Great Improv Scenes: Make Something Important

We talked in our last article about how “Yes And” does not make great scenes. It’s an essential part of the process that facilitates storytelling, but does not create good storytelling.

So let’s talk about one of my favorite ways to add good storytelling to your ‘Yes And’.

Make something important. 

But first…

Making Everything Ordinary is Lame

I worked for many years with a fun improviser who had one unfortunate talent. He would make everything ordinary. No matter what you offered him in a scene, he could make it unimportant.

It would sometimes get a laugh, but it would stunt the scene. It would rip the drama and excitement from everything. And many of you also may recognize this as a form of subtle Denial! True!

Bad Example:

Player A: Stop everything! Mom just got hit by a car!
Player B: That’s ok. We still got a dad.

This would likely make an audience laugh. But at what cost?

The costs:

• low stakes
• diffused and denied tension
• bad storytelling
• player A feels deflected and undermined, so some trust is lost
• selling out a bold beginning for a laugh
• now you’re stuck with an uphill battle to make a good scene

But what if the initial offer is not quite as dramatic.

Imagine this possible scene:

Player A: I need to tell you. I’m getting married tomorrow.
Player B: I heard. I’m cool with it. Good luck.

What a great dramatic storytelling opportunity, and so quickly diffused with a subtle denial of the idea.

Here’s the some offer, but Player B takes another tactic…

Player A:  I need to tell you. I’m getting married tomorrow.
Player B: If you do, you will destroy me. Please. Hear me out.

Now something’s happening! Suspense! Drama! Emotion! Wants! All from keeping Player A’s offer important.

Make Something Important 

The beauty of ‘Yes and’ can turn into a treadmill of agreement. Don’t get me wrong, agreement is great.

Agreement is what powers ‘Yes And’. But if everything is cheerfully agreed with, it can start to feel all the same. And all that sameness gets boring.

(If you’re new to ‘Yes And’ or want to practice doing it, check out our course “Yes And Yourself” which will teach you everything you need to know, and give you 3 hours of Play-Along video support to practice it with others OR by yourself!)

One great way to make any choice better, and get off the treadmill of sameness, is to make something important. Anything. Any choice or offer can be made more important.

One great way to make any choice better, and get off the treadmill of sameness, is to make something important.

This can go hand in hand with using Emotion to make things important.

Consider this scene:

Player A: Here’s your burger.
Player B: Thanks. McDonald’s cheeseburgers are pretty small.

Not bad. Successful ‘Yes Anding’ and that’s about it.

Now look at what happens by simply making the burger important.  Same offer, but now player B that makes the burger important.

Player A: Here’s your burger
Player B: (Starts to cry) I can’t tell you how much this means to me that you bought me a burger from McDonalds.

We don’t even know why this means so much to player B, but now we want to know! So we’ve added some suspense to the storytelling simply by adding importance and a little emotion.

So play along with a few minutes of our play along video from our course ‘Become an Improv Wizard’, make things important. Literally play along and practice.

You Can Make ANYTHING Important

Don’t think you need to make the perfect choice of what to make important. It can be just about anything.

Remember the example above with the McDonald’s burger? There was nothing dramatic about that choice, but making it important MADE it dramatic.

Don’t wait for the right choice, or the perfect choice! You can make anything important with an emotional response and some justification. 

This is liberating! Don’t wait for the right choice, or the perfect choice! You can make anything important with an emotional response and some justification.

Don’t Make EVERYTHING Important

If you make everything important, it loses dramatic power as well. We must pick and choose, and then expand on the idea and play with it before moving on.

This should take the pressure. Find a few things to make important and see where they lead. Relax. And make something important.

Study with Us

Take one of our online courses and start taking your improv to the next level right now. Our Online Improv Courses are the fastest way to get up and running with improv at your own pace from your own home.

You can also sign up for our improv masterclass and join us on zoom!

Pictured Above: Kirby Heyborne adds great importance to an offer from Lincoln Hoppe in a show at the Society Comedy Troupe

"Become an Improv Wizard" is a PROVEN STEP-BY-STEP ONLINE IMPROV COURSE to Build CONFIDENCE, UNLEASH CREATIVITY, and BECOME FEARLESS through Improvisation

Lincoln Hoppe is an actor, writer, director, and father of 5. He is the the Co-Founder of Improv Wizards training school and Online Courses and Co-Director of the Society Comedy Troupe.