Two Scene Initiations: Context VS Premise
There are many ways to initiate scenes in improv. If you have found this article then you probably know your fair share initiations.
Good scene work takes place within the scene. Improv is not about stellar initiations. Players should not be on the sideline working out the most clever initiations. Good improv is built brick by brick from each player in the scene. Some players will initiate scenes with elaborate setups, but this isn’t necessary.
Beginnings of shows set the tone better with contextual initiations rather than premise. But Premise scenes can become imperative in the middle or at the end of shows.
Examples of Context Initiations
-The player sits down and begins typing- “Woo, it smells in here”
-The player begins to sharpen sword blade- “God, I can’t believe King Arthur.”
-The player puts pants on and looks at scene partner- “I think its gonna be a good day.
Context is the related conditions in which something exists. You could also refer to context as the setup. Players have more room to explore when start scenes with context. Nobody really knows where the scene work will go. It is a very natural and organic way to begin scenes. There is more freedom in a contextual initiation.
Examples of Premise Initiations
-The player begins changing tires on a vehicle- We have 14 cars waiting to get their tires rotated. We need to do all of these in the next hour or we are going to be fired.”
-The player grabs chest- “Cousin Eddie, I think I’m having a heart attack, grab my medication… oh my god. If I pass out do chest compressions.”
-The player walks up to the center stage- “Villagers gather. It looks like young Arthur is going to attempt to pull the sword from the stone. I doubt he can do it.
Premises have a visual roadmap for the players and the audience. It is easy for a player to see the end before they even get to the middle. A premise can pigeon hole a scene. There isn’t much room to explore.
Context initiations are not better or worse than premise initiations. They are preferential choices about how to approach scenes, but I would argue that premise scenes will feel stale at the beginning of a show. They are good at setting the scene quickly.
