The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

When you don’t go along with someone’s idea while still maintaining its truth, that’s a resist.

Ramona is out celebrating her friend Kiley’s birthday. “Here, I bought you a birthday beer!” Kiley resists. “I can’t drink that. I’m trying to stay sober.”

Kiley resists Ramona’s intention of having a birthday drink while still maintaining the truth of Ramona’s offer.

Resisting is the opposite of following. Both confirm the truth of the previous offer, but a resist goes against the intention and a follow goes with it. If Kiley drinks the beer it’s a follow, if she refuses it’s a resist. Either way, the beer is still true.

Resisting is sometimes mistaken for blocking. If Kiley says, “That’s not beer, that’s water.” she’s blocking Ramona’s offer because it makes the beer untrue. Resistance doesn’t undermine the truth of an offer, it challenges the intention.

Resistance can be a useful tool. It creates obstacles for spects to deal with. When spects overcome resistance, it makes their success feel earned. It’s best to wait until spects are playing strong before you introduce resistance, otherwise it shuts them down.

Used improperly, resisting can become a problem. If you resist someone’s offer because you don’t like it or you have a different idea in mind, that’s a control issue. Thinking that you know where the story should go is no reason to resist. Let go of your ego. Resisting others’ offers to maintain control gets in the way of effective co-creation.

When others resist you, never take it personally. It’s an opportunity for you to explore struggles between characters. When spects resist, it also provides insight into how they feel about your offer.