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: One player is chosen to perform a scene a step at a time; however, all the scenework creation falls on the rest of the group. The player starts with a suggestion for an action - for example, wakes up in the morning. The player performs this action briefly, and then the coach (or another troupe member playing the moderator) asks the group, "What happens next?" The group then suggests the next logical step in the player's actions.

Group: She goes to the bathroom. {Player acts out going to the bathroom.}

Leader: What happens next?

Group: She washes her hands. {Player acts out washing her hands.}

Leader: What happens next?

Group: She looks for a towel but it's not there. {Player acts out trying to dry hands, looks for towel.}

Leader: What happens next?

Group: She dries her hands on her pajama bottoms. {Player wipes hands on pants.}

Leader: What happens next?

Group: She changes her clothes. {Player acts out changing out of pajamas and into clothes.}

Leader: What happens next?

Group: Her belt breaks. {Player pulls belt on, reacts to it breaking.}

...and so on.

Tips: For purposes of the exercise, the group-suggested steps should be logical but small - think of them as one action at a time, not one vignette at a time. The above scene layout could be broken down even more elementarily - instead of "changes her clothes," it could be "takes off her pajamas; puts on a new shirt; puts on pants," etc. The purpose of the exercise is to get players to think about how to make small, logical steps in a scene.

Variants: To explore more complicated scene dynamics, the coach/leader can suggest that all group suggestions fit a particular theme - for example, every action ultimately leads to an unintended and disastrous consequence. This can be used to have players work on skills like heightening the action, status changes, etc.

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.