A Horrifying Example, Science Fictionally Speaking...

PART 5 of the Series: ReV up Your Improv Scenes
If you missed Part 1 - Click Here     If you missed Part 2 - Click Here
If you missed Part 3 - Click Here     If you missed Part 3.5 - Click Here
If you missed Part 4 - Click Here

Let's take a look at a movie example - Act 1, the set up. I'll dissect one movie here but this can be done for pretty much any movie you have seen or will see. One great things about movies - you can be certain that anything and everything you see or is revealed in Act 1 is important and integral to the story in some way or other. Nothing is wasted. Everything you see in every frame has a purpose. The entire set is built and decorated only with stuff relevant to the story. Why? Because there's no time to waste and no point in paying for something on the set that isn't integrally important. Okay, let's take a look at one of my favorite action and sci-fi movies, "Alien." This list is not exhaustive, but look at all the details that are revealed in Act 1.

Response to Comment on Revelation Revealed

In a comment on post: Revelation Revealed

Mark wrote:

So what should you do when your scene partner says something or makes an offer that introduces conflict too soon, without blocking or invalidating what they've said or done?

I have several thoughts, so I thought I'd just make the comment another post.

Mark - what you do is tell your partner, in fact, yell at them from the top of your lungs "STFU! Didn't you read Dave Russell's blog?"

Okay, don't then. My best advice is don't try to force anything. Be patient, be nice and still love your fellow improviser. Remember, these dynamics I'm talking about and introducing in this blog series are rampant among improvisers. You'll see it most among younger, less mature improvisers for the reasons you have illuminated - fear mostly. But you'll still see me doing it from time to time and I have a self-professed displeasure with such things. Plus, I've been improvising for 105 years, and it still happens.

Here are 4 useful tips to help you over this hump:

Reveling in Revealing

PART 4 of the Series: ReV up Your Improv Scenes
If you missed Part 3.5 - Click Here
If you missed Part 3 - Click Here
If you missed Part 2 - Click Here
If you missed Part 1 - Click Here

Okay let's get into the nitty gritty. Reveal, reveal, reveal. That's what we're talking about here. Hang on because I'm about to combine 2 or more metaphors and illustrations. First, I want you to think of the most delicious bowl of stew you've ever tasted. Yummy yummy with lots of good things all mixed together for a tasty and savory sensation of a meal. Hearty, robust and fills the kitchen (and whole house where I live) with wonderful and tantalizing aromas. Then when you eat it - how satisfying and delicious. Consider your improv scene in the same way. Now imagine if you take a pot and put it on the stove, add some beef broth, bring it to a boil, simmer it for an hour - and serve it. I know, your mouth is watering just thinking about it, right?

Well, suppose you added maybe a bay leaf. Nobody wants just beef broth. Sound tasty yet? In a sense, that's what a lot of improv scenes can be like. We start with such limited ingredients - when you bring it to a boil, there's only so much that can yield from such a mixture.

Is it food? Technically, yes. Is it something we'll savor and enjoy? Probably not that much. But when you add herbs, spices, vegetables, and some meat - and let it all cook together - oh, what a feast you'll create.