhere. As in:
‘Can you give me your seat? I’m pregnant.’
‘No. I’m really tired; I’ve just run the London Marathon.’
‘Oh sorry. You must be exhausted. I’ll ask someone else.’
This is a dead-end improvisation that has actually been finished before it has started. But even in those few lines there is a lot of material that the improvisers could use to move the improvisation forward. Pregnancy. Tiredness. The London Marathon. These subjects could take the improvisation in a number of different directions.
Allow the improvisers to try this game several times until they start to get the balance right.
Walking on Different Surfaces
Ask everyone to walk around the room, weaving in and out of each other. Tell them that each person should be working on their own, and trying to imagine that they are in the different environments you are about to describe. They should be guided through each environment by, first of all, a description of the ground they are walking on, and then an analysis of the sensory experiences of each particular environment. Ask them to react to each experience with their own imagination and physicality. I usually talk them through the four seasons as follows:
Autumn
‘Imagine you are walking in the country along the side of a rolling hill covered in grass. Feel the sensation through your feet of walking across a field. Is the grass springy? Is it wet? Are there tufts and bumps? Keep walking, keep exploring. It is autumn. Use your imagination to explore all the sensory sensations of walking in the country at this time of year. What does the air smell like? How cold is it? Is there any wind? What can you hear? What can you see? Imagine the sun is shining but the air has a slight chill. Now imagine that you have come to a wood or forest and you decide to walk into it. Experience the difference sensations. The trees shade the sun so it is darker and colder. The smells are different. Moss, earth, vegetation. The terrain under foot is more lumpy and uncertain. There are tree roots and broken twigs and clumps of moss. Get the sensation of walking over this rough ground. What sounds can you hear? Are they different sounds from the sounds in the open field? How does it feel to be in the wood? How does it change your mood? Do you walk more slowly? Do you feel more melancholy? Ask yourself these questions and use your imagination and sense memory to explore them.’
When you feel they have thoroughly explored these sensations ask them to imagine a different season and a different environment. Continue as follows:
Winter
‘Now imagine it is winter and there is snow on the ground. Imagine you are in the countryside walking through the snow. Don’t try to demonstrate it, just feel it for yourself. Feel the cold on your face. Feel the warmth of your clothing. Breathe in the fresh clean smell of snow. Hear the silence and stillness that a fall of snow brings to the countryside. Feel your feet silently crunch through the snow. Is it crunchy snow? How high do you have to lift your feet to step forward? How does it feel to kick the snow around? Imagine there are big snowflakes falling through the air. Imagine what they feel like when they land on your nose. What can you see? Imagine you have walked to the edge of a pond or a small lake, and it is frozen over. Take a step onto the ice. It is thick enough to take your weight. How does it feel to walk on the ice? Stand there for a moment and feel the snow on you face. Feel the ice underfoot. Step forward onto the ice. How does it feel to walk on ice? It’s hard but is it slippy? How slippy? How careful do you have to be? Try it out. Explore it for yourself. Walk to the middle of the pond; it’s perfectly safe. The ice is thick. Stop in the middle. Imagine what it is like to stand on the ice of a frozen pond in falling snow in the middle of the silent snow-covered countryside. Enjoy it. Let your imagination do the work.’
Now ask them to imagine another season. Continue talking them through it as follows:
Spring
‘It’s spring now. Imagine the birds are singing with the joy of life, and new buds and leaves are on the trees. You are walking on a gravel path beside a fast-flowing river. Imagine that there are trees on the other side of the path, and the smell of the river mingles with the smell of the undergrowth. The sun is warm through your clothes. You can hear the water flowing, and you can sense the movement and life of the river. Imagine you have taken your shoes off, and you are walking down to the edge of the river where the mud is wet and smooth and oozy. Imagine the mud squelches up through your toes as you walk along. It’s disgusting and yet it’s delicious at the same time. Comforting and tickly between your toes. Squelchy and grey. The water from the river splashes your ankles, and you stand and watch some ducks swimming by. Let your imagination roam. Don’t force it, don’t try to be clever or creative, just let your memories work. Let your imagination create the world in your mind and let this imaginary world affect how you feel. Feel the optimism of spring and the freshness of new life.’
Finally, complete the four seasons as follows:
Summer
‘It’s summer now. Holiday time and you are on a beach. An empty beach and a clear blue sky. Walk along and smell the ocean. Smell the hot sand. Hear the waves as they break on the shore. Imagine that you are wearing only a swimming costume and that the sun is hot on your skin. Maybe there is the smell of suntan lotion and the oily feel of it on your skin. Maybe the sweat is rolling down your body. Imagine how it feels as the breeze tries to cool your body and the sweat rolls down your tummy. Walk across the beach. Don’t force your ‘acting’. Don’t demonstrate. Imagine that the beach is covered in pebbles and you are not wearing any shoes. How does that feel as you walk towards the water? Try it. See how the pebbles affect the way you walk. Then the patch of pebbles ends, and there is a patch of sand. Hot sand. Hot under your bare feet. Burning. Walk across the hot sand to the water’s edge. How do you step? How does the hot sand make your feet feel? Arrive at the edge of the beach where the sand is wet and cooled by the ocean. Stand in the cool wet sand. Imagine the sea as the waves wet your toes and roll round your ankles. Look at the horizon. It’s a beautiful day and the meeting of the sea and sky is blurred by haze. The sea is blue, and the waves are breaking on the shore. Feel the heat. Smell the sea. Imagine the whole experience. Imagine you are there looking out to sea. Don’t do anything. Just be there.’
As you talk, remind them that they should never try to demonstrate anything. They should just try to feel the sensations for themselves and behave in a natural way. It’s important at this stage to eliminate any sense of ‘performing’ and encourage a sense of ‘being’.
RATIONALE This exercise uses the improvisers’ memory of sensory experiences in order to stimulate their imagination, but at the same time it is being used to prepare them for the next exercise and ultimately the group improvisation called ‘The Raft’. By the time you have talked them through the four seasons, their minds will be fully engaged in imaginary experiences, and they will be mentally prepared for their first truthful improvisation. Although the next exercise is written as a new section, there should be no pause, interruption or break of concentration as you continue to talk them through it.
Preparation for ‘The Raft’
With everyone working at the same time, but each person working on their own, the basis of this improvisation is to try to experience what it feels like to be lost at sea on a raft. The water is almost gone. There is a little food. They hear a rescue plane or a helicopter approach. (You can make the noise for them by drumming your fingers on a chair.) The rescue plane doesn’t see them and it flies away. Each person should try to experience how it feels to be abandoned.
As I said above, this should be a continuation of the exercise ‘Walking on Different Surfaces’ so having got them to the point where they are standing on the beach looking out to sea, I usually carry on talking them through like this:
‘Now take a step into the sea and feel the water round your calves. Feel the sand beneath your feet and feel the way the waves rush round your legs. Take another step. Go in up to your thighs and start to feel the strength of the ocean as it pulls and pushes your legs. The next wave swells up around your waist, and even as you rise up on your toes, you can’t get high enough out of the water to avoid the slight chill that takes your breath away. Go on. Step further into the ocean and feel the water up around your chest. Feel the ocean start to take your weight. Feel the waves move you back and forth as your body partially floats. In you go. Up to your shoulders. The sea lifts you up and lowers you back down so your toes can just touch the bottom. Feel the weight of the sea. The strength of the sea. Let it lift you up, and move you around. Up along, down and back. The coolness of the sea. The sun on your head. Give yourself up to the movement of the sea. Lift and float. Let the strength and movement and flow of the water move you around.’
By now their imaginations should be feeling the power of the ocean and their bodies should be moving as if the waves were lifting them up, pushing them down and moving them around. (If they seem to be holding back from a complete exploration of this experience, I usually join in as I talk, and move around as if my body was being lifted, dropped and shifted by the waves.)
Having established the power of the ocean and the way it can move the body around, you can now use that to help them feel the experience of being on a raft.
With everyone still working on their own, I continue like this:
‘Now take a step with your imagination and, still letting the power of the ocean move you as it will, imagine that you are now standing on a small raft that is floating on the water. Feel how the waves move the raft around and how the raft feels beneath your feet. Get your balance. Feel the power. Now imagine that you are on that raft in the middle of the ocean and wherever you look there is just the sea. No land is in sight. The sun is hot on your body. The swell moves you up and down.
‘You have been on the raft for two days. You don’t know where you are. You have been shipwrecked and although you have food and water with you, you have no idea what will happen next.’
I gradually leave longer gaps between sentences so they can just ‘be’ in the experience:
‘Where are you? What are you thinking?’
‘Explore these feelings for yourself.’
‘Explore it. Make it as real as you can.’
‘You are on your own.’
‘On your own.’
. . .
‘Hot.’
. . .
‘Lonely.’
. . .
. . .
Then I will start to drum lightly on a chair as I continue:
(Clutter-clutter-clutter)
‘It’s an aeroplane.’
(Clutter-clutter-clutter-clutter-clutter . . .)
‘What do you do?’
(Clutter-clutter-clutter . . .)
. . .
‘What do you do?’
‘Do what you think you would do.’
‘Explore your reaction.’
They will usually stand up and start waving; however, they have been going through the various experiences in silence for quite a long time, so they often feel inhibited about vocalising anything. If that is the case I usually yell out ‘Help!’ to get them started. (In the same way that I moved as if the sea was moving me, this gives them ‘permission’ to be bold. At this stage they can be rather cautious about being the first to do something new.) I usually leave them feeling lonely and abandoned for a few minutes, and then move straight into the following group improvisation.
Improvisations
The Raft
Having talked them through the previous exercise where each person has been working on their own, they should now be asked to repeat the scenario as if they were all on the same raft and they had all been shipwrecked together. Once you have set this up, they should be allowed to explore this group improvisation without interruption. At some point you can make a rat-a-tat noise to see how they react as a group to the rescue plane, but basically you can keep quiet and just let them improvise. I usually carry straight on from the previous exercise by saying something like:
‘Don’t lose the world you have created with your imagination. Keep feeling that you are on a raft, but now I want you all to be on the same raft, so will everyone move into the middle of the room and get closer to each other. Imagine you are all on the same raft. Imagine that you are whoever you are. Imagine you know each other just as much as you really do know each other. Imagine you were all shipwrecked together two days ago. What do you do? What happens next?’
(Pause) ‘What happens next?’
(Pause)
‘Explore it.’
‘Don’t rush. Don’t force it. Don’t demonstrate. Don’t try to be the best!! Just see what happens next and do what you think you would do. Work together. Work on your own. See what happens.’
(Pause)
‘Keep your imagination working and keep exploring.’
They should now be allowed to improvise on their own with no external input. I usually just slowly circle the group, silently watching what they do. They may not say much for a while, but that doesn’t matter. Someone will soon start things off.
This improvisation can now go on for a long time. Twenty to thirty minutes. At some point during that time, you can rat-a-tat-tat on a chair. They’ll all know that the sound is a potential rescue plane.
When it is finished, there should be an extended feedback session to allow everyone to talk about the experience.
RATIONALE Anything can happen during this improvisation. Sometimes there will be drama. Deaths. Sharks. Deserted islands. Sometimes very little will happen. Some people will just continue to feel things and imagine things and do nothing at all but lie there. Some people will want to take control. Some people will make jokes. Some people will chat quietly in pairs. But the important thing is to let them get on with it without interrupting.
An improvisation like this helps the improvisers discover what they would do in an unfamiliar situation by experiencing it through their imaginations.
That is what this form of improvisation is for.
As I said, it works best if you go through the ‘Walking on Different Surfaces’ exercise first, follow it with ‘Preparation for “The Raft”’ to give them an outline of the scenario, and in order to get their imaginations working fully; then let that exercise flow into ‘The Raft’ improvisation without any break. In that way they are fully immersed in their own imaginations by the time they are working together.
After the improvisation, allow everyone to talk about it. Let them say how they felt. Which moments worked for them and which didn’t? It’s important that they know that even if people appeared to do nothing at all, they were still improvising correctly providing they stayed true to the scenario. It’s important that they know that those people who made drama happen were also improvising correctly. The only thing that they could have done wrong would have been to step out of the improvisation or to not take it seriously. Those people who made jokes on the raft could well have made jokes if they were on a raft in real life. Anything is correct as long as they remain true to the situation.
Most people have never been shipwrecked. Let them know that the exploration of a particular scenario using only their imagination is the essence of this sort of improvisation. It’s not a question of discussing and intellectualising how one would behave, it’s a question of immersing themselves in the reality of the situation and then letting their natural behaviour take over.
For the group, the important thing is that they have started to work together. They will begin to appreciate each other’s differences and they will realise that they can learn from one another.
In short: they will all have started to trust each other a little more.