Options

This game used to be popular when I started doing improv (Toronto in the late 1980s) but it seems to be less well known today. All games have their season.

Players perform a standard scene. Another player, the director, interrupts the action by calling “Freeze!” and asks the audience for new suggestions, which are then immediately incorporated into the scene.

BOB: What’s that package?

AMY: I missed your birthday last week, so I bought you a present.

DIRECTOR: Bob has a strong emotional reaction to Amy’s gift. What is it?

AUDIENCE: Paranoid.

DIRECTOR: OK – Paranoid.

BOB: So you just happened to buy me a present? That’s a little strange.

AMY: Open it!

BOB: No, why don’t YOU open it, while I stand well back.

Options is a straighforward game for the players on stage but the job of director requires more experience. Of course, you can just throw in random changes, but it’s better if the director identifies what a scene currently needs, then asks for a suggestion that fixes the problem. If a scene is inactive, ask for an activity. If reactions are flat, ask for an emotion.

Asking for “an unexpected emotion,” rather than just “an emotion” may encourage the audience to break whatever routine is occurring on stage.

Sometimes, you know where a scene needs to go, but don’t know how to get it there. Perhaps the tone of a scene has turned very dark, with all the characters threatening to kill each other. Rather than trying to figure it out, throw the problem to the audience: “The characters are about to be falling around and laughing together. What happens to cause this change?” 

Here are a few scene problems you might encounter as a director, and some questions that might help:

Not much is happening

• “Paul is about to perform a physical activity. What is it?”
• “Doris has an important announcement to make. What does she need to tell Frank?”
• “Amy has been holding a grudge against Christine for years, and she’s now going to reveal it. What is it?”
• “Frank has some good news for Mary. What is it?”
• “Mary is about to notice a letter on the table. What does it say?”

Characters have started as strangers and it’s impeding the scene

• “Christine is about to recognize Paul as someone she knew long ago. Where does she know him from?”
• “Travis is about to reveal something very personal about himself, which will make Susan feel sympathetic. What does he say?”

Characters are bickering

• “This argument isn’t really about painting the living room. What’s the real problem here?”
• “Frank suddenly notices something that will alarm them both. What does he see?”

Random fun challenges

• “They’re about to sing the song that brought them together. What’s the title of that song?”
• “This scene is going to continue in a different style. Can we have a new genre?”
• “Jim has something to say, but he can’t express it in words, so he’s going to use the medium of interpretive dance. Sheila will understand that perfectly. What does he need to tell her?”

I don’t know why it’s called Options. I wonder if the original version may have been an A/B/C/D kind of choice, like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. “Is Frank’s reaction angry, happy, sad, or lustful?” I don’t think I’ve ever seen it played that way, but it could work.

The director should follow the action closely. Pay special attention to character names. If Paul is playing Gandalf, it’s better to ask “What does Gandalf take out of his pocket?” than “What does Paul’s character take out of his pocket?”

This is a good game, but directing it well is challenging. I suggest starting with Emotional Options, which works in a similar way and usually gives excellent results.

Most of the suggestions the director throws into a scene in Options can also be used by players in a regular (open) scene. For example, if you find yourself trapped in a dull situation, call “Freeze” step out of the scene and ask the audience a question that will shake things up. “I’m about to notice a surprising text on his phone. What does it say?”