How to Play the Improv Game "Limericks"

"Limericks" is an improv game in which the players most work together to create a short poem on the spot, based on an audience suggestion.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Arrange a row of players on stage. Five players are ideal as each can take one line of the limerick, but you can play with as few as two, alternating lines between them.

2. Ask the audience to suggest a topic.

3. The player at stage right (the left side from the audience's point of view) begins with a simple sentence about the topic. It should be 8 or 9 syllables long. (Even if the audience members don't know how many syllables are in a limerick, they've probably heard enough to know when something does or does not sound like one, so it's important to use the right structure.) It should also end with an easy word to rhyme with. So if the topic is oranges, don't start with "There once was a boy who ate oranges," but with something like "Some oranges can be hard to peel," "I'd like to eat oranges all day," or "Oranges are juicy and sweet."

4. The person to the first player's left delivers the second line of the poem. It should be the same length as the first, rhyme with it, and have a logical connection. So if the first line is "Oranges are juicy and sweet," the second line should not be "They are a treat" (too short), "I really do like them a lot" (doesn't rhyme) or "I think I will turn up the heat" (unrelated to the topic). A better second line would be "I like them much better than meat."

5. The next person to the left says the third line, which should be shorter (5 or 6 syllables) and should NOT rhyme with them. It should, however, be easy for the next person to rhyme with: "Don't offer me lamb..."

6. The next person says the fourth line, which should be the same length as the third, rhyme with it, and be closely related to it. In many limericks, the fourth line is part of the same sentence as the third: "...or honeybaked ham."

7. The fifth line should be 8 or 9 syllables, rhyme with the first two lines, and be a logical ending to the limerick: "Because oranges are all that we eat!"

8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 until every player has taken a turn starting a limerick.

Tips & Warnings

• When you first start practicing this, you may have to pause between lines to think of rhymes and make sure your lines are the right length, and that's OK. As you get more used to the structure those things will become more automatic and you can work on speed. In performance, one line should follow immediately after another.
• Don't pause to think of a joke. Limericks are rarely hilariously funny. What is entertaining to the audience is seeing you come up with rhymes on the spot and construct a poem that actually makes sense. When you pause you give them a chance to get ahead of you, and then you risk losing them.

Resources

• How to Start Performing Improv
• How to Play the Improv Game ''Stand, Sit Kneel''
• How to Play the Improv Game ''Alphabet''
• How to Play the Improv Game ''Lines From a Hat''
• How to Play the Improv Game ''Scene From a Musical''