The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

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a character’s vulnerability that justifies change

Resisting others raises the stakes, but your character also needs to be changed. If spects have trouble changing you on their own, it helps to create an Achilles’ heel. Endow something that the spect says or does as your character’s secret weakness.

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Whoopee cushions are great. It’s fun to see people change when they sit down and the sound of a big juicy fart cuts loose. There’s something enjoyable about seeing people be altered. That’s also true in interactive performance. When spects realize that they can make you change, it makes them happy.

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Your character may have a strong exterior, but you add greater depth when you reveal a vulnerability that lies beneath the surface. Take the hit and be changed. Have a blind spot or an Achilles’ heel. Play for the loss. Assume the blame. In short, allow even the strongest character to have moments of vulnerability.

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When you stop acting, you become vulnerable. It can feel embarrassing to drop your defenses and be seen in a completely vulnerable state. The thing is, others love to see you when you let down your guard. That’s why it’s so compelling to watch children play. When they let loose and dance like fairies or roar like dragons, it’s compelling to behold.

Exercises

Sitting comfortably on the floor, Player A holds Player B as one would hold a small child in their arms. Find the common breath and release into each other’s bodies. Player A gently rocks and strokes Player B, while singing an improvised gibberish lullaby. Finish in silence. Trade roles.

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endowing a character as being responsible for something

Offers carry more weight when they connect to the characters in the scene. You raise the stakes of an offer by assuming that a character is responsible and deserves either the credit or the blame.

Exercises

Two players look deeply into each other’s eyes. After a while, they briefly look away, and then re-establish eye contact. One says, “Hello,” and the other says, “Hello.” They hold eye contact for a while, then look away and back again. When ready, one player says, “I see you,” and the other says, “I see you.” They hold eye contact, then break and re-establish it again. When ready, one player says, “I could be hurt by you.” The other says, “I know.” They continue to hold eye contact until one looks away. Then the exercise is over.

Exercises

Two players improvise a scene in which the only line they can say is, “I love you.”

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Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance