How to Play the Improv Game, Hoe Down
Improv, or improvisation, is the art of performing dialogue or actions on the spot, often creating scenes in the process. Improv games are played for live audiences in theaters and comedy clubs by experienced actors, but also in classroom settings for students to learn skills, such as public speaking. Improv can be played at parties for fun. Hoedown is best played by more experienced actors, as they have to improvise rhyming lyrics and sing. Learn the rules of this entertaining game, break out your overalls, and get ready to bring the house down with a hoedown!
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Instructions
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Memorize simple words. The more rhymes in an actor's repertoire, the better. Although the idea of improv is to come up with things on the spot, there are tricks that can aid the actors, especially in more difficult games such as this, and simple rhymes are the key to the success of Hoedown.
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Line four of actors across the performance space. Ask the audience for a suggestion for a song title or a mundane subject for your song. Choose the most boring suggestion. An obscure subject makes the process of singing and rhyming even more difficult.
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Introduce the piano accompanist to the crowd, and tell her to begin playing a basic hoedown melody (see Resource video for specific musical tune). Have each actor step forward, and sing about the selected topic in four lines. The second line should rhyme with the first, and the last line should rhyme with the third line.
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Do little steps, as if dancing at a hoedown, while you sing. After each actor completes his verse, he should feel free to dance with the other actors that are finished.
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Allow all four actors to sing the very last line of the song over again, to end the song (see Resources for examples.) The song is over after the fourth actor sings, and everyone has repeated his last line.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't worry if you can't sing. As you can see in the videos, most of the actors can't sing. This game is about keeping in time with the music, and fitting in all of your words.
Have your best actor sing last in line, to end the song well. Always leave the audience with the best, last.
Do not start singing with absolutely no ideas. As soon as you are given the topic, begin creating the rhyming sentences in your head. You'll need all the time you can get!
