Breakfast

Lie down on the floor. Without words, create a character (perhaps using the body part exercise) who wakes up, gets dressed, and gets ready for the day. Have each moment evolve, learning more about the character as you go along. How does that character brush her teeth? What kind of clothes does he wear (which might depend on his occupation)? Is the furniture in the bedroom brand new, old and shabby? Where does she live?

After getting ready for the day, have the character prepare and eat breakfast, again paying attention to details like preparation, speed, and type of food, given the character. After breakfast, have the character do what he would do to leave the house or apartment. Does she need a coat? Does he need car keys or a bus pass? Does she wear a hat? Details help you create a physical world that tells the character's story. Take your time with each object discovered, com­mitting to its weight, texture, and use.

Purpose

This is about character discovery through committing to a detailed environment. You will spend time with each element of the environ­ment, using the location and objects within it as a tool to tell your character's story. I am bad at this exercise, but have seen others have much success with it. I hope you are one of them. With the same attention for detail in mind, you could set up infinite scenarios for characters in subsequent exercises. Have your character arrive at work, go to the park, and so forth.

Object Monologue

Write the names of twenty objects on slips of paper and put them in a hat or bowl or bucket or Tupperware. Launch a character mono­logue of your choice. Every once in a while, grab a slip of paper and glance at the object written on it. Continue the character monologue as you integrate the object into the scene: not so that you focus on it or talk about it, rather that it is incidental or used to accentuate the content of the monologue.

Purpose

More practice with creating an environment and with reaching out into the environment while improvising the scene. A common mis­take for beginners is merely talking about the environment or the object they are holding. Practice in having the environment be inci­dental is invaluable.

Next are some exercises to improve your scenic improvisation.

Scene

Sit in a chair in the middle of the room. At any point, launch into a dialogue with another character. Immediately respond as the second character and continue the scene. With your first attempts at this, you may become self-conscious and tempted to stop. Overcome this temptation by timing yourself and making yourself continue for thirty seconds. As you practice, the length of time you're comfortable with may increase.

This exercise is easier if you make the two characters as distinct as possible. Whether or not you'd like to physically shift your body during this dialogue is up to you; if it helps you, go for it. I think of this exercise as a vocal-mind-momentum thing.

Purpose

This exercise challenges you to keep two balls in the air at once. At first, the exercise tends to bring about simple question/answer scenes. As you practice, your scenes should get more complex, giving each character a distinct point of view. In improvising a reg­ular scene with two improvisers, it's tempting, if not probable, for one improviser to think of what to say next while the other is talking. While this is often inevitable and not even bad or wrong, taking on both of the characters, as this exercise forces you to do, allows you to know the world of truly being in the moment. It's great to know that you can do that.