An improv game for performance

Quick Description

Players ask the audience for a genre and three clichés that always appear in that genre. They then improvise a scene in the genre while avoiding those clichés.

GENRE: a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content

How to Play

Genre without 3 clichés.

Ask for a Genre: The players start by asking the audience for a well-known genre (e.g., Western, Horror, Romantic Comedy, Sci-Fi, etc.).

Identify Three Clichés: The players then ask the audience to list three overused tropes or clichés often seen in that genre (e.g., “The cowboy has a mysterious past,” “The detective drinks,” “The couple has a misunderstanding that keeps them apart until the last moment”).

Improvise a Scene: The players then perform a fully improvised scene within the chosen genre, but they must avoid the three clichés entirely.

Stay True to the Genre: The challenge is to maintain the essence of the genre while finding a different way to tell a story.

Notes

It can be fun for the players to get close to one of the clichés but avoid it. This is a way to tease the audience.

It works well with audiences familiar with genre conventions, as their cliché suggestions will shape the challenge. Sometimes it may be useful to ask for an audience members favorite type of film.

Variations

Genre Without a Key Element: Instead of avoiding three clichés, the audience suggests a crucial element of the genre that must be removed (e.g., “A mystery story without a detective”).

Origin

I don’t remember who taught me Genre without 3 Clichés, but it was probably one of the wonderful teachers at BATS Improv.

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