Improv Olympix

Improv Olympix

2014

Step 1 - Registering for Improv Olympix

The first 30 teams who register play Each school may submit 1 team of 4-5 players Gender make-up must be 2/2 or 2/3. Single gender

schools exempt. All members must be registered ITS members with

numbers and completed registration (paid). Registered teams will be sent the Getting Started

packet and the detailed rules packet on Nov 1st via email.

Troupe sponsors will register IO teams with their troupe’s registration.

Order of Games – Thursday evening

Round 1 will be a Head-To-Head game on Thursday evening 15 minutes after the Thursday night Main Stage.

These rounds will have 3 teams playing at a time – the schedule will be set in 20 minute increments.

The games to learn for this will be (you will play 1 of them) Dance Off Out of Gas

Teams will be Rated Superior, Excellent, Good, or Not Applicable

Order of Games – Saturday Morning Teams will showcase their improv skills in two rounds

Saturday morning. Team will be scheduled into 5 rooms – 6 teams per

room – for 1 hour increments. The games to learn for these two rounds will be (you

will play 2 of them): News Report Remote Control Mission Quite Probable Prop Swap Emotions

Teams will be rated Superior, Excellent, Good, or Fair/N/A depending on the skills they show within the games.

Reminders to Players

TEAMS ARE NOT RANKED – THEY ARE NOT RATED. This is not a competition but rather a chance to showcase your troupe’s top improv talent.

Teams should learn all 6 games since they are not sure which ones will be called in the room they are in.

Teams which are rated overall Superior may be invited to perform during the Saturday afternoon IE showcase.

The game at the showcase will be one of the Saturday games which you did not play in a previous round.

Round 1 Game– Dance Off (Thursday evening)

3 Teams will show off their dance skillz based on the audience suggestions.

Teams will line up so each team will have 1 member dancing each suggested dance (one behind the other).

Example: Team A Player #1 Team B Player #1 Team C Player #1 Team A Player #2 Team B Player #2 Team C Player #2and so on

Team members will take on a character and introduce themselves and the dance.

The audience will applaud for the TEAM they felt did the best job representing the dance (not an individual dancer) however the judges will rate each team regardless of if they won the audience applause-o-meter or not.

Dance Off (continued)

Tips to playing the game Movement is your friend in this game So is variation – no one wants to see ‘the

toaster’ look the same for all 3 dancers. Don’t be afraid to take on a character for

when you introduce yourself – it’s more fun for the audience.

Make sure you move in time to the music – or at least attempt it.

Round 1 Game– Out of Gas (Thursday evening)

Four chairs are put into a ‘car’ configuration. The host gathers 4 suggestions. Teams rotate through to showcase their

interpretation of their suggestion (given to them while they get in the car) within the confines of the car.

After an approx. 30 second scene the players rotate out so the next team can rotate in. Each time they rotate out it needs to be for some reason related to the suggestion .

Players rotate out who is the driver and who are the passengers each time they go in.

Out of Gas (continued)

Tips to playing the game Even though the players themselves ‘pull over’ it

is not to a team’s advantage to have a scene much longer than 30-45 seconds. Pulling over allows you to swap out and play different positions in the car plus huddle time.

When you pull over make sure it makes scene for the suggestion you have. For example if your suggestion is Simpsons Homer might pull over for donuts. Snoopy might be chasing the Red Baron and pull over for Suppertime…. You get the point.

This game is more about Character than Environment but don’t forget Environment.

Round 2/3 – News Report (Saturday morning)

Audience suggestion for this game is a Fairy Tale. 1 player will be the news anchor(s), 1-2 will play an

expert in the study (depending on how many are on the teams), 1 is a reporter in the field, and 1 will play all the characters interviewed by the reporter.

All the scenes revolve around the story given. For example if the suggestion is Jack and the Bean stock the expert might be an gardener who specializes in beans, the first person interviewed in the field might be the cow and the next might be the Giant’s wife.

NOTE: in the example given in the next slide they are only playing with 3 people. Note our differences above.



Tips for the players This game offers players the perfect opportunity

to play with characters choices so make strong choices.

Short scenes are better – sound bites as opposed to an actual scene.

Remember teamwork here – make sure none of the ‘scenes’ are too long to allow others from your team to play the game.

Round 2/3 – Remote Control (Saturday morning)

The host will get 3 different television show genres and a top that all of the shows will base their programing around.

3 of the players will be the main characters on their shows and 1 player will rotate between showing commercials and being additional characters on the other shows. The last team member will switch between channels (or for teams of 4 a member of the audience can play this role).

The players are each given a channel number and the player with that number steps forward when their number is called off.

NOTE: The example given is slightly different than those we will be playing with but it will give you the general idea.



Tips for the players The player switching between channels should be

someone who is good at ‘calling’ a scene. Ideally this person should show each channel 3

times. Think like a couch potato who doesn’t like any of their options switching back and forth.

This game does offer the player(s) on the back line some down time to be thinking of what the next part of their show will include. Use this time wisely.

Don’t forget about improv structure – the first time is the beginning, the second time should be the middle, and the third should wrap it up.

Round 2/3 – Mission Quite Possible (Saturday morning)

An everyday activity is obtained from the audience. 1 of the players on the team will be the voice of the

boss (on tape), 2 of the players will be the agents, and the final 1-2 people play the villain and his henchperson trying to foil the success of the agents.

NOTE: The example given (in the next slide) is not exactly the same game we are playing but is similar enough to give you a good idea.



Tips for the players: Environment is extremely important in this game

– talking ends just kills it. Make sure you create several imaginary items to play with in your scene.

Relationship is probably almost equally important to the game – how the agents interact with each other, their boss and the ‘bad guys’ is all important to keeping your audience entertained.

The boss should probably be your strongest ‘gifter’ on the team. All others need to make sure they are yes anding what was given to them by the boss.

Round 2/3 – Prop Swap Emotions(Saturday morning)

The host will give 4 (or 3 for a team with 4) different props – each of which will be given an emotion to associate it with.

The team then plays a scene based on a secondary neutral suggestion. The players holding each prop show the emotion of the prop as much as possible.

Throughout the scene the players should exchange props – making sure that everyone touches at least 2 props throughout the course of the scene.

NOTE: The example given is pretty close – they are just playing with less players.



Tips for players: Make sure you not only switch props/emotions –

you justify within the scene why the switch is happening.

Offer lots of opportunities for players to move and change emotions – gifting is super important in this game.

Remember the emotion for each prop – the audience will be watching closely to see if you can do it.

Flipping of emotions should be quick – as soon as you receive the new prop in your hands.

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Improv Olympix