1 to 5: One Minute to Five Seconds, How to play Improv Games

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• Category: Scene Work, Pacing, Focus, Compression
• CLICK HERE to download PDF

How To Play

One Minute to Five Seconds

• Setup:
  • Have two players start offstage.
  • The MC (teacher) sits just offstage.
• Optional MC Set Up (with Audience Volunteer Timer):
  • “We need an audience volunteer with a watch or timer on their phone.” (The MC can also simply time the scene, but a volunteer adds a fun, interactive element.)
  • “Your job is to let the players and audience know when ONE minute is up. Throw your hand in the air and make a loud, crazy sound. Let me see you practice that. OK, GO!”
• Game Play:
  • To begin, when told to start, two or more players simply perform a one-minute scene. They should make bold WHO, WHERE, and WHAT choices at the top of the scene.
  • The scene will stop when the MC or the volunteer calls “AND SCENE!” (or the volunteer makes their designated sound).
  • The MC will now call for the exact same scene to play again, but in HALF that time (30 seconds).
  • This process is repeated, doing the scene in 15 seconds, 10 seconds, and finally 5 seconds.
• Tips for MC/Teachers:
  • When working with audience volunteers as timers, you can playfully “mess” with them on their “END OF SCENE” performance (e.g., coaching them to be louder or more dramatic). Have fun with it, but don’t make them feel bad about themselves; keep the tone light and silly, never mean.

Tricks & Variations

Here are some tips and variations for teachers leading “One Minute to Five Seconds”:

• Emphasize Compression: Guide players to identify the core WHO, WHAT, and WHERE of the scene and focus on delivering only the most essential information and actions as the time decreases.
• Physicality is Key: As dialogue shrinks, encourage players to use stronger, clearer physicality to convey information quickly.
• Focus on the “Game”: If the scene has a clear comedic or emotional “game,” prompt players to get to that core interaction more quickly with each iteration.
• Debrief: After the game, discuss with students what they noticed about how the scene changed with less time. What did they keep? What did they lose? How did their choices change?

Benefits

“One Minute to Five Seconds” offers several key benefits for students:

• Enhances Focus and Presence: Demands intense concentration to distill and perform a scene under strict time constraints.
• Boosts Communication and Connection: Players must communicate their intentions and react to their partners quickly and efficiently, strengthening their scene-work connection.
• Fosters a Lighthearted Atmosphere: The rapid-fire nature and the challenge of condensing a scene create a fun, energetic, and often hilarious experience.
• Develops Pacing and Editing Skills: Teaches players how to make choices quickly, cut non-essential information, and get to the heart of a scene.
• Improves Boldness: Encourages players to make strong, clear choices from the outset as they have less time to establish context.

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