Improv | Yes, and...

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

hey everyone i'm alex ford this is scott

mcpherson hello everyone

we have known each other for a very long

time and scott is going to help us with

some

improv scott what you got for us today

this game is called yes and it's a very

simple game it's we're

meant to work on the fundamentals of

improv uh it's not really meant for a

show but you could use in a show

depending on the situation but basically

how this game works

i'm gonna divide the class into two

groups okay uh surface two of us

and we will get into a line basically a

column of people so

we'd all be you know in the line

together each of us have a partner

uh what's gonna happen is uh i'm the

let's say i'm the a side you're the b

side okay always a side is going to

start they're going to give the b

side a prompt for instance let's go on a

treasure hunt

okay okay now the person in the b line

is going to accept the information

by saying yes and then they're going to

respond with an and

now this is going to add information to

the original person's idea

that way the person accepts it and then

now there's a new information to go on

and build and build the scene larger

okay

so for instance i have want to go on a

treasure hunt yes

and i brought the uh periscope

so the point of this game is you know

you never want to say no to your

partner's idea

and for instance want to go on a

treasure hunt no

boring the scene is over and there's

nowhere else to go and also by adding

the word

when you and information and i have

brought the periscope

you you invent a whole new world of

where you can go and you also support

your partner's idea

and then you build that foundation and

if each one of us are supporting the

other

we're gonna build a very a much better

story than just you know if we just

never add information to the story right

so if i just said yes then the pressure

is still on

scott to keep going he had a great idea

let's go on a treasure hunt and i go

yeah i'm now the complete follower and

he is taking over

he may not be ready for that give and

take now this game is easy for the

prompter to start asking questions do

you love me

do you want to go to the park which is

fine but the questions need to have

information in them

uh remember what mother said last night

yes

she said that i was her favorite son

excellent see that adds a dynamic to us

it adds

relationship and it has information so

it's okay to ask questions as long as

they're done in the right manner okay

so we're gonna play yes and it's not a

very long game basically

i'll start alex will respond and we'll

do this five times to simulate

more than one person okay and then we'll

switch and then you'll prompt and i'll

just say yes and

quick clarifying questions yes so if

we're gonna keep going even if there

were

people in the line are we going to keep

the same story going are we going to

change

that's a great question it's going to be

a different each time each story so as

soon as alex and i

have our exchange we're going to go to

the back of the line okay

and then there'll be two new people at

the front and they will have a totally

new scenario okay

do you like this fried chicken yes and

it goes well with my fried allergy

medicine

excellent so that's it's a perfect

example so again uh that's a great

question

new story new and it's very quick you

know don't dwell on this very long

there's no need to

make up for ever so just uh think you

know don't think about it too much and

then let your partner

say yes and then respond to that

information okay so for instance we'll

do this five times then we'll switch

okay

i found this old buried treasure yes

and i found the shovels excellent so now

we're gonna go

cool back blind new people i found

grandma's wig

yes and i found grandma

doctor the results are in they're very

scary

ah yes i think they're scary too

all right we got two more times all

right son

i'm giving you this inheritance don't

use it wisely

yes i think i'll invest in blockbuster

they won't get that jug that's okay i

think i'll invest in

vine tick-tock well

all right last one um your shoes are

made of garbage

yes and they need to be taken out

[Laughter]

very good so as you can see it's it's

very quick it's very silly

there doesn't need to be a whole lot of

information given as long as the scene

progresses okay

so now we're going to switch it'd be the

b turns the b the b turns the b

line would start and i would respond

okay so b starts and then a's would

respond with a yes and

i found the best toilet in the world yes

show me where it is so i can use it

right now

but i don't know why i wanted to

man this line for groceries is forever

long

yes i'm a crop duster

sir i found the beard trimmer you were

looking for yes

i've been needing this for my wedding

yeah

again i can't help but not go to the

back of the line i'm like trained to go

to the back of the line

okay mr dentist

do you think my teeth are the best teeth

you've ever seen yeah so i'm going to

steal them for later

one more last last one last one

i think that i have your glasses yes

and now i have yours all right so as you

can see

uh that's yes and it's very simple um

it's just

responding to information with a

positive attitude yes i will take this

information

and then i'll help you by building on to

it um that's pretty much all it is to it

to yes and

yeah so discuss how you think

yes and fits with every form of improv

right no shuts something down yes and

nothing else

leaves it on the partner right and then

yes and means that we are making

something and how much

easier more fun is it when i have an

idea and you completely take it and

change it and then i

get another idea improv is a constantly

uh

moving thing it's a it's a living thing

in my it's a living theater right it's

constantly being changed and formed

and that's that's what makes it fun it

makes it more fun to watch something

that's not static

you know you want you want to see people

building off each other's ideas having

fun with each other's ideas and so on

and so forth so

that's just the end hope you guys

you