Sunday, July 13, 2025

Scene Prompt: Defend

Improv level: Advanced

If the essence of drama is conflict, this challenge will help you build some nuance into your dramatic scene work while also helping you avoid the temptation of going for the laugh. Improv is more than comedy, and comedy is funnier when you don't play it for the laugh. Make it real.

Here's the challenge: Create a scene based on this quote --

Defend to stabilize, even neutralize, but not to destroy.


It's your theme. It's your structure. It's your turn...


-- doug smith


Monday, June 16, 2025

Scene Prompt: One Day

Improv Level: Advanced

I'm currently writing this on Google's Blogger platform and it has the interesting feature of allowing you to date a post into the past. I'll do that with this post as an example. I'm writing it on July 13, 2025 but I'm going to send it back in time -- not far, just a nudge, say perhaps June, 2025.

You've seen many examples of time travel in movies, plays, and literature so now it's your turn. Create a scene with this premise: You can go back to any one day in your life and re-live or change it. That's the scene: the decision to change it and then what happens next.

Based on what you know about time-travel, what would be the side-effects? What would be the results? What would be funny about any of that?

Now go. Your turn!

-- doug smith



Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Ego...

 

photo of dougie smith by: Jeanette Smith

We make ego into a bad word but try excelling without it.

That tension between control and out-of-control? That's magic!

-- doug smith


Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Bold!

image: doug smith


Get bold or get forgotten!

Who's your favorite actor?

What performer grabs your attention?

When you are on stage where is YOUR focus?

There is a place for nuance. There is a time for subtlety. And, there is a time for drama!

Get bold or get forgotten!

-- doug smith

 

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Scene Prompt: Burning Hatred

Build a scene from this quote:

Hatred burns the hater more than the one hated.

-- doug smith

 

Monday, May 19, 2025

Scene Prompt: The Price of Evil

The price of evil is paid long after the evil is forgotten. 

-- doug smith


Sunday, May 18, 2025

Going On

Some people will do things that will never make sense, and still we go on.

-- doug smith