Improv Comedy Techniques: What Are You Doing Game

Video Transcript

"LES MCGEHEE: Hi, this is the front of Les McGehee and Joe Parsons and the front of Les McGehee's book, "Plays Well with Others." It's a book on improvisation, it's called a Grown-up Handbook of Improvisation and Play, but you kids, you are welcome to play with it too. It's just grown-ups need the help more than the kids need the help, if you know what I mean. So we have another little lesson for you on improvisation. Joe and I did a show for years and years called ComedySportz. ComedySportz, just like National Comedy Theatre very often starts their show with a traditional improv game called What Are You Doing? We're going to give that a try. Let's bring a picture out a little bit here. In what you're doing, you have two people on the stage at a time and one is going to try and beat the other. Now, it's very interesting 'cause unless I thought of a crafty trick to trick Joe with, well then it's no fun to just kind of beat him. I want him to do really well. So while trying to do better than him, I'm going to really support his work in the game too so he gets a good run. Everybody wants to beat somebody who did really well and you beat him anyway. He's going to do the same for me. He'll be trying to support my work, so that we can find out who can get further. We're going to try and help each other along that way. So, the game of What Are You Doing, Joe does something active, anything at all that he wants physically and I ask the question what are you doing? He has to answer with something that in no way resembles what he is doing. What are you doing? JOE PARSONS: Starting a wildfire. LES MCGEHEE: And then I start doing that same thing. Yo, come on dudes, there's plenty of grassland in California. They're not going to miss this bush. JOE PARSONS: What are you doing? LES MCGEHEE: Coughin' up lollipops. So I respond to something that in no way resembles what I'm doing. This goes back and forth until a person makes a mistake that we want to call him out for. Perhaps they repeat something that's already been said, that would be repetition. They'd be out of there. Perhaps they hesitate 'cause their brain isn't going quickly enough. Well, it would be hesitation, we're not so impressed, they'd be out of there. Perhaps they accidentally say something that looks like what they're doing, try something Joe. What do have there? JOE PARSON: Okay. LES MCGEHEE: Alright. Joe, what are you doing? JOE PARSON: I'm milking a cow. LES MCGEHEE: Now, he might have thought he was driving a car or something, but all of a sudden he says milking cow. See the hands there, I mean the cow would know the difference. That's a tall cow I admit, but still that's kind of milky looking and so I might call him out for that. And when we called him out it's with conviction, we say "There are [INDISCERNIBLE] "and the next person gets up and gives it a try. It's no big deal."