Reduction Scene

Players begin with any suggestion (eg, an activity). Players perform a short scene, perhaps a minute long.

When the scene ends, a host suggests that the scene would have been better if it were shorter. The same scene is performed again, but this time it must be completed in 30 seconds.

The players repeat the same scene at a faster pace, incorporating the same key actions and dialogue. It’s good practice in paying attention to what happens in a scene.

HOST: That was better, but if 30 seconds makes it better, it would better still in 15 seconds Let’s see that!

The host should time the scene (there are countless apps for this) and warn players when time is running out (“Ten seconds!”)

The final version may be in 10 or even 5 seconds. If you like, you can get really silly and try doing the entire scene in 2 seconds.

In some places, this game is known as “Half Life” and each replay is half the length of the previous one.

To work well, the original one-minute scene should have plenty of action and variety – physical activities, objects, entrances and exits, and even some changes of scene. Try to find different movements or activities for each line of dialogue.

On the other hand, if the original scene is a chat around the kitchen table, shorter versions are unlikely to be interesting.

There’s no need to explain the game ahead of time. Just get a starting suggestion, and announce that you are going to try to perform a scene in 60 seconds. Once that’s done, you can then announce that you will do the shorter version.

Avoiding introductory explanations of the game also gives you creative freedom, and prevents you being locked into four repetitions of a scene nobody liked much the first time. If the initial 60-second scene doesn’t turn out to be suitable for reduction, you can either move on to a different game, or do a different kind of variation – for example, replaying it in an action movie genre.

The game can be sprung on a team as a challenge. Perhaps a host gives them an initial challenge to perform a scene with as many different actions as possible, then surprises them by asking them to repeat the scene in shorter times.

A completely different way of playing this game is to reduce the length but maintain the same pace by dropping unnecessary dialogue and actions, and generally “cutting the fat” from the scene.

To quote my friend Rick Green: “All the jokes in half the time is twice as funny.”