Most improvisation scenarios involve two or more actors. These actors produce comedy with back and forth dialogue and humorous reactions to each other. The funniest scenes occur when two actors share the stage equally and play off one another. Follow along when your partner sparks laughter from the audience or jump in to assist him when the audience seems bored. In improvisation games with two players, a host or teacher will call out various emotions, occupations or relationships throughout the scene, giving actors the opportunity to continually change the dialogue with humorous transitions.
With physical comedy, actors use exaggerated body movements and facial expressions to make an audience laugh. The forms of physical humor in theater, slapstick, farce and mime, all aid actors in producing funny improvisation. Performers use miming techniques to create props for improvised scenes. Improv actors use slapstick comedy with dramatic reactions, such as slips and falls. A farce builds on the slapstick movements by adding ridiculous scenarios and witty dialogue to the scene. These tools allow improvisation actors to use their minds and bodies to provoke laughter from the audience.
The lack of script in improvisation allows for audience members to participate by making suggestions and joining actors on stage. Asking members of the audience to offer scenarios, accents and movements for actors to demonstrate, provides for a diverse selection of comedy material. Call up audience members to pose actors in starting positions for scenes. By involving the audience in improvisation theater, actors prove the show has no script and keep the audience entertained and engaged.
When improvising, choose interesting scene starters and allow the humor to present itself throughout the scene. Audiences will find it funny when ridiculous events occur during everyday scenarios. Start with a simple occasion, such as visiting the grocery store or dentist office and introduce comedy with the characters and dialogue that evolve during the scene. The audience will relate to the normalcy of the original setting and laugh at the comical events that follow.