Things You'll Need:
- An improv troupe
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Step 1
Have two players stand on stage bent over, with backs rounded and arms hanging down limply towards their feet.
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Step 2
Invite two audience members onto the stage, and have one stand behind each player. Inform the audience members that they will be manipulating the players throughout the scene.
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Step 3
Explain the game to the audience members by saying something like, "These players are puppets. They cannot move unless you help them." Illustrate this by tapping a player on the back of the neck. The player should stand up straight.
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Step 4
Continue the explanation by saying something like, "If you want them to move a leg forward or backward, just tap them on the back or front of the lower leg." Tap the back of a player's leg. The player should step forward with that leg. Tap the front of the same player's leg. The player should then step backwards with that leg.
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Step 5
Finish the explanation by saying, "Any other movement must be done by you moving the players' arms and hands." Grab a player's hands and wave them around.
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Step 6
Ask the audience for a scene suggestion.
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Step 7
Invite the two audience members on stage to pose the players into starting positions. Once this is done, start the scene.
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Step 8
The players are human puppets and thus should not move unless they are moved. Players should talk in the scene normally, but may not move (even their heads!) without being moved by one of the audience controllers.
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Step 9
The audience members must control all player movement, by positioning hands and arms, and tapping legs to move the players forward and backward, as explained in the setup.
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Step 10
Players should mock audience members who do not move their limbs for them. If a player has announced that he is going to do something and the audience member does not move the human puppet to do so, the player should say something like, "I'm going to start driving any minute now.... any minute."
