Scene with Character Triggers

Applying basic character work to scenes.


Two or three students are onstage. Each student in the scene will be given a word. Students will use that word to inspire a character; students are given a moment to repeat the word and to find the physical/vocal elements of that character. Students are then given a general scene suggestion and perform a scene as those characters.


To focus on character as the starting point for a scene; to justify character choices within a world; to support your fellow player; to embrace and heighten the unexpected offers that feed scenes.


These scenes are a balancing act, between over accepting the offers of a particular character in a (perhaps unconventional or unexpected) location/situation and creating good scene work on top of all of that. Students should discover their ability to use suggestions in ways they perhaps never thought possible or never thought would work. Embracing this ability is a great step for an improviser to take.


These characters can also be “interviewed” before the scene begins to help students focus in on who these people are before they are thrust into a scene.