When You Are Lost In a Scene, Be Honest
A lot of times when people are improvising, people think they have to keep going no matter what. Oftentimes improvisers feel so much pressure to keep a scene going that they will muscle ahead in a scene even when they don’t know what’s going on. But confusion without clarity just leads to more confusion.
If you get lost in a scene, the best thing to do is to be honest so you can get more clarity.
For example, if you are improvising and your scene partner says something that you can’t hear, don’t pretend that you did. Instead, tell them you didn’t hear what they just said. Ask them to repeat it, just like you would in life.
Also, if your partner says something that is confusing and you don’t understand it, don’t try to “yes and it.” Instead, ask them to clarify it, just like you would in life, so you can be on the same page.
Remember, if you can’t hear something on stage or you are confused, so is the audience. They love that you are calling it out and will reward you with laughter.
Of course, when you do it, it always helps to stay in character.
Here’s is a great example:
I had a 20-something acting student in one of my classes recently who was a rather large group scene. He was playing a sibling and at one point one his sister said: “Go get some mittens.”
He tentatively went to get the mittens.
When the scene was over, he admitted to the class he honestly did not know what mittens were.
So, we replayed that beat in the scene and this time he played he used his honest knowledge about mittens.
Sister: Go in the other room and get the mittens.
Brother: What are mittens?
Sister: They are like gloves, but they have no fingers. Go in your bedroom. They are in the bottom drawer. They were your mittens when you were a baby.
Brother: Now I’m even more confused.
Sister: Wait, you’ve never used oven mittens?
Brother: No.
This way, the scene was much more interesting and funny because it was coming from his truth, which he was taking from his life.
How many people do you know who don’t know what mittens are? Not many. That’s why it was so memorable.
It was a much more interesting choice to tell the truth in this situation, which led to a funnier scene.
I’m glad he had the courage to tell us, because getting to play the scene the second way, he got to tap into his own life experience, which helped him start to develop his unique comedic voice. He gave us all a gift.