Ask-Fors

There’s no particular need to ask for a suggestion at all. Improvisers will sometimes say that the suggestion proves to the audience that the scene really is improvised, but I’ve seen scenes based on audience suggestions where the audience still thought it was rigged.

A good “ask for” will give players an unexpected suggestion which inspires them. Bad ones will tend to draw suggestions that sabotage the scene.

Be specific. A question like “Where’s a place you once injured yourself?” will often get a more interesting range of answers than one that is wide-open, like “Where’s a place somewhere in the world?” (The Eiffel Tower… again.)

Reject suggestions that are likely to ruin the scene –  “Inside a ping pong ball.” You should also feel free to reject suggestions that don’t match what you asked for. “What’s a famous fairy tale?” “Spiderman!”

Here are some ways to get suggestions from the audience.

Dictionary word: Flip through a dictionary (small or children’s is good) and ask the audience to stop when you select a page. Run your finger down the page and have the audience shout stop to choose a word on the page. Use the word as a theme or element in a scene.

Headlines: Get a newspaper or magazine headline and do a scene based on it. Choosing headlines from the “Life” section may work better than “Business”. Better yet, cut out a selection of headlines from newspapers and magazines, removing ones that don’t offer good inspiration for a scene.

Fortune Cookie: Open a fortune cookie and base the scene on the fortune inside. (Don’t give a fortune to each player – it’s too hard for the audience to keep track.)

Horoscope: Ask for an audience member’s astrological sign, then read the newspaper horoscope for that sign. Use the horoscope (or part of it) as the basis for a scene.

First Line: Can we have a first line of dialogue?

Last Line: Ask for a last line of dialogue. The scene will end on this line (if the players remember it, and the person on lights notices). First Line is a better choice.

Location: Players often ask for “A location” or the clumsy “non-geographical location”. Vague location ask-fors will often give you subways, zoos and elevators. Try “Where were you at 11 am this morning?” If the answer is “work” ask what kind of workplace. “Where’s the last place you went for a walk?” “Where did you first set eyes on your partner?”

Location and Event:  Follow up a location ask-for with a question about what might occur there. “Where was the last place you spent money?” “A coffee shop.” “And what’s something dramatic that might happen at a coffee shop?” “A hold-up.” (The phrasing “something dramatic” often gives interesting results.) This suggestion creates the expectation of a hold-up in a coffee shop, so if the location ask-for was only a way to get to the second half of the suggestion, let the audience know: “This scene will be about a hold-up – although it won’t necessarily be in a coffee shop.”

Movie Scene: Movies are full of dramatic scenarios. Ask for a movie someone has seen. Next, ask them to remember a scene from that movie. Use an element of that scene – either the location or the situation. Perhaps the audience gives you Pulp Fiction, the scene where two assassins on their way to a hit while discussing the French names for McDonald’s hamburgers. You can use this in different ways.

“OK, two assassins in a car.” (But they have a different issue to discuss.)
“Two people in a car.” (Not assassins.)
“Two assassins waiting to carry out a hit.” (Not in a car.)
Letter of the Alphabet: Ask for a letter of the alphabet, then ask for your suggestion. “What’s a letter of the alphabet?” “T” “And what’s a place beginning with a T?” “Tea Room.” The two-step approach randomizes the process a little, and yields a wider range of suggestions.

Fill in the Blanks: Come up with some creative blanked sentences, perhaps by knocking words out of printed sentences.

The trouble with Frank is ____
I was surprised to see ____