Pause Button
The players play a scene with 10 seconds (or more) of silence between each line of dialogue. It’s as if someone is pressing a pause button between each line. [The pause is not a freeze. It’s just a pause; a moment where words are not necessary.]
It can be really freeing and can open players up to strong connections, emotional offers and exploring the physical environment.
It almost seems too obvious to try.
It’s not all verbal
Sometimes we find ourselves stressing the verbal part of improvisational theater… and this activity can slow us down and allow us to see how much more is available to us.
Variation
Pause Button Ding
Have the players improvise a scene and ding a bell when you want them to pause. It can be fun to let another student ring the bell. You may find that a pause can add to a scene at any time.
Notes
You may have to watch the time for the first few to let the group learn what 10 seconds feels like. And after a few, you won’t need to watch the clock. After, it’s not about the 10 seconds, it’s about the pause.
Origin
The activity comes to us from Kat Koppett who wrote a great book about how to leverage improvisation activities for business workshops. It’s called Training to Imagine. Here is my review.
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