The Improvisation Edge

Chapter TwoThe Second Secret of ImprovisationBuilding Blocks

So, without a net, you step out and proclaim, “I feel like a rutabaga!”

The crowd titters, but you don’t know what to say next. Silence stretches out in front of you and you start to get warm around the armpits. Before you know it, a hand slaps you on the shoulder and one of your troupe says, “Yes, and you look like one, too!” The crowd laughs loudly, and she adds, “Now, I happen to prefer tomatoes for a date, but a rutabaga should mix it up a little.”

Four more members of your troupe leap out in front of you, making a small table and two chairs with their bodies. You both “sit” and a fifth person steps up with his arm crooked and says in a French accent, “And may I take your order, ...