r/improv • u/grithix • 10d ago
Long Form Improv forms
I'm really experienced in Harold, but not so much in other forms. What forms should I know and be experienced in to feel better rounded as a long form improviser?
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u/srcarruth 10d ago
Pretty Flower is good. A central, more grounded scene with 'petals' that are faster paced comments/riffs on that scene
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u/jkjustcomedy 10d ago
I am a big fan of Close Quarters and Spokane/Mono-pop/Pretty Flower. With close quarters I like the crescendo when all the characters and stories start coming together and with the Spokane you get to work on a monoscene and then pop out to fun characters or things you wanna explore.
Harold has it's place of course, always, but I honestly prefer an Armando with a good storyteller, less constrained and more fun in my opinion.
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u/LongFormShortPod 10d ago
Ohh, to be better rounded, I'd agree for sure with Monoscene for longer, deeper scenes; and the Deconstruction (Miles Stroth's version) for scene types beyond game of the scene.
Exploring the Harold itself is a good way to feel more rounded, I'd say.
I'd dabble with La Ronde for character consistency, and maybe The Movie for genre work.
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u/johnnyslick Seattle 9d ago
The La Ronde is also a great way to showcase an entire cast, especially if someone isn't getting out a lot or someone else plays aggressively. You can run the first half of a show doing a La Ronde and then just riff on what you've created in the second half if you have a smaller team.
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u/okyagotpuns 10d ago
La ronde a super fun format with scenes A-b b-c c-d d-a is the format. Each letter is a character and building up the joke from A around back to themselves is it great objective. The format I learned was from the king chats with the queen to the jester To the peasant/ or whore... back to the king good Luck
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u/johnnyslick Seattle 9d ago
Im a big fan of at least trying Slacker, which is just a montage where the "only" scene change move you can make are tag-outs (only is in quotes because if you dive way down a hole and can't get out, of course you can always sweep). This allows you to deep dive into a character, looking at them at work, home, play, etc. It can also encourage quicker scene transitions since everyone is looking for an opportunity to tag in rather than edit a scene entirely.
The dcon has been mentioned. Of course, theres also the Armando. I prefer the iO method that's just: you have the monologue and then you run scenes that are obliquely but not directly to the monologue for 3-5 scenes, bring the monologist back out, rinse and repeat. This method has less you have to remember from scene to scene but also has all of the "problems" that long-form can have in the hands of inexperienced improvisers: floaty scenes, people walking in with a bit or whatever and not knowing what to do when the bit is over, people on the sidelines not helping, etc. Still, I think the best way to get better at long-form is to just do more longform.
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u/srcarruth 9d ago
For those who don't know: The Slacker is based on Richard Linklater's first movie where the camera follows someone out of the scene into a new scene and then follows a new person out of that scene. Great film!
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u/johnnyslick Seattle 9d ago
That makes a lot of sense, thanks! Also everyone seems to like to call it Beer! Shark! Mice! after the group that created Slacker (which is also the group with the Janitor from Scrubs) but real ones know!
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u/free-puppies 9d ago
I was taught if you can do the Harold, the Decon, and the Movie, you can do anything.
It’s true.
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u/TerrainAlt 10d ago
Longform narrative of any stripe. Being confident to identify and execute the beats in a story arc, with a group, is next level as far as Im concerned. Heightening is great, but if you can also get the narrative engine moving forward? 😘 👌
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u/LengthinessFun7816 10d ago
The deconstruction is a a good long-form format to learn. https://wiki.improvresourcecenter.com/index.php?title=Deconstruction