Impro Match

This improv game is in the following improv game categories:

Format

Impro Match

Description

This format does not have a specific name and is mainly popular in French speaking countries. There seem to be leagues in just about every French speaking country; there`s even a league playing this format in the Congo! These leagues meet every year to play a world championship.

The format is modeled after an ice hockey match: 2 teams of 6 players, 3 men and 3 women, perhaps with one coach per team play each other during 3 30-minute rounds, in a `ring` resembling an ice hockey field. The game is lead by a referee and 2 aides.

The referee draws challenges out of a bin; challenges can be mixed or separated. A mixed improv scene is played by players of both teams; a separated scene is played twice, each time by players from one team. Challenges consist of:

Title for the scene: can be anything
Number of players per team: can be unlimited, or specified. In some countries they may even specify the genders, like `2 females for the red team, unlimited for the blue team`
Category: might be anything, but examples would be Science Fiction, Drama, Dostojewski, Western, Musical, Opera, Without words or Without sound, or To Be Continued. For the latter one, the scene played by the first team is to be continued by the second team
Duration: a number of minutes, ranging from 20 minutes to 30 seconds

During the improvisation the referee walks though the scenes, and blows `faults` on a whistle. Possible faults would be: Dragging (slow play), Invalid number of players, Violation of the theme (or title), Confusion, Obstruction or Foul Play, Blocking, etc. Every fault is indicated by a particular gesture. When entering the theatre, the audience receives a `fault card` explaining which gesture indicates which fault. Fault can be awarded to an entire team, or to individual players. When a team collects 3 faults, the other team receives an extra point. When a player collects 3 personal faults, he or she is expelled from the game for 5 or 10 minutes.

Every member of the audience also receives a slipper. This can be thrown into the ring when the audience doesn`t like a scene, or even better, at the referee, whenever he or she makes an unpopular decision.

After each round the team captains may ask the referee for an explanation on the faults that were blown, and then the audience gets to vote. Every team has a color, and the audience gets colored cards to vote with.

After 3 30-minute rounds we know which team won the match. Finally, a celebrity or local hero gets to award `stars` to the 3 best players.

This is a very rigid format, in which just about anything, except the scenes themselves, are fixed. There is a whole protocol to be followed to play a match, and even the number of separated and mixed scenes is set in stone. The idea is that the rigidity of the format contrast well with the anything-is-possible con

The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing --- Publilius Syrus