Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh, God! Yes!

One of the main, long-held tenets of improvisational comedy is the concept of “Yes, and.” This is the notion that whatever happens on stage, you accept, and then add to. So, you build onto the pyramid that your fellow actor began, rather than beginning your own skyscraper. Two competing jobs aren’t entertaining for audiences.

This is a basic rule because it tends to really help out scenes. If I say, “Your mother and I have been really worried about your drug problem,” and then you respond with, “You’re not my parents. I’m your father, and I’m worried about your drug problem,” you’ve failed to build on the scene I started. Instead, you’ve started something completely different. Yes, there are ways to make it work, and even to make it funny and emotionally connected, but I’m going to bet that you won’t be working with me for very long if you make this kind of thing a habit.

What if you “Yes, and” your “Yes, ands?” You’d get “Yes, Of Course!”

To me, this is an even better concept. Instead of simply agreeing, then adding and moving on, you are agreeing that whatever your scene partner(s) say(s) is THE MOST TRUE thing you have EVER HEARD.

Let’s take the same scene from above and apply “Yes, and:” Me: “Your mother and I have been really worried about your drug problem.” You: “It’s none of your business, Dad. Just let me live my own life.” Just two lines so far, but it has the makings of a really good, solid, grounded scene.

What if we “Yes, Of Course!” the same scene? Me: “Your mother and I have been really worried about your drug problem.” Actor from the back line: “The wall of this room is lined with bongs and needles from floor to ceiling.” You (as you tie off your arm and begin injecting yourself with heroin): “Fuck off, you ancient piece of shit.” Holy crap. All of a sudden, the stakes are WAY higher. A good, emotionally connected scene can still happen, and we’ve also got one heck of a picture of what’s going on in this room.

It’s picking up on one detail like this and running with it that will really help further your goal to transcend the average improv. You’ve also immediately found a game to play. Since the initiation of the scene was a good strong one, helping define characters, injecting emotion, and providing a good framework, you can now dive in and out of games, all while preserving the emotion and relationships of the scene.

It’s just a subtle mental change, just as the concept of “Predator Mind,” however the difference between “Yes, and” and “Yes, Of Course!” is another small step towards improv nirvana.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 13, 2008 at 12:06 and is filed under General, Out of Town. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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