No-Laughs

Improv is usually played for comedy, so the idea of deliberately playing a non-comedy scene may seem unappealing. But, in fact, trying to play a tense, serious scene will often lead to big laughs, and sometimes to a compelling dramatic scene.

The game can be set up as an ordinary scene – a situation, a location, an occupation, etc. Players sometimes ask for a “serious situation” (which usually doesn’t help prevent laughter). As soon as a player gets a laugh from the audience, they immediately leave.

Sometimes you’ll get one or two audience members who make a conscious decision to laugh. Don’t let that control the scene. For the purposes of this game, a laugh should be a spontaneous reaction from a portion of the audience. It’s not a bad idea to assign a referee who can determine if the laugh has crossed the threshold, or, in cases where it’s unclear who got the laugh call out which player must leave.

No-laughs substitution

Similar to Character substitution. If the audience laughs, the player is immediately replaced by another player (who takes over the same character). Be brisk in replacing other players. Some substitutions may get an immediate laugh – the man playing Big Louie is replaced by a petite woman – but if players keep trying to play the game well, this can be interesting to watch, and it’s fun to see an unlikely substitution succeed.

Exit on a laugh

The player who generated the laugh immediately finds a reason to leave the scene (5 seconds, tops) although just throwing your arms up and storming out of the room is often sufficient. Other characters may enter, and a previously ejected player may re-enter as a new character.

No-laughs elimination

The scene starts with all players on stage in a group situation (party, funeral, etc.) Players who get a laugh are ejected (optionally, they quickly justify their exit) and the scene continues without them. The last player on stage is the winner.

Scene ends on a laugh

Create tension from the start. Explain to the audience that you are going to attempt a serious scene, and that the scene will immediately end if your performance makes the audience laugh.

In Theatresports matches, this can be useful as a tie-breaker (have a timekeeper announce how long each team lasted).

You can start a new scene each time a scene is ended by laughter, but there’s more tension if the players (and audience) only get one shot.

Boring the audience (aka: Boring scene)

Players try to bore the audience without playing bored characters. This game is a cousin to No Laughs. Players try to play a boring scene, but must not be bored characters. It can be played as a competitive game, with two teams trying to produce the most boring scene, or players trying to be the most boring character. In either case, the audience judges the winner. (Boring the Audience is another Johnstone game, based on his observation that players who try to be dull are often interesting to watch.)

Most tragic scene

Teams compete to produce the most tragic scene. Again, heartfelt attempts are often hilarious. A tongue-in-cheek, “ironically tragic” performance is less funny.

Notes

No Laughs is a good remedy to players who can’t resist gagging. A good scene creates tension. A joke bursts the bubble.

The paradox is that performers trying to play serious drama are often funnier than they’re trying to be comic. The flipside to the paradox is that, once the actors realize that their serious efforts will draw big laughs, and knowingly play to it, the scene stops being funny. Often, part of the comedy is seeing the actors’ genuine shock and disappointment at being laughed at.

Johnstone discusses several versions of No Laughs and Boring Scenes in Impro For Storytellers.He advises having a timekeeper to announce how long a player survived. “And Wendy lasted only 15 seconds in the scene…”

Improv Encyclopedia describes a couple of shticky variations I don’t care for. In Marshmallow Mania, a player who gets a laugh must put a marshmallow in their mouth – another laugh, another marshmallow. In Slap Take, if the audience laughs, one player slaps the face of the other (alternatively, they get whacked with a pool noodle by a waiting judge). These versions make the game self-consciously comedic, and create an even stronger pressure for players to seek laughs. It’s another way of fleeing the tension.

Other names / Similar games

Delay the Laugh, Serious Scene.