The group divides themselves into pairs.
Each pair designates themselves an A and a B.
A tells B about something they are honestly passionate about. Something that lights them up inside.
B must listen intently to what they have to say and appear amused and interested in what they are saying.
BASE LEVEL: B actually shouts out YES YES YES like a demented cartoon character - locking in an over the top agreement to everything A says.
NEXT LEVEL: B keeps the mantra of YES YES YES but it is more internalised. There is still a lot of eye contact, smiles and nodding but not quite the same level of volume.
TOP LEVEL: B can take over the monologue from A when they hear something that they're passionate about. They must wait until it's something they truly love. A and B can then switch between who is leading as new topics surface.
This is a way to help improvisers start scenes positively.
Using this technique characters appear to like each other, know a lot about each other and want to be in the same room as each other.
This technique breeds familiarity.
Starting a scene positively doesn't mean that it has to stay that way for the whole show but it's a great beginning.
Pulling from your own experiences can create better characters with more connection to the audience. You can deepen these characters by taking one aspect of your personality that gets a reaction in the scene and building on it (yes anding yourself?)
This eventually leads to playing the My Thing, Our Thing game.
See Jason Shotts page for more details.