As an improviser, one of the most challenging aspects of performing is knowing when a scene has come to a natural end. It can be tempting to cling to a scene, hoping to squeeze out a few more laughs, but sometimes it’s best to wrap things up and move on to the next scene. Here are some tips for recognizing when it’s time to end an improv scene.
The Story is Resolved.
Scenes often have some sort of goal or objective, whether it’s something as simple as ordering a cup of coffee or as complex as solving a murder mystery. Once that objective has been achieved or addressed, the scene has come to a natural end. It’s essential to recognize when the story has reached its conclusion, so you can wrap things up and move on to the next scene.
The Energy Starts to Dip.
Improv is all about the energy and engagement between players. When the energy starts to drop, you might notice a lull in the audience’s response or a lack of enthusiasm from your fellow performers. This could be a sign that it’s time to wrap up the scene. Think of a scene like inflating a balloon. You’re filling the balloon/scene with air/energy. Once the balloon/scene has so much air/energy, it’s going to burst to release the tension. If you miss that opportunity to end the scene on a high note, you’re going to have to fill up an entirely new balloon and hope that you get the same satisfying release.
Someone in the Scene is Lost.
It happens to even the best improvisers. They may be lost in the scene. Rather than allowing them to struggle in the hopes that they’ll be able to grasp on to something interesting, do them a favor and mercy-kill the scene.
The Audience has Lost Interest.
This may be your rock bottom as an improviser. If the audience knows that the scene is over before the improvisers know that the scene is over, your troupe might need to brush up on its editing skills.
How to End a Scene
There is hope! Here are some tried and true strategies for ending a scene.
It’s Better to Edit too Early than too Late.
Err on the side of over-editing. Improvisers are generally polite people who might be hesitant to edit a scene because they are afraid that it’s “building to something.” That’s great, and it very well may be. But it also may not be. and you might be doing improvisers onstage a huge favor by getting them the hell out of the scene. If there was something they were building to in the scene, they can always call it back later in the set. Also, if they were building to something, they should have either gotten to it more quickly or done a better job making it obvious to their troupe that they had something cooking.
Follow Your Feet.
When you’re standing on a backline or in the wings of a theater during a set, your legs will often know before your brain does that it’s time to edit a scene. If you get “happy feet” while watching a scene and it seems like your legs want to edit the scene, trust them. Sometimes your feet have the best instincts of all.
Self-Edit.
If you’re in a scene, you know the scene is over, and no one from your troupe is editing the scene, you may have to edit the scene yourself from within the scene. It’s certainly preferred to have a troupe that is good at editing as a team, but you may occasionally find yourself on an island in an expired scene. If you know the scene is over and you need to end it, make a big physical movement from within the scene to indicate to everyone that the scene is over.
Conclusion
Ending a scene in a timely fashion is crucial to the success and pacing of your improv set. Work with your troupe on making sure that everyone knows how to recognize when a scene is over, and knows that it’s everyone’s job to edit scenes for the good of the troupe.