Does your improv story pass the Bechdel Test?
The Bechdel Test asks three easy questions about entertainment narrative:
- Are there (at least) 2 women in the cast?
- Do the women talk to each other?
- Do the women talk about something other than a man?
Many of popular movies do not pass.
Choice or Habit?
I believe this is an example of unconscious bias instead of a deliberate choice. Still, as you can see, it is a reality. We create less full women characters.
As a theater artist and improviser it is our responsibility to increase this awareness and tell more stories that pass the Bechdel Test.
For more information follow this link to the Wiki Page for the test.
The Bechdel Test Improv Show
Lisa Rowland directed the format for BATS Improv after developing the format and guidelines with a cast from the company [Barbara Scott, Rebecca Stockley, Rebecca Poretsky, Kimberly McLean, Dave Dennison and William Hall]. Here is the basic structure:
The Opening
The cast of 5 women and 2 men greet the audience, explain the test and ask the audience to suggest an everyday object. [The first performance they suggested ‘toothbrush’].
The show opens and closes with 3 monologues.
One of the women players comes down stage and begins a monologue about that character’s life. After it is well established a cast member claps their hands and says, ‘Freeze.’ That cast member then asks the audience for the character’s first name (and possibly their last name) and something else. The something else can be how she is dressed, where she is standing or other ‘here-and-now’ information. (This is different from an internal motivation or a hobby, passion… it is something that is apparent here-and-now.)
This pattern is repeated until we have three women characters introduced and standing in spotlights at the front of the stage.
Another cast member steps forward and says, “These are the three main characters.” And the three characters repeat their names. Then the cast member asks the audience how the three women know each other. [Lisa wants a suggestion of a place, organization or an activity where their lives intersect. Book club, yoga class, coffee shop, gym.]
We then see scenes of these characters and the people who are in their life.
Do the women know each other? Yes. We don’t know how well but they do. The time is contemporary and all three characters live in the same time. Although flashbacks are possible.
Is this one story or three separate stories? It’s not about stories at all. It’s about exploring the complexity of the women characters. “Let’s explore the people and relationships in their lives… the corners of their world,” Lisa reminds us before the show. And yes, there are moments when the women interact with each other.
What do the men do? The men play characters in the women’s lives. Lisa said, “it’s a world where men exists, but it’s not about the men.”
Does the show support a feminist message? Not overtly. But because the performance is about the lives of the women it will have a quality that is women centered.
The Ending
At the end of the format the three women step back into their monologue spots and improvise another monologue. Each character takes turns talking about where their life is now. The monologues overlap a little, words or phrases are repeated as we shift randomly from one character story to the next. A theme emerges, the rhythm of the monologues slows down and the lights come down.
What happened?
After our performances everyone in the cast agreed that there was a different pace and tone for the evening. One person said, “There weren’t any men shoe-horning things in… there was room for things to develop.”
I decided to play strong men with the reminder that the performances wasn’t about their story. So, I played a well-meaning dad, an understanding boyfriend, a sexy yoga instructor and a delivery man. When I mentioned this to a cast member, she looked at me, smiled and said, “Welcome to my world”. I did hold myself back from jumping into the stories… instead looking for opportunities to give the women something to react to… and then get off stage.
After the final performance one woman in the audience said, “I have been coming to see your shows for years, and love them… but I’ve never seen anything like this.” Then she added, “I have relations in my life like the ones we saw tonight… but I’ve never seen them on stage before.”
How Popular Movies do on the test
