Scenic Archetypes: A Long-Form Improv Technique

Scenic Archetypes: A Long-Form Improv Technique Je77 Rick http://www.je77.com/improv Introducing Scenic Archetypes In a scenic archetype, archetypal characters follow an established plot pattern to accomplish predefined goals. Different scenic archetypes combine to form a play structure. Improvisers use this structure to perform a play. Each scene in the play is an instantiation of its scenic archetype, with a predetermined plot and characters. Because the archetypes work together, the improvised play has a coherent plot. The scenic archetype structure forms the skeleton of the play; the improvisers flesh in the details. Thus, improvisers can create a long-form with a coherent and nuanced plot. A good scenic archetype structure does more than support improvisers in creating a coherent long-form. It also gives them enough freedom to improvise. For some improvisers, this technique violates the cardinal improv rule everything should be improvised. In scenic archetypes, the plot structure is predetermined, so the rule is broken. But, that rule is broken in many commonly played improv games, such as Three Monologues. These games have a constrained structure that guides the players; scenic archetypes are just a slightly different set of constraints. In a good scenic archetype, there should still is plenty of room to improvise (be in the moment). That the combination of these different games leads to a coherent long-form is just a benefit. A-Team Episodes In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team. The A-Team was a popular television series in the 80s. It is relevant in that most episodes follow roughly the same structure. (Scene 1) Somebody who is in trouble appears in a strange place to hire the A-Team. Nobody from the A-Team is there. They end up talking with some strange character and spill their tale of woe. Then, at the appropriate time, the stranger rips off his disguise to reveal that he s actually Hannibal, 1

the leader of the A-Team. With a wry smile, he informs the client, congratulations, you ve just hired the A-Team. Thus, ends scene 1. The theme song plays. (Scene 2) The A-Team meets with their client to explore their troubles and agree to confront the bad guys. (Scene 3) They confront the bad guys. This ends badly with the A-Team getting either captured, beat up, or knocked out. (Scene 4) The A-Team regroups at a critical point. The odds seem stacked against them. Hannibal comes up with a crazy scheme. (Scene 5) Time for the infamous building scene. As the theme music plays, the A-Team creates some kind of crazy contraption, like a lettuce cannon, that is essential to Hannibal s scheme. This usually involves welding. (Scene 6) The bad guys show up and get clobbered by the crazy scheme. As they lie defeated, Hannibal quips, I just love it when a plan comes together. (Scene 7) After commercial, the episode ends with a denouement. Everybody is celebrating their victory. Somebody accidentally lets some piece of information slip. Usually, this has something to do with B.A. (Bad Attitude), played by Mr. T, getting knocked out earlier so that the team can fly him somewhere. B.A. is afraid of flying. As B.A. is about to kick butt, the frame freezes and the episode ends with credits and music. These scenes are archetypes, because they always contain the same plot pattern and accomplish the same thing. Scene 3 always ends with our heroes in worse shape. It demonstrates that the bad guys are really bad and fairly dangerous. It leads the audience to believe that the A-Team may be in over their heads. Thus, scene 3 is an archetype that contributes the same thing to each episode. Because this pattern of scenes works well together, the episode structure works. One of the keys to making a scenic archetype work is that each character is an archetypal character. In the A-Team, Hannibal is the brains; B.A. is the brawns. One could easily see adapting the A-Team episode structure to another setting, such as Knight Rider or MacGyver. Creating the Play There are two common ways to construct a scenic-archetype play: Deconstruct Another Work Find a work (a play, a book, a movie, a TV-show, etc.) that can be deconstructed; the scenes and the characters of that work need to be general enough that the plot can be transferred to a new situation. The way to deconstruct the prior work is to reduce it to its necessary scenes and characters. Then, abstract what goals each scene needs to accomplish in the structure of the play. Two deconstructions, Antigone and Dr. Faustus, are included in this document. You could also deconstruct the A-Team episode structure or a Law & Order episode structure. There are couple of advantages to this technique. First, the original work has already proven itself to be compelling. Its structure is solid. Second, there are many concrete details of the original work that improvisers can adapt. While this may not be necessary, it does help. So, for instance, in the A-Team, Hannibal is more than just the leader. He s confident, clever, and charming. An improviser playing the Hannibal archetype can integrate some of these qualities into their 2

character. These characteristics work for Hannibal in the TV-show; there s a good chance they ll work for the improviser in the play. 1 Improvise Your Own 1) Start off improvising one scene around a scenic archetype. For instance, A gets into a fight with B over the way B treats C. 2) Have improvisers play this archetype a number of times to see how that archetype works best. Perhaps, it works best if B is hot-headed and unreasonable. 3) Create a new scene to follow the existing scene. For instance, B gets furious with C for getting A involved. 4) Play the two archetype scenes together. Don t simply repeat an older scene; come up with completely new instantiations of the archetype. See what makes the whole structure work 5) Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the play is constructed. There are a couple of advantages to this technique. First, you create an original work that is all your own. Second, as you are improvising its parts with your fellow improvisers, everyone will better understand how the overall structure fits together. As a rehearsal technique, this will get your fellow improvisers on the same page. If the same actors are to perform this play, there are plenty of past examples that they can draw on. Antigone Deconstructed In Sophocles s Antigone, Antigone finds out that her brother died in the war. It turns out he was a traitor and was consequently killed. Creon, the king, has decreed that the traitor is not be buried, but rather left to be picked apart by buzzards. Antigone feels she owes her brother a burial. Her sister, Ismene, tries to persuade Antigone against it, because she ll incur Creon s wrath. Antigone rebuffs Ismene, because she feels her familial duty overrides her duty to country. She buries her brother. Creon finds out about it. He confronts Antigone. Antigone will not repent. Creon will not forgive. Creon sentences Antigone for breaking the law. The sentence is carried out. A messenger arrives to tell Creon that because of his punishment of Antigone, Creon s son dies and, consequently, the war is lost. Both Antigone and Creon end up worse off, because of their pride and unwillingness to compromise. Hubris it s a Greek thing. Scene 1 Antigone finds out about the situation and decides to do something about it, based on her beliefs. Ismene tries to dissuade her, but fails. Characters Antigone, Ismene Goals 1) Antigone is going to do something against Creon s wishes. 2) This could have negative consequences. 3) Antigone is aware of this, but disregards it. 4) Antigone puts one principle above all others. Scene 2 (optional) Antigone carries out her intentions. 1 There is a critical difference between playing an archetype and simply playing the character. In the play, the improviser is not playing Hannibal. He or she is playing the Hannibal archetype a strong, clever, confident leader that eventually triumphs. 3

Scene 3 Creon finds out about Antigone s deeds. Creon gets mad against his adviser s advice. He calls for Antigone. Characters Creon, Adviser Goals 1) Antigone is going to get in trouble. 2) Creon puts one principle above all others. Scene 4 Creon confronts Antigone about her deeds. Antigone defends herself. Neither Creon, nor Antigone back down from their extreme position. Creon sentenced Antigone. Characters Creon, Antigone Goals 1) Antigone and Creon can t compromise or see the value in each other s position. 2) Creon has the power. 3) Thus, Antigone will get punished. Scene 5 (optional) Ismene pleads for mercy from Creon. He refuses. Characters Creon, Ismene Goals 1) This enforces that Creon is unwilling to compromise, even when being plead to. Scene 5 (optional) Antigone s punishment gets carried out. Scene 6 Creon finds out that the punishment was carried out by his adviser. A messenger shows up to inform Creon that his punishment had negative consequences for Creon. Creon realizes his hubris. The adviser concludes the play with a warning to the audience. Characters Creon, Adviser, Messenger Goals 1) This shows the consequences of Creon s hubris. 2) It enforces the moral hubris and sticking-to-one-principle is bad. Dr. Faustus Deconstructed Christopher Marlowe s Dr. Faustus tells the tale of a learned man who makes a pact with the devil. In exchange for the devil s services (in knowledge and ability), Faustus promises his immortal soul to the devil after 30 years. The devil sends Mephistopheles to serve Faustus. For 30 years, Faustus lives an exciting life. Towards the end of his life, Faustus regrets his decision. It is too late. At the ring of midnight, he is transported to hell. Scene 1 Faustus calls forth Mephistopheles to bring an offer to Lucifer. Characters Faustus, Mephistopheles Goals 1) Establish that Faustus is smart. 2) Faustus is the one who wants to make the deal. 3) The deal is a daring deal. 4

Scene 2 Wagner, Faustus s assistant and friend, comes to dissuade Faustus of making the pact. Characters Faustus, Wagner Goals 1) Establish that this deal is perilous. 2) Establish that Faustus is so convinced in his own skills that he thinks he can deal with the consequences. 3) Wagner has Faustus s best interests in mind. Scene 3 Lucifer shows up. Faustus and Lucifer negotiate the terms of the deal. They agree and Mephistopheles is made Faustus s servant. Characters Faustus, Lucifer, Mephistopheles Goals 1) Lucifer is not a good guy. 2) Faustus is a good negotiator, so there will be significant benefits to him. 3) Mephistopheles will serve Faustus. Scene 4 Life is good for Faustus. The benefits of the deal are good. In the play, there are actually a series of these kind of scenes. In your play, you can have a number of these too. Characters Faustus, Mephistopheles, etc. Goals 1) Lucifer holds his part of the agreement. 2) The agreement does have good effects. Scene 5 At the end of his life, Wagner visits Faustus. Faustus realizes it is about to get ugly. Faustus wants to repent and pull out of the deal. He can t. Lucifer has held up his end of the bargain. Characters Faustus, Wagner Goals 1) Faustus realizes he made a mistake. 2) Faustus can t back out of the deal. Scene 6 Faustus dies and Lucifer takes his soul to hell. Characters Faustus, Lucifer Goals 1) The deal must be executed though Faustus would love to get out of it. 2) The bad part of the deal is not worth the good part. Reflection Games Often, when creating a scenic-archetype structure, it helps to integrate some reflection games. These games help summarize or reinterpret what has happened so far. At the end of the play, it allows the audience to relive the play again. What follows are two such games. 5

Fountain This game was inspired (and therefore titled) by the Jackson Browne song Fountain of Sorrow. The relevant excerpt follows: Looking through some photographs, I found inside a drawer, I was taken by a photograph of you. There were one or two I know that you would have liked a little more, But they didn t show your spirit quite as true. You were turning round to see who was behind you, And I took your childish laughter by surprise. And, at the moment that my camera happened to find you, There was just a trace of sorrow in your eyes. In the song, the singer finds an old photograph that brings back some memories. In the game, one person successively finds three pictures, paintings, or other objects that remind them of some time in life. In the scenic archetype version, the three objects relate to the story, though they can be of events not explicitly shown before. One improviser will be the narrator for the scene. That person establishes some space (perhaps an attic, a closet, a barn-loft, etc.) that would contain something like pictures that can bring back memories. This should be done largely silently as the person is alone and should take a maximum of 30 seconds. During the course of traversing the space, the narrator goes off to down-stage on one side of the stage and finds a picture, painting, or other object (when first playing the game, start off with photographs). Then, she has a moment to react to the picture, sits down in a chair, and starts describing it (if it is an object, she needs to describe a scene when the object is significant). Other improvisers take the stage to create the still-frame of the picture the narrator is describing (improvisers can also become objects). After the narrator is finished, one additional actor goes up to be the person taking the picture. Then, the actors on-stage come to life and briefly relive the scene, starting at the still-frame. This reliving should probably not have any kind of forced conclusion or conflict/resolution. The key is to capture the moment and why it is significant. After the scene has concluded (5-10 seconds normally, a maximum of one minute), the focus goes back to the narrator and the other improvisers fade out of the scene. The narrator may have some final comments on the first picture. Then, the narrator finds a second picture/object and the same thing happens. This is repeated one last time for a total of three times. The game is over. The pictures do not necessarily form a coherent story, though this can sometimes happen. They could just be completely unrelated, showing different aspects of the narrator. They could also just share a recurring theme, such as chances missed. Calvin Klein Calvin Klein is inspired by the Calvin Klein perfume commercials (think Obsession). It s a two player game based on a complex sounding word or emotion (passion, nostalgia, etc.). Both players get up to the front of the stage and do word-at-a-time mono- 6

logues based on that word. These should be stories of some kind. They do not need to be related. So, player A can be telling a different story than player B. But, the stories are told a word (or short phrase) at a time. The game ends when the stories end on that word. The trick is to get the stories to end about the same time. Then, both people say the suggested word, ending the scene. Here s an example for dignity: A: Big Event B: Homeless A: Crowd B: On the corner A: Cheering B: Starving A: Running B: Begging A: Fast B: No shelter A: Faster B: No home A: Running B: No food A: Cheering B: Worn clothing A: End in sight B: Needs your help A: I m gonna win B: Not willing to beg A: No B: Not willing to beg A: On my right B: Shelter A: Passed me B: Standing in line A: Second place B: Waiting in line A: Second place B: Food and shelter A: Don t cry B: Thank you A: Don t cry B: Thank you A: Congratulations B: Dignity A: Dignity 7