Move On
Description
About 5 – 8 improvisers line up along back of the stage. Two jump forwards and start an improvised scenes from suggestion. The director/host at some point shouts “move on, keep….” and then says something they have spotted from that scene to inspire the next scene. The original two people go to the back and two new people jump forward to improvise the next scene starts using that inspiration, but the scenes aren’t connected in any other way.
Example
Bob: Gloria thanks for taking me on safari.
Gloria: That’s ok Bob I know you love your animals and I wanted to treat you on your birthday.
Bob: I do love animals so much, I want to live with them.
Gloria: Bob, you are climbing out of the jeep, are you sure that’s safe?
Bob: I don’t care if it’s safe or not Gloria, I want to live the life of a wild beast! I’m leaving the world of management consultancy for good.
Director: MOVE ON, KEEP MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY.
Bob and Gloria characters go to back, two new improvisers step forward.
Management Consultant: Hello, I’m here to interview you in detail about your own job and then write up your own answers and sell back to you as strategy but missing the key points due to my lack of understanding of your industry.
Office Worker: Sounds great, where do I sign?
Teaching Purpose
- Commitment and spontaneity. Even if you aren’t sure how to do the suggestion jump in anyway to support the other person.
- Support and teamwork. Don’t leave the stage empty or someone alone, jump in to support them.
Additional Tips for Playing
- Stay lively on the back line, don’t lean against wall with arms crossed instead lean forward so you are ready to go.
- Jump in to support, don’t leave someone by themselves or leave an empty stage.
- Don’t worry about making mistakes or getting it wrong, we could always use that to inspire the next scene.
Variations
- The actors shouting “move on, keep…” instead of the director.
Show Introduction
“This is called Move On. We are going to improvise a bunch of scenes. As we move on from one scene I will give them something to keep to inspire the next scene. All we need to get started is a location to inspire the first scene.”
Origin
We originally saw this game when watching Fat Kitten with James Ross directing at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Categories
This exercise is in the following categories:
Spontaneity
Commitment
Teamwork and Support
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