Game of the Scene<\/a> is a great way to improvise scenes that look like honed sketches to your audience.<\/p>\n So what is Game of the Scene?<\/p>\n It\u2019s a repeated pattern of funny behaviour with escalating emotion. That means once you\u2019ve found a funny thing, you keep repeating it through exploring it with the characters then heightening it to make it more fun for the players.<\/p>\n This diagram was shared with me by Will Hines (of the Upright Citizen\u2019s Brigade) in a post-workshop pub session. It\u2019s a brief look at one way of seeing Game of the Scene.<\/p>\n This should act as a guide rather than a formula for improv greatness. Following this won\u2019t make you a pro at Game of the Scene like some kind of improv robot (although, technology is probably heading in that direction). Instead see it as a tool for visualising Game of the Scene.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s break down each of the sections:<\/p>\n The circle is the very start of the scene and is the time when the players establish their context. Different improv theatres\u2019 use different terms for this stage. For example the UCB would call this \u2018Base Reality\u2019. However, the more universal term \u2018Who-What-Where\u2019 also works great for this.<\/p>\n Example:<\/p>\n Rick: (Pressing buttons in front of him.) Christine, we have landed on the moon. This truly is a great step forward for humanity\u2019s progress!<\/i><\/p>\n Christine: I\u2019ve wanted this ever since I was little Mike, I can\u2019t believe this is actually happening! Are you ready to go outside?<\/i><\/p>\n Rick: Let\u2019s do it.<\/i><\/p>\n Rick and Christine hug. Christine opens the hatch and they both step through.<\/i><\/p>\n Rick: Wow, this is incredible. Would you be embarrassed if I started crying?<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The (slightly truncated, drawn by yours truly) diamond signifies the first \u2018Unusual Thing\u2019 in the scene. After establishing a \u2018Who-What-Where\u2019 in the scene, the players can now look towards discovering, or creating something that sticks out from that established world.<\/p>\n This \u2018Unusual Thing\u2019 is the seed from which your beautiful Game of The Scene will grow. Then the fun can begin!<\/p>\n Example:<\/p>\n Christine: I wouldn\u2019t be embarrassed if you started crying. I think I might do the same. All the time in the rocket, for this? This is so anticlimactic!<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The horizontal lines coming from the (slightly truncated) diamond are \u2018Exploring\u2019 moves.<\/p>\n The first line coming from the (slightly truncated) diamond is the justification of the Unusual Thing. Players at this point would be finding out why is this unusual thing or unusual behaviour is happening. Or why is the character acting in this unusual way?<\/p>\n Example:<\/p>\n Rick: Anticlimactic!? We\u2019ve landed on the Moon Christine! So few people have seen what we\u2019re seeing now!<\/i><\/p>\n Christine: I can see why, there\u2019s nothing here! I remember seeing the original moon landing footage and that Gravity film with Sandra Bullock but when you\u2019re here, it\u2019s not as impressive without the fanfare and a backing track.<\/i><\/p>\n Rick: But this is more impressive because this is real! The movies are just that, movies. Look at the Earth, it looks like a giant blueberry!<\/i><\/p>\n Christine: Yeah it does, you can barely make out any detail. The movies were so much better. The flight over here was so uneventful too, nothing like in Alien.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The vertical lines are \u2018Heightening\u2019 moves.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve found the unusual thing (in our example: Christine not digging the moon), so now we\u2019re going to make it more ridiculous. Sketch comedy is great at doing this. It often introduces a funny idea and then either keeps raising the stakes or keeps making it more absurd.<\/p>\n Example:<\/p>\n Glizbub: (Entering into the scene.) My ear-glubs are burning! Greetings humans, I mean you no harm!<\/i><\/p>\n Rick: Oh my Lord, extraterrestrial life! We\u2019ve made first contact!<\/i><\/p>\n Christine: Yeesh, even the aliens look shitty. It looks like it\u2019s literally made of rubber. All those years wasted in Space School… I should have just taken that performing arts degree.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Explore and Heighten together form a staircase shape off of the Unusual Thing (slightly truncated) diamond.<\/p>\n Every time there is an increase in absurdity (Heighten), the improvisers make sense of this new level of absurdity (Explore). Now the next level of absurdity (Heighten) has a solid base to build from.<\/p>\n You can just keep piling on the absurdity and end the scene like a bombastic comedic Catherine Wheel. However, this will mean all of your scenes will be super short. Also, you\u2019ve found the funny thing in the scene – let\u2019s keep playing with it!<\/p>\n A useful comparison would be the improv term \u2018\u2018Jump and Justify\u2019. The jump is a bold offer made by the improvisers and the justify gives the logic behind the offer. How is this different from Heighten and Explore? Mainly that Heighten and Explore refers specifically to game, while Jump and Justify could be about any improv offer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So when do we end the scene? Similarly to most improv scenes, editing after a big laugh is a good shout. This will probably happen after a heighten, as you\u2019re making the unusual thing bigger which will probably make it funny.<\/p>\n On the subject of timing, let\u2019s once again get away from comedy math. There isn\u2019t an ideal amount of time to spend on each section, that\u2019s more up to you and your playing style.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s finish the scene:<\/p>\n Glizbub: Please human. We have feelings too. Perhaps we can sweeten this deal by giving you the secrets to immortality?<\/i><\/p>\n Christine: Don\u2019t bother.<\/i><\/p>\n Rick: You\u2019re turning down immortality!?\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Christine: Why would I want immortality if this is the best the universe can throw at me? Even in the movies immortality is a double edged sword anyway. Screw this, I\u2019m going home.<\/i><\/p>\n Rick: We\u2019ve made the biggest scientific discovery of all time and could receive God-like powers, how can you not be impressed?! We are truly on the brink of a new age, like Christopher Columbus we-<\/i><\/p>\n Christine: Oh my God. In the movies these inspiring speeches are so much less contrived!<\/i><\/p>\n END SCENE<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Blog by Liam Brennan, who is teaching Hoopla’s Game of the Scene course<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A quick guide to Game of the Scene Blog from Liam Brennan, who is running Hoopla’s Game of the Scene Course. Game of the Scene is a great way to improvise scenes that look like honed sketches to your audience. So what is Game of the Scene? It\u2019s a repeated pattern of funny behaviour with[…] <\/p>\nGame is not Comedy Maths… but here\u2019s a diagram<\/b><\/h2>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 1. Who-What-Where<\/h2>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2. Unusual Thing<\/h2>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 3. Explore<\/h2>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 4. Heighten<\/h2>\n
Explore and Heighten Combine!<\/b><\/h2>\n
Ending the Scene<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"Liam](\"https:\/\/www.hooplaimpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Liam-Space-300x296.jpg\")
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