Improv Terms for TCS Improv Foundation Workshop

1st, 2nd and 3rd Circle

The three circles of presence: 1st is inward-focused or weak, 2nd is connected to others and firm, 3rd is self-centered and pushing or forceful; detached from others. (See: The Second Circle by Patsy Rodenburg)

Accepting

Embracing the offers made by other performers in order to advance the scene.

Advancing

The process of moving the scene forward.

Ask-for

The question asked of the audience in order to start a scene.

Beat

A unit of action in a scene. A scene is made up of a series of beats.

Blocking

Rejecting information or ideas offered by another player. One of the most common problems experienced by new improvisors. In conventional theatre, the term is used to mean something different (pre-planned stage movement).

Breaking the routine

Interrupting an established action with another action in order to advance the scene.

Cancelling/Negating

Making previous action irrelevant. Once an action has been cancelled, it's as if it hadn't happened at all. Usually a bad idea.

Charm

The quality that makes an audience enjoy watching a performer.

Commenting/Meta-commentary

Stepping out of the reality of the scene by saying or doing something that refers to the fact that it's a scene being played. Also refers to "playing" an emotion rather than feeling it. Should be avoided, though used sparingly it can sometimes be effective.

Complementary offer

An offer that meshes well with what's already gone before (and usually enhances it in some way).

Conflict

Many (but not all!) scenes are about a conflict of some sort. If there's no conflict, the scene may still be truthful but somewhat dull.

Context

The broader setting for the scene (political, social, etc).

Denial

The act of blocking someones offer.

Distracting

Doing something cute and silly that makes the audience laugh but doesn't do anything to advance the scene. Very annoying for the other improvisors.

Driving or Steamrolling

Taking over a scene and not letting other performers influence its direction. Makes you an unpopular improvisor.

Dropping an Offer

When something is ignored or forgotten in a scene. Usually because you were to busy thinking ahead to actually listen to your partner and respond to what they actually said. Makes your partner feel unheard. 

Edit

The process by which a scene is altered by a player either verbally or through a pre-set action, such as a sweep or tag-out.

Endowing

Assigning attributes to another performer's character, a good thing to do.

Explore and heighten

To take an idea and see where it leads, exploring its natural consequences while simultaneously raising the stakes.

Extending

Taking an idea and letting it become the central theme of the scene, or a part of a scene.

Focus

The audience's attention should only be in one place at any given time; that place (or person) is the "focus" of the scene. If more than one thing is going on simultaneously, the focus is split. Experienced improvisors will smoothly share focus, less experienced improvisors often steal or reject focus.

Gagging

Trying to make a joke or do something funny that doesn't flow naturally from the scene. Always a bad idea.

Gibberish

A nonsense language.

Gossip

Talking about things instead of doing them. Also, talking about things that are offstage or in the past or future.

Handle

The premise for a scene or game.

Hedging

Making small-talk instead of engaging in action.

Information overload

Introducing too much information into the scene, making it difficult or impossible to ever find a satisfying ending that resolves everything.

Initiation

The way in which a player begins a scene, the initial offers made or situation that is created. A strong initiation tells us who you are, where you are, and what you are doing (the basics) plus adds relationship or emotional details.

Instant trouble

Making an offer that introduces a problem or conflict but that doesn't relate to the narrative of the scene prior to that point (see "Offer from space").

Interactive Theatre

Any form of theatre in which the audience is not a passive performer. Encompasses a range of different styles, ranging from "spot" improv to loosely-scripted stories such as murder mysteries or faux events (e.g. Tony and Tina's Wedding).

Lowering the Stakes

Making something unimportant or insignificant. Not a good idea and often done to “protect” the character/improvisor from having to change.

Masking

Standing in a place where you can't be seen properly, or in such a way that you're hiding someone else or some important action. Should be avoided.

Mugging

Making silly faces instead of reacting truthfully. Generally frowned upon.

Naming

Identifying characters, objects, places and so forth in the scene.

Narrative

The story told by a scene. Scenes should have a clear beginning, middle and end.

Objective or Want

The thing that a character in a scene is trying to achieve.

Offer

Any dialog, gesture, movement or action which advances the scene. Offers should be accepted. Not all offers are verbal. Physical offers must be honored as well.

Original Offer or Offer From Space

Dialog or action that is bizarre and that appears to come from nowhere.

Physicalization

Turning intent into action and movement.

Post-show Review

Discussion of the show by the performers and crew after the performance, in order to identify problem areas that may have arisen as well as things that worked particularly well. Not a time for accusations, but rather exploration.

Plateau

A period during which a scene is not advancing. Usually a bad thing, but not to be confused with taking your time (good).

Platform

The who, what and where of a scene. The success of a scene often depends on quickly establishing a solid platform upon which to play the scene.

Playlist

The list of handles and/or ask-fors to be used in a show. Also called a "running order" or "scene/game list".

Pimping

Playfully getting another performer to do something difficult or unpleasant which you probably wouldn't do yourself. Used sparingly, can be quite entertaining. Best strategy is to choose things the other performer does well.

Raising the Stakes

Making the events of the scene have greater consequences for the characters. One technique for advancing.

Reincorporation

Bringing back an idea from earlier in the scene, or from a previous scene in the show, or even from a previous performance. Stand-up comedians refer to this as a "callback". Always fun, but not something to over-do.

Running order

See "Playlist".

Setup

Explaining the handle of the scene to the audience before the scene starts. Also involves doing an ask-for. The performer who does the setup usually shouldn't start off on stage in the scene.

Shelving

Acknowledging an offer but not doing anything with it, with the intent of using it later. Of course, later sometimes never comes. Also, remembering to use an offer from earlier in the scene is using a "shelved idea". 

Space-object

An object that's used in the scene but which doesn't really exist. A mimed object. In general, anything that doesn't support weight (like a chair) should be a space object.

Status

A character's sense of self-worth. Many scenes are built around status transfers, in which one character's status drops while another's rises. Physical environments and objects also have status.

Stepping out/Breaking character

Breaking the reality of the scene. See "Commenting".

Sweep Edit

When a player walks across the stage downstage of the action to indicate that the scene is over. Lighting director will do a black-out,

Synthesis

Combining two dissimilar ideas into one, such as hearing two suggestions from the audience and combining them into a single idea that gets used in the scene. Can be fun.

Talking heads

A scene that involves a lot of standing (or worse yet, sitting) around talking rather than engaging in physical action.

Transformation

Turning something into something else (one character into another, one object into another, one environment into another). Could be magic or an edit.

Tag-out Edit

Tagging out a character in a scene and starting another scene with the remaining character. So the actor who stays onstage keeps the same character, but we see that character interacting with someone else in a different place and/or time.

Uber-mime/Mime-nazi

Overly elaborate mime that's so detailed as to be hard to follow or the person who does it.

Waffling

Failing to make decisions. Talking about what you're going to do instead of doing it.

Walk-on (or Walk-through)

The act of entering a scene, making a strong offer that advances the scene, and then exiting. Use sparingly.

Wimping

Accepting an offer but failing to act on it.

Original list from the website www.improvcomedy.org, with edits by Chris Wells of the Tokyo Comedy Store, www.tokyocomedy.com