Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation by Charna Halpern, Del Close, Kim Johnson Page B

remember they are not playwrights — they are improvisers.
    PATTERNS IN SCENES
    Players must not only be alert to game moves, they must also be aware of the patterns in a scene — and then play them. For example, one way to end a scene is to return to the beginning
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of that same scene, whether through a line, a gesture, or a completed cycle. All of life follows a cycle, and improvisation is no different. The patterns become part of the scenic game. When the players recognize the patterns in a scene, they'll set each other up for game moves to forward that scene. And when they understand the game they set up for themselves, and play it full tilt, they've got it made!
    Find your game, and you've found your scene.
    Del is fond of the "group mind" concept that develops during improv when everything works, and the ability to wire human minds together to become "Supermen."
    "We are releasing higher and greater powers of the human being," he explains. "That is what we mean when we say that Harold 'appears.' A melding of the brains occurs on stage. When improvisers are using seven or eight brains instead of just their own, they can do no wrong! Time slows down, and the player has a sense of where he is.
    "I was talking with Gary Fencik of the Chicago Bears, and I asked him what it felt like when they were beating New York in the playoffs, on their way to winning the Super Bowl. He told me that he knew what everybody was doing and where they were. He had a complete holographic image in his mind, a three-dimensional picture of the field."
    A similar event occurs during a successful improv. "On stage, one has a complete picture of what is going on, and also a clear sense of all potential moves. They are almost laid out in time. The pattern-making mechanism is kicked on, and yet, one's intellect does not desert him," explains Del.
    "Somehow, the improviser is in the balanced right and left hemisphere state. He can almost see time as a dimension, as he can almost see his potential moves extend physically into the future. It's then very easy to decide which move to choose, and then go with it. Since everyone is on the same wavelength, each player sees what the other sees.
    "It's an absolute thrill, a tremendous surge of confidence, energy, and joy. I've given up searching for happiness, now that I realize joy is very easily achieved!"
    KEEPING ACTION IN THE PRESENT
    There's little point in a player discussing the past or planning the future in a scene. A good improviser shows us the now) It's always much more interesting to see it, rather than near about it. After all, this is a visual medium!
    This also applies to actors discussing events that are happening off stage. If the audience is told that the most interesting action in a scene is occurring elsewhere, why should they care' about the discussion they are seeing in front of them? An improv audience prefers watching the action.
    All of this is a part of taking the active choice — show the audience, don't tell them.
    SILENCE IS GOLDEN
    Too many performers are terrified when the stage is quiet, but a few moments of silence doesn't mean nothing is happening. Just the opposite — it often leads into the most important moments in a scene.
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An improviser needs to consider the most intelligent response he can give to a statement, and so he must feel he can take the time to stop and think. These moments of silence make a beginning improviser very nervous. He often tries to fill the silence with useless chatter, which only adds clutter to the scene.
    Improvisers have no reason to fear silence — in fact, more experienced players learn to appreciate it. The silence creates tension and draws in the audience. There is action in thought, and the audience finds a player's response worth waiting for.
    When an actor has a strong initiation, but becomes very verbose, he diminishes the importance of the line, and babbles away the energy behind his ideas.
    By taking his time and being