Company Repertoire

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Revolver, also known as "Four Square," features four players arranged in a square formation. Each player is paired with the one next to them, creating four different storylines. The director cues them to rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise, switching the active scenes and developing multiple narratives simultaneously.

Best Practices:

• When returning to a storyline, allow a small time lapse instead of picking up exactly where it left off. This keeps the narrative dynamic and engaging.
• Improvisers should also escalate or intensify the narrative, pushing the story forward and adding depth to each scene.

What's in it for the audience?

• This format offers a variety of stories, keeping the show fast-paced and engaging, providing a fresh and exciting experience that audiences love.
• Revolver captivates the audience by incorporating time lapses between scenes, sparking their curiosity and encouraging them to speculate about what transpired off-screen. 

The Growing and Shrinking Machine is an improv game that starts with a single performer. Each time the scene is frozen, a new player joins, creating a new scene. This continues until the entire cast is involved in the final scene. Then, the last person who joined finds a reason to exit, and the scenes reverse, shrinking back down to the original single performer.

Best Practices:

• In the Growing and Shrinking Machine, each scene starts with the beginning of a story, and when returning, the end is shown, allowing the audience to infer the middle.
• Each new person entering a scene should immediately establish a strong presence as the main character, while the other improvisers on stage shift to more supporting roles, especially those farther from the main action.
• Whichever improviser enters and starts as the main character should remember the order of their scenes so that when they return, they can keep track of what comes next.
• If improvisers forget which scene comes next during the shrinking part, everyone should stay calm, relax, and wait until someone initiates the returning scene.

What's in it for the audience?

• The Growing and Shrinking Machine offers the audience a unique and engaging experience because they get to witness a story unfold in a non-linear fashion. By seeing the beginning and end of each scene, the audience is invited to use their imagination to fill in the gaps, making the experience interactive and mentally stimulating.
• The variety and dynamic nature of the format make it entertaining and unpredictable, ensuring the audience remains engaged throughout. 

Meanwhile is an improv format inspired by classic radio serials or comic strips. You begin a scene from a suggestion, and anytime you want to shift to a new storyline or scene, you announce "meanwhile." This allows you to transition to a different location, characters, or storyline, keeping the scene dynamic and fresh.

Best Practices:

• Remember that all scenes are part of the same story world.
• When shifting to a new scene, especially with the same actors playing different characters, be clear in character portrayal so the audience can easily tell them apart.
• It's also helpful to return to the same portions of the stage where previous scenes were performed to maintain continuity and help the audience recognize the shifts.
• This format is actor-driven, meaning there is no director determining scene shifts, so actors should feel free to initiate changes and let their curiosity and creativity guide them to assertively make shifts to new scenes.
• As the format progresses, particularly in the latter half, actors can start merging storylines, bringing characters from different scenes together, adding depth and complexity to the performance.

What's in it for the audience?

• Meanwhile is unique because of its interconnectedness between scenes, making it a world-building exercise where the audience experiences the creation of a cohesive world, unlike other formats where story worlds aren't necessarily connected. 

La Ronde is an improv format inspired by the play of the same name. It features a series of interconnected scenes where each new character is introduced through an ongoing chain, ultimately looping back to connect the last character with the first. 

Best Practices:

• Remember that all scenes are part of the same story world.
• Improvisers should focus on the relationship between the two characters in each scene, without worrying about an overarching storyline.
• The two characters should have a close relationship, which allows for deep and meaningful conversations, rather than being strangers or mere acquaintances. 

What's in it for the audience?

• La Ronde offers a unique experience by focusing on evolving relationships in interconnected scenes. This format allows for deep, nuanced storytelling that highlights the journey of each character, creating an engaging and memorable experience distinct from other multi-story formats. 

Pools of Light is an improv format where the light tech triggers random lighting cues on different parts of the stage. Improvisers rush to the lit areas to start scenes, and each new lighting cue shifts them to a new scene. When a previous cue reappears, they return to continue that scene. It's a fast-paced, multi-story experience driven by the light cues.

Best Practices:

• For Pools of Light, the best practices are similar to Revolver: (1) Allow time lapses between scenes instead of picking up exactly where you left off and (2) when returning to a scene, focus on intensifying or escalating the narrative.
• A key difference from Revolver is the flexibility in the number of characters per scene. To keep things dynamic, vary the number of characters in each scene.

What's in it for the audience?

• Pools of Light engages the audience with its unpredictable, fast-paced scenes, similar to Revolver. The random lighting cues and varied character combinations create an exciting and dynamic performance.

Carousel is an improv format driven by music and scene painting. A musician or pre-recorded music inspires improvisers to vividly describe and create an imagined world. After setting the scene, they act it out. This cycle repeats with new music and scenes, until the first music piece is reprised, returning to the original scene and bringing the story full circle. 

Best Practices:

• It's important for improvisers to deeply connect with the music, letting it drive their performance rather than being just a background element. 
• Create variation from scene to scene, not just in location but also in length, number of people, or other dynamics to keep each scene distinct.

What's in it for the audience?

• The music-driven scenes create a rich, ever-changing atmosphere that keeps the audience engaged and curious about what will unfold next. Watching the transformation of each scene based on music adds an element of surprise and depth, making it a captivating journey.

The Three Scene is a genre-based improv game where improvisers start with a neutral scene in a contemporary setting, then perform it twice more in different genres based on audience suggestions.

Best Practices:

• Ensure that while translating the scene into new genres, the improvisers consistently hit the same essential beats, actions, and blocking, maintaining continuity to meet audience expectations set by the initial neutral scene.
• Improvisers can enhance their versatility and lessen limitations in The Three Scene by broadening their knowledge of genres, making each performance more dynamic and engaging.
• The game's success is driven by the improvisers' enthusiasm and enjoyment of the genre, which shines through in their performance. So commit to the bit!

What's in it for the audience?

• The audience gets to enjoy the thrill of seeing the same story retold in different genres. This unique blend of consistency and variety highlights the improvisers' creativity, keeping each performance engaging and memorable.

Super Scene is an improv format where improvisers start with multiple opening scenes in distinct genres. After each round, the audience votes to eliminate one, continuing until only one remains, which concludes with its final scene in the last round.

Best Practices:

• Here are two variations for the "Super Scene" format: (1) One actor plays the main character in each genre play, becoming the figurehead for scenes voted on. (2) A director pitches each scene at the start, setting up the premise and acting as the spokesperson for each play.
• Like the Three Scene, it's also important for improvisers in to have a broad knowledge of genres and enthusiasm for playing in genre, ensuring the format's success.

What's in it for the audience?

• The audience enjoys a dynamic, interactive experience as they vote on which scenes continue, making them part of the creative process. They get to watch multiple stories unfold in various genres, each vying for their attention, creating a unique and engaging spectacle.

An improviser acts as the narrator, portraying the author of a new book whose stories come to life on stage as the other performers bring the scenes to fruition.

Best Practices:

• The narrator (author) can begin by thinking aloud in a pep-talk style, setting the tone and establishing their narrative voice before the story unfolds.
• The narrator should focus on setting up scenes, smoothly transitioning to new ones, and creating closure for the entire story, bringing it full circle.
• Improvisers should listen closely to the narrator to create a dynamic back-and-forth, as responding to off-stage voices can be challenging but enriches the performance.
• The narrator should allow for give-and-take, not controlling too much, and embracing the improvisers' contributions as if they were their own ideas. 

What's in it for the audience?

• The audience enjoys the thrill of watching a story unfold as if they’re reading a book being written in real time. They get to see the interplay between the narrator’s imaginative descriptions and the improvisers' creative interpretations, creating unexpected twists and turns.

Narrage is an improv format where improvisers receive a suggestion of a life event from the audience. Each improviser delivers monologues from their character's viewpoint, creating a dynamic back-and-forth as they interrupt and add layers. These monologues, like pieces of a collage, eventually come together to form a cohesive story that unveils itself to the audience.

Best Practices:

• Keep the monologues rooted in the unique viewpoint of each character.
• Incorporate different tones, emotions, and perspectives to enrich the story.
• Improvisers should pay attention to each other's contributions to maintain a cohesive narrative.
• Improvisers can challenge themselves by being animate or inanimate characters.

What's in it for the audience?

• The audience becomes part of a beautifully layered storytelling experience, where multiple perspectives reveal the complexity of a single event. They get to piece together the narrative like a puzzle, enjoying the interplay of different viewpoints, emotions, and even characters as varied as a sentimental witness or an inanimate object.

Inspired by true events from the audience, 'Campfire' weaves spooky and unexplained tales around a pretend campfire. Improvisers, posing as campers, transform audience stories into vivid scenes, creating a hauntingly immersive experience. Like 'Typewriter,' the narrator sets the stage while fellow improvisers bring the tales to life.

Best Practices:

• Most best practices for Campfire are similar to Typewriter.
• To enrich the 'Campfire' format, begin with improvisers establishing themselves as characters around the campfire. Each character acts as an interpretive lens, allowing both the narrator's and other characters' voices to emerge through them, enhancing the storytelling and immersing the audience in the experience.

What's in it for the audience?

• Audience members are transported into a captivating world of suspense and mystery, where their own stories come to life in unexpected ways. Through the improvisers' dynamic storytelling, the audience experiences the thrill of seeing familiar tales unfold in new, imaginative ways, making each performance unique and deeply engaging.

Improvisers act out a scene while another person provides the sound effects they must react to. This game challenges improvisers to listen closely and respond creatively, amplifying the scene's dynamics with spontaneous reactions to the sounds. 

Best Practices:

• In one variation, an audience member creates the sound effects for a talking scene. In another various, improvisers act silently while a fellow improviser provides all the sound effects and voices using grammelot or gibberish, creating a unique, playful dynamic.
• To keep things interesting and justify the sound effects, it's crucial for improvisers to ground their actions in physicality, enhancing the scene's realism and engagement. 

What's in it for the audience?

• Audiences enjoy the spontaneous fun of Sound FX, watching improvisers creatively respond to unexpected sounds.

Improvisers perform a scene incorporating gibberish. This game relies on expressive body language and physicality to convey the story, making it a fun and engaging challenge.

Best Practices:

• One variation features a director who signals when to switch between English and gibberish, challenging improvisers to adapt on the fly. Improvisers should not return to previous topics when switching back to English and maintain the same level of physicality and affect.
• Another variation involves performing the entire scene in gibberish, much like Commedia dell'arte using grammelot. Use the gibberish to explore and find the game in the scene.

What's in it for the audience?

• Watching improvisers convey meaning through expressive physicality and emotion, it challenges audiences to interpret the scene, making for a fun and engaging experience.

Two improvisers act out a scene while two other improvisers provide their voices. This game highlights the coordination and creativity between the pairs, resulting in a dynamic and often humorous interplay of action and dialogue.

Best Practices:

• The onstage improvisers should lip-sync as accurately as possible and feel free to initiate offers through movement, prompting reactions from the offstage voices. This creates a dynamic and engaging back-and-forth between the physical and vocal performers.

What's in it for the audience?

• Audiences love the hilarious and creative interplay between voice actors and stage actors as they watch voice actors cleverly justify the physicality of the stage actor while the stage actors desperately try to lip-sync in real-time.

In the Living Room format, improvisers sit in a semi-circle, ideally on couches or comfortable seats, to create a cozy living room atmosphere. They engage in a free-flowing conversation, riffing off audience suggestions and sharing personal experiences or stories. When inspiration strikes, they leap into scenes drawn directly from the conversation, making the experience both spontaneous and engaging.

Best Practices:

• One best practice for the Living Room format is for improvisers to make the conversation very personal, delving into deeper anecdotes and not being afraid to share important or meaningful experiences. This helps create a richer, more engaging conversation and keeps the format authentic.
• Let comedy flow naturally without forcing humor or seeming desperate for laughs. Improvisers should focus on sharing content that is interesting, real, and comes from a passionate place.
• The scene work should always be the highlight and more engaging than the conversation. If the conversation overshadows the scenes, it's a sign that the improvisers should focus on making their scenes more compelling. (Don't make it feel like a podcast.)

What's in it for the audience?

• The Living Room format offers an intimate and relatable experience, where they can enjoy the improvisers' genuine stories and connections. They get to see scenes that feel personal and spontaneous, making them feel more engaged and connected to the performance.

The Seattle Harold, also known as The Unstructured Harold," created by Del Close, is a variation of Del Close's original Harold format. It begins with a 'static walk' where improvisers riff on an audience-suggested theme, leading into a mix of scenes, games, and monologues inspired by these initial ideas. This format is meant to be the jazz of improv, continuing fluidly until a natural conclusion is found. 

Best Practices:

• Be very attentive to the ideas being riffed on during the static walk. Specifically reincorporating those ideas creates meaningful connections and structured set-up and pay-offs for the audience.
• Stay initially as close as possible to the original theme and gradually explore how far the thematic connection can be pushed as the Harold progresses.
• If the theme becomes difficult for improvisers to keep up with, they should boldly throw themselves out there, even if it's not perfect. It's better to make spontaneous offers, trusting that there is an unconscious relationship between their contributions and the overall theme. (The audience is smart. If they're bought into the experience, they will find some connections.)

What's in it for the audience?

• The audience enjoys a series of thematically linked yet distinct scenes, games, and monologues. The format offers a mosaic of ideas, each scene standing on its own while contributing to a greater thematic tapestry. This variety keeps the audience engaged as they discover unexpected connections and enjoy the spontaneity and creativity of the performers.