Improv: Say the Line

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate their understanding of the rules of theater improvisation by participating in an improv-based performance.
• Collaborate to apply creative decision-making and problem-solving skills to meet artistic challenges.
• Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas.
• Apply creative and critical thinking as they make artistic choices.
• Develop communication skills via acting and performances.
• Learn and use the essential vocabulary and processes of theater.

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Materials

For the whole group:

• A large, quiet space, ideally carpeted and without desks or other obstacles.
• “Scenarios and Inserted Lines” resource sheet (see attached PDF file)

For each student:

• Comfortable clothing and shoes

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Scenarios and Inserted Lines

Preparation

• Read through and familiarize yourself with the entire activity.
• Read and print two copies of the “Scenarios and Inserted Lines” PDF file.
• Prepare the space for students to plan and perform.
• Cut out the lines of dialogue in columns 2 and 3. Fold them in half and mix them up on a table.

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Activity Steps

1. Ask students if they’ve ever seen an improv show such as Whose Line Is it Anyway?
2. Explain to students that they will be doing some improvisational theater.
3. Divide students in groups of 3.
4. Tell them that each group will be given a scenario that involves a few characters and a situation. Each group will have 3 minutes to plan a beginning, middle, and end for the scene and decide their basic relationships. Because of the time limit, the first ideas will have to be used. For instance, if the scenario says “members of an audience at a concert” the group could quickly decide:
            The concert is ___. We are two brothers taking our sister to her first concert. The scene begins as we look for our seats.
5. Tell students there is just one catch. When you clap your hands 3 times, all players must freeze and touch their noses. The last player to touch his or her nose must pick up a slip of paper with a new line from a nearby table.
6. The scene will continue and the actor with the new line must find a way to insert that line into the scene within the next 5 lines of dialogue. Whether it fits naturally or not, it must be said and then everyone must shift their plan to accommodate the new line. The line does not have to be the exact wording, just close enough.
7. Tell students they will need to be creative. They can have fun with it, but they must stay in character.
8. Give each group a scenario and let them plan for 3 minutes.
9. Choose a group to start. As soon as each person has said a few lines of dialogue, give the signal. If they all touch their noses at once, tell them to continue the scene and give the signal again in a few seconds.
10. After the new line is said, allow students to come to a natural conclusion, if possible. If it does not seem possible, give the signal again and thank them, bringing the scene to a close.
11. Have everyone give each group applause for their hard work and creativity.
12. Conclude the session with a brief discussion.
    
    • How do you think improvisation is different from other kinds of acting? Is it harder or easier? More enjoyable or more stressful?
    • Do you think audiences usually realize when a line is improvised? How do you think improvisation affects the audience’s experience?
    • How might improvisation be useful in everyday life?

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Variations

1. If the group seems inexperienced or nervous, write these two rules of improvisation on an available board or chart paper and go over them again right before they perform:
   
   1. Always say yes to suggestions. Explain that if one actor says, “Let’s go get ice cream,” the other should say “Yes!” If, on the way to get ice cream, one says, “I see an alien spaceship,” the other should respond, “I see it too! Maybe they like ice cream.”
   2. Never blame another actor for things that do not go as planned. Explain that if the third actor never figures out what the target line was, it’s nobody’s fault. The whole point of improvisation is to deal with the unexpected and move forward. Just have fun trying.
2. Have the third person in the scene pick up a slip of paper, enter the scene, and say the line. After the line is said, they must stop whatever they were doing before and go with the kind of scene inspired by the inserted line.

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