Quick Description
Dong. In this variation of the improv game ‘New Choice’, players must change their last statement to rhyme with their previous one when a bell is rung.
How to Play
Dong is a variation of “New Choice.”
The players improvise a scene and another player occasionally calls, “Dong.” When they do, the players must take back what they just said and say something else that rhymes with what they just said.
Example
Player A: I am here for the interview.
Player B: Yes. What is your name?
“D-o-n-g”
Player B: Great. Did you take the train?
Player A: Yes. I did. I really want this job.
“D-o-n-g”
Player A: Yes. I did. My name is Bob.
Variation
New Choice. With every ring of a bell, the player must say something other than he/she said. However, unlike New Choice the new phrase has to linguistically similar to the one it replaces.
This game is similar to the game Pardon?
Notes
This is a trigger game, because a sound or phrase triggers a change by the players on stage.
Why is this game called ‘dong’ instead of ‘ding’? I have no idea. That’s the way it was played when I first saw it. Of course you could also call it Ding.
Could be played with a bell instead of the spoken word.
Could also give the power (bell?) to an audience member.
This game is an anti-narrative game in that it breaks the narrative the players have established.
Origin
I first saw this game played by Blind Mirth, the improv group from the University of St. Andrew, at the Edinburgh Fringe.
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