Description: Players A and B begin a scene downstage. Once established, Players C and D begin a silent scene upstage of them. The second scene should somehow relate to the first, but take place in a different environment. (For example, if A and B are two corporate executives talking about how to boost company morale, C and D could be mid-level (or even mailroom) employees elsewhere in the company.)

Both scenes will happen simultaneously (without pauses like Split Screen). Only the A/B scene will have talking; C/D should remain silent throughout.

Tips: Each group must be cognizant of how to give and take focus from the other scene.

For visual convenience, the A/B scene might need to be seated the whole time. Technically, you could play it stage left/stage right.

Description: Player A starts a scene that specifically involves a repeating activity, one which does not require any speaking - folding laundry, building something, cleaning the stove, etc. Player B enters the scene and says something to make A react. A cannot react with dialogue, however, but must react by changing how they are engaged in their action.

A: {sawing a piece of lumber}

B: Hey, do you remember when we played that game Freeze Tag as kids?

A: {sawing becomes slower, more nostalgic}

B: Well, I used to cheat all the time at that game.

A: {sawing becomes agitated}

B: Yeah, I used to pretend to be frozen so you wouldn't catch me.

A: {sawing more furiously}

Variants: Player A's actions can be related to a larger action - in the example above, he could switch from sawing to hammering to sanding as he is building a table.

Player A could also change the action to incorporate objects that also reflect their reaction - for example, blowing bubbles when happy or chopping vegetables with a large knife when angry.

Description: Two players will create a scene with dialogue; however, Player B, who speaks second, may only say words repeated from what Player A says.

A: I think there's a squirrel in my attic.

B: A squirrel?

A: Yes, I can hear it rustling through some old boxes up there.

B: Old boxes?

A: The ones our dear old Mom gave us last year.

B: Dear old Mom...

This exercise challenges both players - B is challenged by having to select words or phrases just said by A that can help keep the scene going; A is challenged by having to continually elaborate on what he or she just said.

There will be a tendency for B to turn phrases into questions - partially violating the improv rule of no questions - but in this exercise, the questions become a device to help focus and drive the scene. For example, A might say, "My sister went off to college yesterday to study business." B might respond with any of the following:

• "Your sister?"
• "Off to college?"
• "Yesterday?"
• "Business?"

Each of these responses can cause the scene to go in a different direction, because it causes A to respond with a focus on a different part of their original statement.

Variants: Using the example above, players can start multiple scenes with the same line (spoken by A) but with different phrases repeated by B to steer the scenes differently.

Description: This is a free association game, with the goal of getting both players to the same association. Players A and B stand and face each other. On the first beat, Player A says "one." On the second beat, Player B says "two." On the third beat, both players together say "three." On the fourth beat, both Player A and Player B say anything at all - a person, a place, an abstract concept, a phrase, etc. Players A and B then one beat to process what was said by their partner, and they repeat - when the fourth beat comes around again, their statement should be informed or influenced by what their partner said last round. The game ends when both Player A and Player B say the same thing on beat four. (The example below has this happening in two rounds; in practice, it will often take many, many more.)
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Player A: One
Player B: Two
Players A and B: Three
Player A: France      |      Player B: monument

Player A: One
Player B: Two
Player A and B: Three
Player A: Eiffel Tower      |      Player B: Eiffel Tower

Tips: Don't mistake the player starting with "one" as the "leader" of the exercise. Both players' fourth beat statements should be equally influenced by the other.
Let the pace of the beats be as slow as necessary for the players to give their fourth beat statements in time, but not too slow as to encourage overthinking them.

Variants: It does not always have to be Player A starting with "one" - that job can switch back and forth, unless that switching makes it more difficult for the players to focus on the game. Keeping it with Player A makes that simpler.

Description: Player A is the conductor of the story; all the remaining players stand in a line facing the audience and the conductor. (Player A has his/her back to the audience.) The conductor will point to one player (Player B) in the line to begin telling a story; when the conductor points to a different player (Player C), Player B will immediately stop talking, and Player C will take up telling the story exactly where Player B left off. The conductor will then point to Player D, who will pick up from where Player C left off, and so on.

Tips: If performing this in a show, the group may want to get a story-starting suggestion from the audience - the title of the story, the theme, a character and/or a conflict, etc.

Gimmicks: Each player in the line can choose a different method of storytelling - a particular author, genre of literature or media, style of speaking, etc.
The director can bounce back and forth between two players rapidly. The director could also choose two players simultaneously to speak; if agreed ahead of time by the group, this situation could be handled by those two players having to speak in unison.

Description: This game requires two audience Volunteers. Players A and B will start an open scene, but during the scene will have trouble determining the next thing to say (word or phrase). At this point, the Player can point or tap one of the Volunteers, who will provide the missing information. The Players will then continue the scene, justifying whatever the Volunteer added to the scene.

Tips: When introducing the game at the beginning, it is usually prudent to do one example for each Volunteer. You can give one a simple example ("I think I'll go to the store and pick up some...") and one a more complex example ("You know, there's one thing my grammy always told me in situations like this. It's...").

Description: Probably goes by many a name. Specifically a practice game, but there are show variants. Players sit or stand in a circle or line, and starting from one person will go down the line, telling a story. Player A will start (ex: "Jerry was a boy who loved his bike.") and the succeeding players must continue the story in a logical way, beginning their contributions with "Because [LAST EDITION], [NEW ADDITION]." (ex; "Because Jerry was a boy who loved his bike, he went for a ride." and so on).

Tips: Players should avoid the common traps of the game, such as ending it prematurely with the character dying inexplicably ("and then he died."); making the story incredibly depressing for no reason; throwing in random, no sense plot twists that distract from the conflict or bring in new conflict once the previous was resolved; and trying to be funny and messing up the flow of the story. Players should listen well and keep their additions short.

Gimmicks: For the stage variants, flashlights can be used to create a comical "scary story" atmosphere.

Variants: Also called "scary story" and others. The game can be used on stage with either a connected story line, or separate ones centered around a single idea. Other methods involve players stepping up and tagging out the person currently talking, or a moderator rapidly switching between people in a line, having them continue the story on the spot.