The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

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a physical component within an activity

The activity of a scene is comprised of various actions. For example, the activity of a picnic includes such actions as finding a good spot, laying out a blanket, unpacking the basket, and eating the food. Exploring the different actions keeps the activity alive without falling into the trap of repetition.

Exercises

A scene is played in which Player A follows Player B’s offers by doing physical actions.

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an offer that involves doing something

It’s easy to fall into the trap of talking heads. Actional offers help avoid this trap. In addition to speaking, do things. Actional offers advance the story through the things you do and often introduce props into the story world. The props serve an immediate purpose and they can also be reincorporated later in the story.

Exercises

An interrogator ask questions which a suspect answers. Whenever the interrogator isn’t satisfied with an answer, they call on Boris, an imaginary, giant thug. Boris punishes the suspect until they give a satisfactory answer, then the interrogation continues.

Exercises

Players intentionally play a scene that is going nowhere. After a while, an outside observer calls out a scene booster from the list below, which one of the players applies.

Topics

Causality moves a story from scene to scene. It can also shape the progression of the scene itself. Let what spects say and do cause your responses, which then cause their responses. Moment-to-moment causality helps you avoid playing for the spect and keeps you playing with the spect.

Topics

Gap

the difference between what a character expects and what happens

Stories are full of surprises that disrupt protagonists’ expectations.

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going further into something already present instead of looking for something new

When improvising a scene, sometimes the internal question of “What’s next?” arises. At times like this, it’s tempting to look for something new—a new idea, a new action, a new scene. The problem with looking for something new is that it puts you outside the story. You’re no longer living as the character, you’re thinking as an author. This disconnects you from the present moment, and worse, disconnects you from the spect.

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Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance