Events

Life

In the Life event the team must present an improvised scene "honestly and sincerely." This may include "moments" in peoples' lives or merely a realistic representation of an unrealistic situation. Events in a life scene must be dealt with truthfully. The premise of a scene can range from a first date or family trauma to the car not starting. The life event is not intended for broad laughter. Entertainment and humorous moments are generated from the reality of a situation or sincreity of an interaction.

Theme

In the Theme event, the teams are "given a theme which they must explore in one or more scenes." Theme is quite unique and different from the other games as unlike the other events where the inspiration and suggestion comes from the audience, theme suggestions can come in various ways and is usually given to the team by the host. However, if the team wishes, they are allowed to ask for another suggestion from the audience. For example, this could be a location in which to explore the theme in. Suggestions could be fortune cookie sayings, haikus or just a single word. Once given their theme suggestion teams must explore that theme in as many ways as possible. This may be done as one scene or as a series of vignettes (the overwhelmingly most popular approach, also known as the Harold style). The connection to the theme may be literal or figurative.

Style

Style showcases the team's ability to portray a certain genre of media, usually from film, theatre or television. Mime, cheesy horror film, sports presenter, Disney musicals, Shakespeare and infomercial are examples of different styles that have been seen in performances. Teams may put a lot of research into the style. They are not meant to parody a genre but actually produce an example of that genre.

Story

In the Story event, a team must perform "an original story in an improvised setting, including an aspect of narration." Forms of narration vary. Each improvised story must contain a beginning, middle, and end, not necessarily in that order. This is another event where the team will ask the audience for a suggestion or inspiration before they begin. It is of utmost importance that these three sections are obvious to the audience, because it is those elements that define the scene as a story.

Character

The Character event does not have to be a scene but it usually ends up being one, as the main purpose for this event is to show how well the team can develop and use a character that they create usually based on audience suggestion. It is usually best when a character trait is blown out of proportion or if the character is placed in a situation that would make them stand out.

The improviser should have an idea of what that character is like in all facets; not just a trait, but for example, what kind of friends that character has, what activities the character might enjoy, even a small sampling of some past experiences that character might have had. The character must be fully-formed and plausible. A good Character scene is when other members are continuously endowing the character and giving him/her chances to show off the character trait.