Improv Exercises for Creating Characters

Over the weekend, Big Couch started its four-week improv workshop to share the Close Quarters long-form structure. We also went to a super-fun improv jam with our friends at Wit / Craft Improv Studio. Both of those focused heavily on character work, and doing those improv exercises is always a blast.

Crafting characters is a critical improv skill. You can play every improv scene as yourself, but why do improv if you aren’t going to play pretend? Part of improv’s appeal is to be someone or something else. That’s right we said “something” else. In improv, you can be the red crayon in a Kindergarten classroom or the saxophone in a jazz quartet.

In rehearsals, workshops, and jams, improv exercises develop the ability to initiate just enough of a character to engage in a scene.

You won’t ever know everything about who you are when you walk into a scene. You may only know one thing, like what your voice sounds like, or how you hold your hands, or your life’s goal, or how you feel about rain. You’ll discover more as you explore the scene, and your partner will give you additional character elements. The initial gifts as well as those from your scene partner illuminate your character’s arc – where they’ve been and where they want to go.

Here are five improv exercises that we love to strengthen our character-building muscles. Some of them focus on what you give yourself and others focus on what you can give to fellow improvisers.

Character Walk

Participants mill about an open space. They may or may not be making eye contact with each other. They are following their own path and concentrating on themselves. The facilitator offers character-oriented suggestions, like “you refuse to take off your ski boots in the resort,” or “you are keeping a very juicy secret,” or “you are allergic to all flowers and are walking a park.” The participants react to each suggestion while walking around. Facilitators may also open suggesting up to participants as everyone continues to walk about. Do this until you get to 8 to 10 suggestions.

As an improv exercise, examining how a person walks or behaves in a situation can inform a lot of more of the character. Participants may find themselves developing a backstory while they embody the physicality. This also allows improvisers to center themselves in somewhat of an internal meditation before engaging with the ensemble.

World’s Worst / World’s Best

This is a common short form improv game that makes a fun character creating setup. Participants form into a line facing outward. The facilitator suggests the world’s best or world’s worst type of person. As they are inspired, each participant steps forward and gives a line of dialogue and action in that character. For example, the “world’s best lion tamer” might let out all the lions or the “world’s worst New York taxi driver” doesn’t know where the Empire State Building is. Suggestions might include doctor, softball player, boat captain, antique collector, etc., or they can stretch to include specifics like “door person at a fantasy character club.”

An improv exercise based in short-form prompts quick, focussed thinking. All the participants have to do is make one decision based upon the suggestion and move on it. Participants will also start to learn what they like most – a “world’s worst” or “world’s best” – type of situation that can help them gain confidence in how they move forward with creating new characters.

Seven Things in Character

Participants get into a circle. One person gives another person a brief character description and then asks them to name seven things that they should answer in character. For example, one person may say to another “You are the coach of a college cheerleading squad in Texas. What seven things do you pack to go to the national championship game?” As the asked person names their seven things, the group says “yes” to each one in and counts off. When they are done, everyone cheers. Then, the person that just gave their answers chooses another participant, gives them another character, and asks them to name new seven things. And, so on until everyone has gone.

This improv exercise works in several ways. It warms up the brain to start spitting out information. It is affirming, meaning everything that everyone says is right and worthy of a resounding “yes.” And, it is helping you confidently build out a character as you answer within their voice.

Character Samurai

Participants get into a circle. One person steps into the middle and gives a 20 to 30 second monologue in character. The people on the outside of the circle initiate a scene with that character. The scenes do not have to be related to anything the center character has said. The idea is for the center to respond in character to what the circle has indicated. For example, someone steps into the middle and gives a monologue about being a 102-year-old turtle who’s lived 75 years in a zoo. Someone on the outside of the circle taps them and starts a scene with “That ice cream gave me brain freeze.” Then, we get to see the turtle respond. This will continue until everyone in the outside has initiated a scene. Then, a new person steps into the circle and the process starts over until everyone has been in the center.

This improv exercise deepens the understanding of the character through discovery. While the scene partners may not be endowing characteristics, the center is continuing to build upon what they started in their monologue.

Character Clay

This exercise is somewhat of the reverse of Character Samurai. Participants get into a circle. One person steps into the middle. The people on the outside of the circle endow the center with characteristics, like an accent, a walk, an article of clothing, a personality trait, a hometown, a memory, a desire, etc. the person in the middle then does a 30 second monologue as the character. When done, another person steps in the middle and the process starts over with new characteristics and traits.

We love this improv exercise because it emphasizes the importance of scene partners endowing each other’s characters. Characters don’t have to be built solo. Sometimes you know just enough about another character to give them a gift of a memory or a passion that deepens the scene as well as the relationship. Because we know everything and nothing, being a supportive scene partner with endowments can push everything forward.

Full disclosure, we didn’t invent any of these improv exercises. Totally awesome people have passed them along to us, and they just popped up first in our heads to use to focus character development. If any of these improv exercises seem unclear. Feel free to send us an email at carrie@bigcouchnola.com. We’d also love to hear your favorite character exercises there or in the comments.