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Exercises
A scene is played in which Player A makes a statement, waits for Player B to respond, then builds on Player B’s offer. The pattern of Player A making statements, waiting, and responding continues through the scene.
Exercises
A scene is played in which the players only make statements. If a question is asked, the other player responds with the answer, “No.”
Topics
a character’s power, either positional or physical
Status is a useful tool when creating characters and relationships. At its core, status reflects power. It helps negotiate who is dominant (high status) and who is submissive (low status) without needing to fight each other to figure things out.
Topics
Status behaviors reflect the relative power between characters. There are two types of status—positional and physical. Within each category there are high-status and low-status behaviors. One isn’t better than the other. They’re just different ways of getting things done.
Exercises
Players mingle and chat. On a given signal, players start embodying either high or low physical status while continuing to mingle. When another signal is given, they embody the opposite form of physical status.
Topics
a change in who has the upper hand in a situation
Characters become interesting when they change. One of the most potent changes is a status shift—one character’s status goes up causing another character’s status to go down, or vice versa. It’s like being on a teeter totter. If your partner assumes higher status, lower yours. If they go lower, you go higher.
Topics
When actors make the move from stage to film, they often look like they’re overacting. A performance that reads as truthful from the seats of a theatre becomes way too much when a camera is right up close. As an inter-actor, your most important viewer is the spect who is only inches away. You need to play without “performing.”
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a stage for improvised multi-scene, multi-character, interactive stories
StoryBox is a stage designed to reduce spects’ self-consciousness by removing the physical presence of the audience, while still allowing observers to view the experience through a live video feed. The stage consists of a 16′ x 16′ performance space surrounded by pipe and drape walls with cameras in all four corners. Controlled lighting allows performers outside the box to see what’s happening on the inside, while those on the inside can only see the fabric walls. StoryBox leverages spects’ imaginations using implicative technologies such as soundscapes and color-shifting lights to imply locations. Physical elements in the box are limited to chairs or rehearsal blocks, with all other props, costumes, and scenic elements being implied through space work, defined offers, and endowment. StoryBox is an ideal format for developing inter-actors’ skills in narrative structure, group mind, and improvised interactive story.
Topics
positive reinforcement given when spects play well
Spects start off nervous about not playing well. They need support to feel more assured. When they do something (even something small) it helps to reward them. Spects tend to repeat behaviors that get rewarded. The reward is known as a stroke.
Topics
whatever underlies things spoken or done
Two psychiatrists encountered each other while walking down the street. As they approached one another, one psychiatrist said to the other, “Good morning.” After they had passed, the second psychiatrist thought to himself, “I wonder what he meant by that?”
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