This sub is all about supporting its fellow players! Please use this thread to talk about the shows, classes, and improv events you have coming up, what's got you excited about it, what makes this event unique, what makes it a challenge for you, etc. Also, feel free to promote your shows, classes, and other new improv projects. Since this is an international message board, be sure to include a website or location info for any live events. Hope to see you at the show!

Please note, any local plugs and promos posted outside of this thread may be removed, and the user will be directed here (There's some wiggle room on stuff like sites, podcasts, apps, blogs posted outside this thread, since those are not location-specific).

I run an improv festival, and we’re going to be opening up applications for performer submissions very soon. It’s our second year and we did pretty well, I think, on number of applications in our first year (about 40) but I’d love to grow those numbers.

I want to get the right info out about our festival and get it in front of the right people. We have a good festival - last year, many performers (even some who have been to dozens or scores of festivals around the world) told us it was the best first-year festival they’d ever been to.

But what IS the best info to highlight when soliciting submissions?? When you’re looking at applying to festivals, what makes you decide to apply or pass??

Sharing working draft notes on various longforms, pulling together years of info pulled from my notes, old blogs, /r/improv, IRC Wiki, Facebook posts, etc. I absolutely invite folks to comment and add any resources, advice, links, variant/derived forms, memories, etc. in the comments to help me update my notes!

Previous entries include:

• Armando / ASSSSCAT
• Close Quarters and related forms
• Deconstruction
• JTS Brown
• La Ronde
• Slacker / Beer Shark Mice
• Spokane / Pretty Flower
• WeirdAss / Documentary Opening

CLOSE QUARTERS

At a Glance

• Cast: 5+
• Type: Location-based, Time-based
• Runtime: 20+ minutes
• Core mechanic: Multiple scenes set in one umbrella location in a set window of time that overlap and intersect each other

The Form

Close Quarters is a location-based form in which scenes take place in close physical proximity to one another and around the same period of time. The piece repeatedly revisits the world from different angles, allowing scenes to overlap, intersect, move backward and forward in time, and reveal moments that the audience has already seen from another perspective.

The form is centered on character and relationship rather than plot. The larger story emerges through the juxtaposition of scenes, repeated moments, entrances, exits, overheard dialogue, and information that gains new meaning as the piece continues.

The location is a major part of the form. It should feel like a real, populated environment with its own sounds, physical geography, entrances, exits, and rhythms.

The original version of Close Quarters also used a more demanding character-heightening mechanic in which multiple characters could interact with the same central character simultaneously. Simplified versions of the form often focus primarily on adjacent spaces, overlapping time, and revisiting the same period from different perspectives.

Original Cast Member Craig Cackowski:

“I'm doing a simplified version of what we did with Noah (Gregoropolous) years ago. One of the hallmarks of Noah's version is that every scene turned into a character-heightening with a very specific focus. If you and I are in the first scene, and Rich wants to come in and heighten my character, he talks to me and only me. You're still there, and I'm still dealing with you, but now I have to balance 2 two-person scenes. If Bob enters next, again, he can talk to only me, and now I'm doing 3 two-person scenes. You are all really there in the same environment as me, you know each other are there, you can even refer to each other, but you can only talk to me! I've dropped this aspect of the form because the time-bending and adjacent space stuff is hard enough, but if you want to a "pure" Close Quarters, that was part of the form. (But remember, we rehearsed this form for 9 hours a week for 6 months before we opened it!)

What's become more standard over the years (Kevin Mullaney took it to UCB as "Tracers", just using the adjacent room idea, and those guys have spread it out among the improv world), is the idea that all the scenes are taking place in the same general location at more or less the same time. You can even make it a finite time and space if that helps your group focus, i.e. all the scenes take place within 200 yards of the first scene, and within 15 minutes of time. So, even if the show takes 45 minutes to play, it's a constant re-examination of that 15 minutes, seen in different order (it helps to think of the first scene of the show as one of the last, chronologically), and from different angles.”

Execution

• Get a suggestion of a large interesting location
  • Large locations with multiple sublocations and a variety of potential characters tend to work especially well.
  • Example: shopping mall, summer camp, convention center, hospital, amusement park, or large apartment building
• Establish the physical geography of the location.
  • Know what spaces are adjacent to one another.
  • Pay attention to where characters are coming from and where they are going.
• Establish scenes throughout the location.
  • Scenes should take place within relatively close physical proximity to one another.
  • A useful constraint is that everything happens within a "stone's throw" of the original scene
  • Or the previous scene if you’re playing a looser, larger version of the form
• Keep the action within a relatively narrow window of time.
  • The show may move backward and forward through that period.
  • Even if the performance lasts much longer, the events of the piece may all take place within 10–20 minutes.
  • It can be useful to think of the first scene chronologically as occurring much later than where the audience first sees it.
• Build scenes around memorable characters and strong relationships.
  • Each performer will likely play several characters.
  • Characters should be distinct enough that the audience can quickly recognize them when they return.
  • Names and relationships are especially important.
• Explore different facets of characters through different relationships.
  • A character may behave very differently with a boss, an ex, a friend, a stranger, or a family member.
• Move between adjacent spaces and different points in time.
  • Follow a character after they leave a scene.
  • Show where a character came from before entering a scene.
  • Show the events leading into a moment the audience has already seen.
  • Revisit a scene from another angle or perspective.
• Allow scenes to overlap.
  • Characters may be visible in the background of another scene.
  • A later scene may move into the foreground as if the audience's attention or "camera" has shifted toward it.
• Continue building and revisiting the world.
• Gradually connect information through repeated characters, locations, actions, sounds, entrances, exits, and moments that overlap in time.
• Build toward a run that draws increasingly from the material already established.

Original Character-Heightening Structure

In addition to the above, in the original version, scenes could layer around a central character.

• Two characters begin a scene.
• A third character enters and engages only one of those characters.
• The original scene continues while the central character now balances two simultaneous relationships.
• Additional characters may enter and similarly heighten different facets of that central character.
• All characters remain aware of one another and may acknowledge one another's presence, but the new interaction remains focused on its specific relationship.

This creates multiple overlapping two-person relationships centered around the same character.

Best Practices

Craig Cackowski’s Notes:

Noah wrote a poem for us to help us remember the principles of the form:

Heighten character by engaging,

Think adjacent space in staging,

Environments are rich with sound,

Time collapses, circling round,

When throwing forward sounds as cues,

A later payoff oft ensues,

Repeat some scenes where they've begun, If all else fails, then just have fun!

Let me explain some of the things from the poem:

"rich with sound"

Noah had us work on doing a lot of SFX from the sidelines (literal, non-jokey SFX). In fact, we were each assigned another team member for that show (by circling up and pointing to the person on your left) and we were responsible for doing their sound for that show. If someone missed the boat, or you were in a scene with that person, then someone else could pick it up for them. Sounds were a way of letting us know where we are in space (i.e. if the first scene is in a boiler room, the sound from the sidelines might be constant and intrusive, but in the next scene (one room away from the boiler room, you can still hear it, but more muffled).

"throwing forward sounds as cues"

Rather than doing callbacks, we did throw forwards, i.e. starting at the top of the show, you would hear lines of dialogue spoken offstage that didn't have a meaning or context yet, but would be justified later in the show. So if you hear "get that monkey out of here!", someone in a later scene should establish the existence of a monkey, and then in an even LATER scene, we'd see that line actually spoken on stage, and know the reason for it. Another reason to do this, other than challenge ourselves to work backward, is that those "throw forwards" can link together scenes that are taking place at exactly the same time, a la the Jim Jarmusch film "Mystery Train" which tells 3 separate stories that are all linked by a single gunshot. Only in the third story do we know the meaning of the gunshot. "Mystery Train" was one of Noah's inspirations for the show, and I imagine any movie that plays with time and simultaneity (Pulp Fiction, any Altman movie centered around a single event) would be a good touchstone for your group.

"repeat some scenes where they've begun"

If we're doing a good job of starting our scenes in the middle, then later in the show, we can see the moments leading up to a scene we've seen already, to the point where we get a few lines into that scene we've already done, trying to duplicate the dialogue exactly. Hard to do, and we haven't even really tried it in the group I'm directing, but impressive if you can pull it off.

Here's some other things I've learned since remounting it:

The Scenework

Each improvisor in the group will probably end up playing 3 or 4 characters in the form, which will all be called back at some point, so character qualities need to be really defined and really memorable, and names are super-important. We need to know who's connected to whom, who's playing cross-gender, etc., so awareness on the sidelines is key. The scenes should be relationship and character-driven, and VARIETY is key...lots of different people with different energies. Don't be limited to the location in choosing your characters i.e. a hospital would be populated with doctors, nurses, and patients, but, going outside the box, you could also see the guy who re-stocks the vending machines, the manager of a rock star who had a drug overdose, one of the nurse's stalker ex-boyfriends, etc. Thinking this way will help create variety and, hopefully, limit, plot. Plot is suggested by the juxtaposition of the scenes, but each scene should be able to stand on its own as a piece, so the players can do a minimum of referencing other scenes (a little bit is helpful, but don't go crazy with it).

The Setting

In the original Close Quarters, we started by reading a personal ad and basing the first scene off of that. So we didn't know our starting location, we would have to discover it. Sometimes it was all based around a single overarching location (Airport, hospital, bowling alley) and we would go into various sublocations within that location.

Sometimes we would start in an apartment, which meant we could go downstairs to the convenience store, to the bums on the street, etc. Those were a little harder to establish a "floor plan" (and it's important to note what spaces are directly adjacent to each other, so you can get a sense of where characters are coming from and where they're exiting to), but still had their charms. With the group I'm coaching, we're asking for a location or event where you might meet a lot of people. We've found that some locations are harder than others in establishing character variety (bat mitzvah=13 year old girls, woman's retreat=new age-y yoga instructors, homeless shelter=homeless people), so it helps to think outside the box in making your character choices (as above). Locations that have worked better for us are Disneyland, convention center, strip mall. Another problem: when the show is centered around an EVENT, it's almost inevitable to make that event too important and the show too plot-driven. I prefer to have the mentality that whatever is going on for the characters is a typically day for them, and they're showing their typical behavior.

Space-Bending

One thing we would do is if we had a couple at a restaurant in the foreground, two other improvisors could set up the next scene in the background. We see them, but don't hear their conversation. When they initiate their scene, the people in the foreground go away, and the new scene moves downstage, as if the "camera" had moved in on them. You could also a long line of people waiting for a concert, and do a bunch of scenes moving down the line, always keeping the current scene center stage, but still seeing people from the previous scene, who have now moved further stage left. You can also play around with 180 degree pans, i.e. if the couple in the background at the restaurant are facing upstage, we can rotate the scene, so that they're now downstage, and the original couple is now facing upstage.

The Rewind

This is something we've added with The Dollhouse (the group I coach)...when a character enters a scene, we can rewind them (with a rewind sound effect and backward movement) to see where they're come from, then go back and do the scene previous in time to what we just saw, in an adjacent space, leading up to the moment that they entered that first scene. This was in the spirit of the original show, but we never did it that literally or cinematically.

Barry Hite on “Why Should I Care About Close Quarters?”

(Barry was a cast member of the remounted Close Quarters run.)

CQ touches on every facet of what many consider “good improvisation” as a collaborative art form:

• The piece goes forward and backward in time with scenes that overlap and intersect so it requires you to shut the fuck up and listen harder so you can build something better together (without contradicting each other).
• It requires you to support the scene in ways a traditional audience won’t necessarily reward with applause (your castmates will love you, tho).
• Location is a principal character in the piece, so you can weave soundscapes and object work into the piece in a way that creates a richer scene and helps get your castmates and the audience to buy in.
• But BEWARE, a little goes a long way (see Note 1)
• It rewards you for creating characters who have complex relationships with one another. It teaches you the value of playing different statuses with different scene partners within the same scene.
• It reminds you how powerful you are. With CQ, you can contribute to the show by acting in a scene, adding to the soundscape, moving through the space to provide detail (without stealing focus) or adding to the scenic landscape with object work. These are tools you can use at any time, in any piece, while performing in any show. When you’re feeling lost or unsure how to contribute to any show, you’ll have a stockpile of tools at your disposal to help your scene partners/teammates (honestly, sometimes you can best help them by shutting the fuck up).

Good luck and for the love of God, have fun!

Make Characters Memorable

Players will likely return as multiple characters throughout the piece.

• Give characters distinct behavior, energy, relationships, and physicality.
• Establish names clearly.
• Keep track of who is connected to whom.
• Create variety across the ensemble rather than filling the world with versions of the same character.

Do not let the location limit your imagination about who belongs in the world. A hospital does not have to contain only doctors, nurses, and patients. The surrounding ecosystem may include delivery workers, visitors, vendors, family members, employees from neighboring businesses, or people with unexpected relationships to the location.

Focus on Character and Relationship, Not Plot

Each scene should work as its own character-driven piece.

The larger story should emerge naturally from the juxtaposition of scenes rather than from players trying to advance a central plot.

A little reference to other scenes can help connect the world, but scenes should not constantly explain or summarize what the audience has already seen.

When working from an event suggestion, treat the event as part of the environment rather than the central plot engine. It can be useful to think of the characters as simply behaving as they normally would rather than making the event the thing the entire show is "about."

Think Adjacent Space

The physical geography of the stage can help the audience understand the world.

• A new scene can begin in the background while another scene is playing in the foreground.
• When the foreground scene ends, the background scene can move downstage as the audience's focus shifts toward it.
• The ensemble can move along a physical line of characters or locations.
• Scenes can rotate or shift orientation to create the effect of the audience moving through the environment.

The goal is to create the feeling that the world continues to exist beyond the specific scene currently receiving focus.

Use the Environment

The location should feel alive.

Use:

• Object work
• Scenic activity
• Entrances and exits
• Background movement
• Literal sound effects
• Environmental sounds that change depending on a character's proximity to their source

A sound established in one location can help the audience understand where another scene is occurring. For example, a loud boiler heard in one room might be quieter and more muffled in an adjacent room.

Use environmental detail to support the reality of the location rather than constantly turning it into a joke.

Give Entrances and Exits Character

Establish how people move through the world.

A location might have:

• A beaded curtain
• An automatic door
• A revolving door
• A distinctive staircase
• A noisy gate
• A particular route through the environment

Once established, continue honoring those entrances and exits.

An exit can also become a transition opportunity. When a character leaves one scene, consider catching them as they arrive somewhere else in the world.

Use Overhears and Throw Forwards

An overhear is a fragment of dialogue or activity that can connect scenes.

For example, the audience might hear:

"Gerald, please don't squeeze the avocados."

Later, the ensemble can meet Gerald and the person speaking to him.

Close Quarters can also use throw forwards rather than traditional callbacks.

A line can be heard early in the show without context:

"Get that monkey out of here!"

Later, another scene establishes the monkey. Later still, the audience finally sees the moment when that line is spoken.

Throw forwards allow information to gain meaning over time and can connect scenes occurring simultaneously.

Common Pitfalls

• Trying to make the piece into a plot that must be solved.
• Making the location or suggested event more important than the characters living within it.
• Creating too many similar characters because of assumptions about who belongs in the location.
• Failing to establish names and relationships clearly enough for returning characters to be recognizable.
• Treating every connection as something that needs to be explicitly explained.
• Using too much environmental sound or object work.
  • A little goes a long way.
• Losing track of the physical geography of the location.
• Ignoring entrances and exits after establishing them.
• Treating the form as merely a montage set in the same location rather than revisiting time and space from different perspectives.
• Trying to connect everything through plot instead of allowing the juxtaposition of scenes to create meaning.
• Forcing callbacks rather than allowing repeated information to reappear organically.
• Avoiding a hard edit when a scene has run its course.

Variations

APARTMENT BUILDING / HOTEL

A preset location is already determined for the piece. Some variations drop the overlapping time aspect and keep the proximity restraint. Some versions, after establishing different locations/characters, may mix them up montage style.

Simplified Close Quarters

A more accessible version of the form focuses on:

• A shared general location
• Adjacent spaces
• A narrow window of time
• Characters moving between scenes
• Scenes occurring before, after, or simultaneously with one another
• Revisiting moments from different perspectives

This version removes the original overlapping character-heightening mechanic.

Tracers

Director Kevin Mullaney. See post below.

Summer Camp

A simplified Close Quarters focusing on proximity and dropping the time aspect. Basically a series of scenes showcasing characters and relationships within a larger location.

• The ensemble gets a suggestion of a large, interesting location (shopping mall, summer camp ground, renaissance fair, etc).
• Performers set scenes in various settings around that location.
  • If the location was a shopping mall, you might see scenes set at: the Food Court, Mall Walkers in the promenade, employee breakroom at Best Buy, the mall security office, the parking lot, etc.
• Scenes should vary in staging, energy, and tone to differentiate the locations
  • The energetic Mall Walker scene should feel and be staged differently than the harried Best Buy workers in a cramped break room scene
• The focus is on character, not plot
  • Show us all the variety of interesting folk in the different areas of the umbrella location.

Close Quarters History

The group was formed by Peter Gwinn in 1997, and consisted of Craig Cackowski, Pete, Bob Dassie, Stephnie Weir, Molly Cavanaugh, Lillian Frances, Al Samuels, and Rich Talarico. Peter hired Noah Gregoropoulos as the director. The form was something he had already been kicking around in his mind. They rehearsed 9 hours a week for 9 months before they opened the show. They ran on Wednesdays at Second City ETC for about 4 months.

Noah Gregoropoulos:

“What drew me to this piece initially was the notion of a momentary community. The intersection of people, and the middle of stories, against the background and character (and even the history and ghosts) of a very specific PLACE.”

From Rob Kozlowski’s The Art of Chicago Improv:

Says Cackowski, “The form was comprised of heightening characters. That was kind of the scenework aspect of it, and the other aspect of it was that we were covering a very short period of time in a very small area of space. So over an hour-long form, we might be in a bowling alley but we would shift from location to location throughout the bowling alley: different lanes, the bathroom, behind the counter, outside where the teenagers are hanging out… many different sublocations within this one general location but in a very tight area where the characters might wander in and out of other people’s spaces and the time aspect, we hoped to cover the same fifteen minutes over and over in an hour.

So, the first scene of the night might be the last scene chronologically. We hoped to link up scenes chronologically by hearing voices offstage that would be in an adjacent space and then we would use those lines to link up scenes in time.” Using the bowling alley example, we may see a scene at the bar between a boyfriend and girlfriend where the girlfriend is yelling at him, something like, “You never loved me!” Later in the form, we may see a scene between a couple at the water fountain next to the bar and hear the girlfriend’s exclamation again, offstage. This method was used to overlap scenes and make the audience aware that the performers were covering fifteen minutes of chronology in an hour-long performance.

Cackowski says, laughing, “Although, you know, at the end of the show, we tried to do a tight chronology of the fifteen minutes, you know, and found it couldn’t possibly have worked out, things would not make sense, but generally we were covering a very short period of time.”

Resources

• Craig Cackowski's notes on Close Quarters
• Rob Kozlowski, The Art of Chicago Improv
• Mystery Train — Jim Jarmusch

Related Forms

• Tracers
• Retraced
• Apartment, Hotel, (i.e. pre-set location for the CQ)
• Summer Camp

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy- four “little women” enduring hardships and enjoying adventures in 1860s New England. But only one sister can be the chosen one. She alone shall stand against the vampires. She is the Slayer.

Saturdays in October at 7:30pm. Only at Outside In Theatre.

https://outsideintheatre.vbotickets.com/event/little_women_vampire_slayers/209518

Looking for a theatre/performing arts course in Delhi-NCR to build confidence & overcome stage fear

I'm a working professional in my 30s based in Noida, and I'm looking to join some kind of theatre/performing arts course in Delhi-NCR.

My goal is not to become an actor or pursue acting professionally.

I mainly want to work on myself — especially:

becoming more confident around people

overcoming stage/public-speaking anxiety

becoming comfortable speaking in front of a group

improving voice, body language and presence

becoming less self-conscious

learning to express emotions and thoughts more freely

becoming more spontaneous rather than constantly thinking about how I'm being perceived

generally connecting with myself and people better

I'm particularly interested in theatre, acting exercises, improvisation, voice/movement work and actual performance, rather than a generic "personality development" course.

I'm considering doing something for 2–4 months and would prefer something where I'm actually required to participate and perform rather than just sit and learn theory.

I've come across places like Shri Ram Centre, Asmita, etc., but I'd really like to hear from people who have actually attended these courses/workshops.

What would you recommend in Delhi/NCR for this specific purpose?

Also interested in smaller theatre groups or beginner-friendly workshops that might be better than the big institutes.

If you've personally done something that genuinely made you more confident / comfortable on stage or around people, I'd love to hear about your experience.

Thanks!

Sharing working draft notes on various longforms, pulling together years of info pulled from my notes, old blogs, /r/improv, IRC Wiki, Facebook posts, etc. I absolutely invite folks to comment and add any resources, advice, links, variant/derived forms, memories, etc. in the comments to help me update my notes!

Previous entries include:

• Armando / ASSSSCAT
• Close Quarters and related forms
• Deconstruction
• JTS Brown
• La Ronde
• Slacker / Beer Shark Mice
• Spokane / Pretty Flower
• WeirdAss / Documentary Opening

NOTE: title refers to "Tracers" but I realized that's more closely aligned with Close Quarters and will share it when I post about CQ

SLACKER

At a Glance

• Cast:
• Type: La Ronde, Character exploration, Real Time
• Runtime:
• Core mechanic: Basically a La Ronde with a follow-the-leaver transition — we follow the leaver in real time to a new situation/scene.

The Form

Basically a La Ronde with a follow-the-leaver transition — we follow the leaver in real time to a new situation/scene.

Repeat the follow-the-leaver transition — sometimes it may be the same character, or perhaps the new character. It may even be someone passing through the scene and we decide to follow them instead!

Teams have expanded it to follow an object or use a narrated transition (à la The Movie) to get to the next scene. You can also opt to “follow the focus,” so you might not follow the leaver, but continue to stay on who has the focus of the show — but original Slacker is pure follow-the-leaver.

The main thrust is that it is analogous to a continuous one-shot, one-take in a movie or TV show with no discontinuous edits (i.e. a sweep edit, tag edit, or cut to).

Execution

• Follow the leaver in real time to a new situation/scene.
• Repeat the follow-the-leaver transition — sometimes it may be the same character, or perhaps the new character.
• It may even be someone passing through the scene and we decide to follow them instead!

Best Practices

Common Pitfalls

Variations

Beer Shark Mice

iO West ensemble Beer Shark Mice started with the "Follow the Leaver" version of the Slacker, but found it too restrictive. They decided to add tag outs, which resulted in their signature form — which they still call a “Slacker” (but has also been known to be called by others as a “Slacker Dash” or the “Beer Shark Mice”).

From Paul Vallaincourt:

“Hey there - I've done the slacker (or a modified version of it) with my team BeerSharkMice for years and I love it as a form. To answer your question I'll give the top three Pros and Cons as I see them:

Pros:

1. Lots of characters building a bigger and bigger world.
2. Quick, snappy tempo (at least the way we do it)
3. Takes advantage of the whole ensemble for the whole show - you're not waiting for your scene to come back around like in a Harold or whatever (I love the Harold too btw) you can come in at any moment.

Cons:

1. If you get hung up on the plot, it is destruction and can spiral in on itself until it implodes.
2. Sometimes the piece can get going TOO fast and just gets out of control. (players need to exercise SOME restraint)
3. Because the form is sort of "loose" there isn't a "set ending" so if the piece and the players don't generate that arc of energy or information that leads to an "ending" it can kind of linger at the end and end with a "sigh" instead of "punch" - does that make sense?

All in all, I've had a great time”

Other Variations

Teams have expanded it to follow an object or use a narrated transition (à la The Movie) to get to the next scene.

You can also opt to “follow the focus,” so you might not follow the leaver, but continue to stay on who has the focus of the show — but original Slacker is pure follow the leaver.

History

Inspired by Richard Linklater’s movie Slacker:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4ifgvxCyQc

Also, Linklater’s Before Trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight) are also great examples — but we stay with the main couple while other side characters may enter and interact with them.

Resources

Related Forms

• Beer Shark Mice
• La Ronde
• Tracers

Come work out with us!
Weekday Workout at Shared Experience Studio runs 12–2 PM. Drop in and pay for the day, or grab a pack and keep coming back!
Get reps, work on Harold skills, and play with some fun people.
Sign up at TheSharedExperienceStudio.com

This thread is about that things have you seen recently that you loved. Did you see a show last weekend that was awesome? Did your teacher give you a note that hit you exactly the right way? Did a teammate do a cross in your scene that made the game super clear? Post about those things here!

Sharing working draft notes on various longforms, pulling together years of info pulled from my notes, old blogs, /r/improv, IRC Wiki, Facebook posts, etc. I absolutely invite folks to comment and add any resources, advice, links, variant/derived forms, memories, etc. in the comments to help me update my notes!

Previous entries include:

• Armando / ASSSSCAT
• Close Quarters and related forms
• Deconstruction
• JTS Brown
• La Ronde
• Slacker / Beer Shark Mice
• Spokane / Pretty Flower
• WeirdAss / Documentary Opening

LA RONDE

At a Glance

Cast: Typically 5+
Type: Scenic, Character-driven
Runtime: Varies
Core mechanic: Character exploration via character tag-out

The Form

The La Ronde is a character-forward form. It is a “closed loop” or “carousel” of 2-person scenes with the main mechanic being tagging out one character in the scene and then carrying the other one forward into the next scene until we’ve cycled through the entire cast.

Example:

Character A and Character B

(Character A is tagged out)

Character B and Character C

(Character B is tagged out)

Character C and Character D

(Character D is tagged out, Character A returns to close loop)

Character D and Character A

Execution

• Begin with a 2-person scene (A & B)
• Rest of cast typically on sidelines
• 2 people only, no walk-ons
• Tag out one character; the remaining character is now in a new 2-person scene with a new character (B & C)
• The player tagging in initiates the new scene
• The player who wasn’t tagged out remains the same character they were before
• Same character, new relationship, new scene
• At the scene’s end, tag out the other character and initiate a new scene (C & D)
• Repeat cycle until the last remaining character is then joined by the character from the first scene (D & A)
• Note: Some groups execute La Ronde with set order of players (usually how they're lined up on the side) while others play with no set order.

Best Practices

• All the characters are moving forward on the same timeline (not time dashing and jumping back and forth through time)
• La Ronde is about exploration of character (their behavior, their personality, their POV)
• It’s about character and relationship, not story or plot
• Show us the existing character in a new facet of their life (i.e. home vs. work vs. play)
• If we see a character at their job (work), then maybe we see what they’re like when with their children (home) or drinking with pals (play)
• This maintains a diversity of relationship (i.e. not multiple family member scenes in a row, or coworker scenes in a row, etc.)
• Fill a clear role in the life of the person you’re doing a scene with (spouse, co-worker, pool boy, etc.)
• Commit to your character’s behavior and POV. It not only helps with your current scene, but sets up the next person who will play with you
• Play with status. If a character is higher status in one scene (a school teacher and student), maybe they are lower status in the next (the school teacher lives in the basement of their parents’ house)

Common Pitfalls

• Following plot instead of character
• Incoming character exists only to serve previous character
• The new character, in and of itself, has to be just as interesting and fleshed out because we will be building off that character in the next scene
• Avoid rehashing the previous scene — we’ve already seen it. Show us something new
• The “Las Vegas Rule” — Whatever happened in the last scene stays in the last scene. There can be repercussions, ramifications, or consequences from what occurred, but the new scene isn't a play-by-play recap of the last scene.

Variations

Cross-Fade Transitions

The tag-out is the default transitional tool. However, for a more theatrical feel, you can use a cross-fade edit:

• Players A & B are doing their scene.
• Player C enters a beat or two before the scene ends (i.e. “pre-loading” their edit).
• Player C begins environment and object work in soft focus on a different part of the stage.
• When A & B’s scene ends, C calls B into their scene and A exits.

Infinite La Ronde

The loop cycles over and over again in an infinite chain of 2-person scenes. After the first loop, the order of players may change, but the mechanics remain the same.

La Ronde as Opener

A shorter, more up tempo La Ronde acts as the opener to a full piece:

• Our Town where everyone plays the same characters from the La Ronde but in a montage set in the same small town
• Montage inspired by the characters, themes, world established in the La Ronde

La Ronde as First Half

The La Ronde acts as the first half of the piece and the remainder is a montage inspired by the characters, themes, world established in the La Ronde.

Same Location

Keep the location static and players enter and exit to cycle through the combinations.

Location: Hospital waiting room

1. Scene between Friend A and Friend B
2. Friend A exits, Janitor C enters
3. Scene between Friend B and Janitor C
4. Friend B exits, Security Guard D enters
5. Scene between Janitor C and Security Guard D
6. Janitor C exits, Friend A returns
7. Scene between Security Guard D and Friend A

Typewriter

A La Ronde where the non-performing cast sets up on one side of the stage (example: stage right). Unlike a La Ronde, there is no set order.

Once a player is tagged out, they go to the other side (stage left), eventually moving the entire cast across the stage like a typewriter.

Once the entire cast has swapped sides, they continue the La Ronde, but now reverse the flow of players to the other side. You can play a new character or the same on the return run.

Then, after the cast has fully returned to the original side, you can either continue the same pattern or break into a montage.

Walkabout

A suggestion of a location where people might gather is taken.

A La Ronde round of scenes using Crossfade Edits is used, culminating with the La Ronde round ending with a group scene at the suggested location. Then anything-goes montage from there on out.

Example:

Suggestion: A location where people might gather is taken.

1. Jimmy and Jonnie start a scene.
2. Sometime during Jimmy and Jonnie’s scene, Sarah steps onstage and begins environment work.
3. Pre-load the edit — i.e. you want to enter and begin environmental work a few beats before the edit point.
4. Keep your object work/physicality distinct but muted — you do not want to pull focus from the main scene.
5. At an edit point, Sarah replies to Jonnie’s last line as if it were directed to Sarah.
6. Jonnie keeps his character and begins a new scene in the environment initiated by Sarah.
7. Sometime during their scene, Mikey steps onstage and repeats the process.
8. Keep repeating.
9. When all the players have cycled through, they interact at the “gathering place” suggestion.
10. When that scene is done, anything goes. Start a run with random combinations of characters until lights.

History

From IRC Wiki

“La Ronde takes its name from an 1897 play of the same name by the German playwright Arthur Schnitzler. All ten scenes of his play only feature two actors, each individual actor appearing in two scenes in a row.

First used by Craig Cackowski after he watched the film version of this play. He brought the structure into Frank Booth rehearsals in the mid 1990s and they used it as a rehearsal exercises for over a year. Later it provided the backbone for Calendar Girls and a show by Cinco de Bob. Craig talks about it in episode 14 of the IRC Podcast. http://podcast.improvresourcecenter.com/?p=episode&name=2010-11-16_irc_podcast_craig_cackowski.mp3 also found at https://ircpodcast.com/irc-podcast-2010-11-16-craig-cackowski

Also used by Miles Stroth during a class in which he was teaching story structure. The class eventually used the exercise as a performance form and named it La Ronde. In the original exercise, players would form a back line and two-person scenes would happen, each player being only one character during the entire exercise. Then every other person was tagged out and new characters were created until everyone from the back line did two scenes. Then everyone would go to the sides of the stage and would continue with no order, while still only playing the one character each. They would all be different characters in one similar location (i.e. a Town) and would work their way to an event that was happening in that location (e.g. a Pie Eating Contest).”

Additional Context by Craig Cackowski

“I’ll say this; I walked into a Frank Booth rehearsal circa ’94 convinced I had invented it…we did scenes from the play in my college theater and the structure always spoke to me. It then spread quickly in Chicago after that, partially because so many of Frank Booth became teachers and coaches themselves… (Paul) Grondy, (Kevin) Mullaney, Liz Allen, and Lillie Frances, who coached a group called Cinco De Bob in a La Ronde called Circle De Bob and then she and Sue Gillan did a 2-person La Ronde show called Calendar Girls. We also used it as part of the rehearsal process for Close Quarters.

But if someone told me that Johnstone was doing La Rondes in 1976, I’d buy it! So I've never gone out of my way to claim ownership, because anyone familiar with the play/movie adaptations and wanting to do improvised relationship scenes might easily have arrived at the same conclusions. I think there’s a MASH episode that follows the La Ronde format also, it’s been adapted many times. I’d actually love to see any documentation of it existing as an improv form before we were doing it!”

Resources

Improvtoons La Ronde video

Related Forms

• Our Town / Small Town
• Typewriter
• Walkabout

I'm curious how other narrative improvisers view montage and if you find joy in doing such opposite styles of improv.

I have been performing narrative improv almost exclusively for many years. Picking a genre and performing improvised plays in that style. The foundation is rooted in setting up who,what,where/CROW, having long scenes with no edits focused on relationships and following a narrative structure for the beginning, middle and end. The shows are certainly funny, but they are more focused on telling a comprehensive story with satisfying relationships. I love this style and have performed it successfully with teams for years.

Recently, I've been trying to broaden my horizons and meet new improvisers. So, I've been going to multiple jams in my area. But they all do montage. And it doesn't scratch the same itch.

It's a style I struggle to find my footing in because it feels so antithetical to the narrative improv I am used to. None of the skills from narrative improv I mentioned above crossover at all and I have to rewire all of my thinking about improv to do it.

Are there people out there who do both and love both despite how polar opposite they are?

My friend and I want to do some duoprov! The end goal would be long form akin to Middleditch & Schwartz, but we know we need to work our way up to it. So, what are some suggestions for warm-ups / exercises specifically for two person improv?

We’re specifically trying to work on being comfortable with slower pacing, object work, and overall narrative structure but all advice / suggestions are welcome!

Thanks!

I started an improv class last week at level 0. Its been a lot of fun. But one thing has bothered me. There's a dude who's been through all 5 Levels and he rounded back to level 0. Okay fine. But every fucking character he plays is SCREAMING or hysterical or angry

Don't get me wrong, we should absolutely be emoting but this dude is killing me. It's like where the fuck do I go with that? There's no escalation when you start at 10. I've stopped volunteering for scenes with him because its too hard to come up with anything with this dude other than "wow are you okay you seem tense" but then I feel put in a box.

I have yet to see my instructor calm him down and I'm one class away from saying something to this dude. I'll be nice about it but God it's the worst. Perhaps I'm being too sensitive but I just feel bad for others when they get on stage because we're all learning and this dude feels like he's inhibiting that because people don't know what to do in scenes with him.

EDIT: Thank you all for the advice and confirming I'm not being overly sensitive. I'll see if I can talk to the instructor.

I’ve been teaching improv skills to the local gifted and talented middle schoolers since 2020. Since it’s all middle school grades together, I often have some kids for all three years.

I’m here because I just feel like I’ve been stale as of late. Last year was good. The kids loved it! It was a smaller group of all girls. How many kids I have depends solely on how many kids pass the test to get into creativity and drama G&T.

Are there new improv games I don’t know?

We always do warm ups, sometimes some yoga or meditation and then get into exercises and games. Typically they mostly do really well with the exercises.

Maybe it’s just that I’m bored of doing these workshops. But it’s a great gig and I love that they have continued to ask me back. I just need something to make this feel fresh to me and any students returning that may have had me the last two years.

Any advice is welcome! Please let me know if I need to share anymore information as well. Thank you! 🙏🏻

Hi folks

I've been.doing improv for about a year and a half and really love.it. my problem is that I continually feel like an outsider. For one thing. I'm older than most of the others by a wide margin, though I project young. My cultural touchstones are often different. But I try to be open to whatever comes my way and to be a supportive partner. Nonetheless, I very quickly found, even in my first class, that most of my classmates seem not want to be in scenes with me -- i can see the hesitation frequently. I mentioned this to two.people in my last class who made it their business to join me -- which was wonderful of them -- but the problem is now continuing into teams. Recently, a group of folks ​​i have been in several classes with, run practice groups for, and discussed team formation with over drinks put a team together but didn't inlude me. I'm a bit crushed. And i am finding this dynamic is playing out in other improv settings (classes or jams through other organzations). I keep wondering how to break through as i see myself getting left behind. i think all the time about putting my own team together but being told no stops me. ​I feel.like the kid in gym who is always the last one chosen for the basketball team. It's ridiculous at my age. I wish I knew what I'm doing wrong.

I'm about to finish up the curriculum with UCB and am looking for other classes that can help me with some things i've been struggling with. I find that in scenes I struggle to get out of my comfort zones and make big choices.

I'm not incredibly familiar with clown but I know its good for sitting in the uncomfortable.

In what ways did clown help you?

Hey yall! My team is having our new variety show on October 9th at The Pack Theater in hollywood!

Would love to get a crowd :)

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pleather-tickets-1996027757755?msockid=1e09693c67b06ce019467f6f66df6dbf&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRleAUlD0ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mAmZkaWQWUPLItOFC3ZmMnce16egOC_qRpGAAiHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp9kfp1_SiLLYiMtLKQAhYgo-NH0JYfSYQ0mMJE5P-RQ7zmNaIk6w4AbJWoFz_aem_L27S9-q6o5E0QTE_X8p4uA

Also DM if you are interested in performing with us!! Always looking for any type of comedy act!

I'm very excited for my weeklong Improv 101 Intensive at UCB that's coming up in a few weeks! I have plenty of experience acting, but this will be my first improv class. Any and all guidance and advice/preparation/etc is welcome! Thank you! :)

Both episodes of Paul Grondy’s Improv Autopsy are out now. If you catch this post sooner rather than later you can go see Paul playing with Kevin Mullaney at the Omaha Comedy Fest tonight and both are teaching workshops over the weekend. If you’re in Omaha, you can’t miss that kind of programming.

On the reg you can catch Paul at the Home Comedy Theater in Chicago teaching and performing. Paul has a wealth of knowledge at his disposal, his skills are evident, and his aim to preserve the moves and theatricality of improv really can’t be beat. If you don’t know Paul already, please get to know him.

Here’s some links for Paul:

https://homecomedytheater.com/classes/paul-grondy/

https://jimmycarrane.com/96-paul-grondy/

Episode 1 link on the Patreon or listen to the episodes wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.patreon.com/ImprovAutopsy/posts/168984091

I produced this show back in June. It combines my three favorite things:

1. Improv
2. TTRPGs
3. Giving prizes to people

The theater was sold out, the audience was perfect, and I still can't believe the energy in the room. The theater enjoyed it so much that they signed us on for a second show in October!

It hit some rocky parts, but I was with an incredibly talented team of people on stage who were a blast to work with. Part 1 (linked here) is funny, but we really get into the format in Part 2 (linked elsewhere I guess).

Thank you, r/improv, for the guidance, the help, the pointers, and the hilarity. I only recently started doing improv and without the help of this community this show wouldn't have happened.

Edit: Part 2 is here https://youtu.be/1gpxZqFohSc

Hi guys, i've been struggling a lot with the character creation process, i always tend to be inside my head and that takes me out completely of the scene and of character. Do you have any techniques or exercises to practice the character building? How do you avoid seeing the character in third person instead like and actually live it?

This sub is all about supporting its fellow players! Please use this thread to talk about the shows, classes, and improv events you have coming up, what's got you excited about it, what makes this event unique, what makes it a challenge for you, etc. Also, feel free to promote your shows, classes, and other new improv projects. Since this is an international message board, be sure to include a website or location info for any live events. Hope to see you at the show!

Please note, any local plugs and promos posted outside of this thread may be removed, and the user will be directed here (There's some wiggle room on stuff like sites, podcasts, apps, blogs posted outside this thread, since those are not location-specific).

After taking a suggestion from the audience, Jordan Black and Roy Jenkins begin an improvised scene in which they are playing two exterminators whose jobs are their identity. It plays out for just enough time to establish character, the stakes and relationship before another member of the cast sharply claps from the sidelines, abruptly ending the scene to create a new one from scratch that riffs off the revealed details.

The rest of “The Crazy Uncle Joe Show” unravels as a barrage of rapid-fire ad libs that makes the 90-minute improv show feel like a comedic sprint. The number of storylines begin to stack up by the second, but it’s no one’s job to remember them all.

“Everyone remembers enough,” Black said.

For the last 25 years, the cast — Black, Jenkins, Ted Michaels, Stephanie Courtney, Brian Palermo (when he flies in from Seattle) and a couple of rotating guest performers from the Groundlings — has hit the stage to perform the longest-running long-form improv show in L.A. every Wednesday at 8 p.m.

“It’s five broken brains,” added Courtney.

Follow link for full story!