WAIT!!! There’s More
There's More
The Game
One day while we were working on Keith Johnstone’s “Tilts” (dramatic alterations of relationships in scenes), I noticed three main reasons why people weren’t being affected on stage.
- The person receiving the information refused to be altered.
- The person receiving the information simply wasn’t paying attention
- The information wasn’t impactful and didn’t warrant a big change.*
There are numerous games that impact the first two issues. The third problem is a little problematic.
* We know that ANYTHING can have an impact on our character if we justify it right.
Take Keith Johnstone’s IT’S TUESDAY game. In that exercise, even the simple statement “It’s Tuesday!” can anger, excite or scare your partner IF the improviser is willing to react emotionally first and justify the reason later.
In fact, it’s a sign of a supportive improviser to take the risk to react to their partner’s offer.
But… There are moments in a good story where the information falls flat. Everyone feels it. And a big reaction feels artificial. So, What do you do?
GAME: THERE’S MORE!!
ORIGIN: Shawn
BENEFITS: Takes some of the pressure off of taking brave risks. Offers a tool to boost the impact in stories.
# PEOPLE: 2+
GOAL: Create information that will affect your partner.
PROCEDURE:
- Start your scene.
- Develop a scene without conflict and with a good variety of details. (platform)
- When you feel the time is right, create a problem or issue.
- If you don’t feel your idea was strong enough or you feel that your partner didn’t react strongly enough, say… “There’s More.”
- When your partner asks, “More?” Amplify the reality that you created.
I love you – (no reaction) – THERE’S MORE – I spiked your drink so I can keep you to myself.
- For fun, repeat the “THERE’S MORE” line a few times in the same scene to make the trouble worse. (understand that you might end up getting a little absurd).
]EXAMPLE:
- Jonah and Tony are sitting in the sand, playing, digging and building sand castles. Everything is going well
- Jonah feels like something needs to happen in the scene. He says. “I lost my ring in the sand.”
- Tony calmly says, “I’ll help you look for it.” (Jonah sees that his partner’s reaction isn’t very big and realizes that his idea wasn’t a strong one that will impact his partner or the relationship)
- Jonah adds… “There’s more.“
- Tony asks, “What?”
- Jonah says… “It was a ring I stole from your father”.
- Tony: “WHAT?!?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!?!?”
- Now the emotions are rising and it feels like the relationship has been dramatically impacted. For fun Jonah plays the game again, “I know I know… I’m horrible… but… THERE’S MORE.”
- Tony: “MORE?!?! What more???!!”
- Jonah: “I was trying to put it back on his finger because this is where I buried his body.”
- WHHHAAAT!!
OK… maybe they went too far with that last bit.
TEACHING TIPS: It’s good to remind students that if they take the risk in making offers, there are options to change the offer after putting it out there. In this exercise, “There’s more” is a lifeline to try again.
You can teach this game initially where you encourage the improvisers to pace themselves. Have them create the additional information only slightly worse without taking massive leaps. Try it again where they make more extreme leaps.
Remind the improvisers that there are times when the game SHOULD NOT be used. If there are already a lot of ideas in play and the emotions are flying in a scene, it might be a better idea to deal with what you already have rather than add something more.
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