The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

Like many interactive techniques, ping pong can either be a useful tool, or a counter-productive monkey wrench. Let’s start by addressing the monkey wrench in the room.

Ping pong become problematic when inter-actors are unaware of the fact that the dialogue is going back and forth between them, while spects are just watching on. It turns spect-actors back into a spectators. If you discover yourself engaged in this kind of ping pong, the solution is simple: Throw focus to the spect. Ask for an opinion, a perspective, or anything that allows the spect to contribute to the conversation.

Now that you know what to watch out for, let’s take a look at how to make ping pong useful.

To be beneficial, ping pong needs momentum—to bounce quickly back and forth. One sentence each. No pause between the lines. No processing time. When one player stops speaking, the other one starts. The words themselves don’t have to be spoken quickly, but the space between the lines needs to be non-existent. Without momentum, the power of ping pong evaporates. With momentum, ping pong is a great to energize a scene. If repetition shows up, that’s OK, but don’t let it become a crutch.

“You were never there for me.” “I was never there for you!?” “No, you weren’t!” “And I will never be there for you as long as you keep pushing me away.”

Here are a few ways that ping pong can be employed as a helpful tool.

Release control – As an inter-actor you need the ability to release control and speak before you know. Ping pong is a great training tool to help you learn to open your mouth and let words spill out before you know what you’re going to say.

Conflict and support – Ping pong can definitely be useful when engaging in conflict, but it’s an equally effective tool when embodying enthusiastic support.

Raise the stakes and reveal - When you need to raise the emotional stakes of a scene, ping pong is a great way to do it. The escalating momentum of emotion fully justifies a major reveal because, when emotions get carried away, people blurt out what they otherwise wouldn’t say.

Sweeping in the spect – When used intentionally, ping pong is a good way to sweep spects up the energetic flow of a scene. Build momentum and intensity as the dialogue bounces back and forth between inter-actors, then swing the focus to the spect. Whatever the spect’s response, they’re now swept up in the flow.

Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to guide spects into engaging in ping pong. However, when they go there of their own accord, play it for all it’s worth. Heighten the energy and see what unexpected discoveries show up.