Using "Game of the Scene" in standup

"Heighten: Have the stakes get higher and higher, keep one upping." Lessons from Improv 201 at UCB that apply to standup too.

I recently wrote about what improvisers can teach standup comedians (lessons from UCB Improv 101). Next up in my “improv for standups” discussion: Game of the scene (i.e. lessons from UCB Improv 201).

First, let’s define the game of the scene: The game is the single pattern of unusual behavior that defines the scene.

WILL HINES: [The game is] a consistent pattern of behavior that breaks from the everyday pattern of behavior. The reason we say that is we want games that are based on an unusual thing, something that’s different from reality, that repeats in a consistent way. That’s our mathematical way.

I tended to think about it in an even simpler way: What’s the first thing that happens that gets a laugh/feels funny? During a standup set, this might be someone in the crowd who, say, coughs loudly. If you riff on that and get a laugh, you can keep returning to that idea later in your set as a tag/riff or “second beat.” (Note: I find these ideas often apply to doing crowdwork).

Below: Some notes from my Improv 201 class at Upright Citizen Brigade's Theater in New York called "Game of the Scene: Learn how to find and play games within scenes and create smart second beats." My instructor was Porter Mason.

• Whatever scares you, do it.

• Specificity is our friend. Add it. 

• Establish and repeat. Hit the same note a couple of times. 

• Heighten: Have the stakes get higher and higher, keep one upping. 

• Honesty is our safety net. We can never go wrong if we speak how we honestly feel at the time. 

• Whatever you feel uncomfortable doing is exactly what you should try doing. 

• When in doubt, confess. "I think I have a problem." "I need to tell you something." Etc. 

• Go from A to C. Leaving the B out is often the interesting part because it lets the audience's brains make the connection. 

• First laugh line is often the audience telling you where the game of the scene is. 

• Give the audience relief by calling out the truth. ("Phew, it's not just me.")

• Be ahead of the audience. If you just thought of it, go for it. If they already know where you're going, you've lost.