Before we talk about the formats, we start with the foundation. If you aren’t living these, the show (and the project) will fall apart in five minutes.
The Three #1s
- My #1 Rule: Have Fun, But Never at another’s Expense.
- Improv #1 Rule: “YES, AND…”
- #1 Skill in Comedy: Listening (With the Willingness to Change).
Once these are in your bones, you’re ready for Long-Form. Long-form isn’t just a series of quick jokes; it’s a marathon. It’s about building a shared world from nothing and trusting your partners enough to let the story find itself.
Here are five formats that turn a group of individuals into a high-performing unit.
1. The Armando
Named after the legend Armando Diaz, this is the ultimate “truth” format. It starts with an authentic, personal story—a monologue. No characters, no bits, just a human being telling a true story.
The Ninja Move: The team listens like hawks for the essence of the story. They don’t re-enact it; they “Yes, And” the themes, the emotions, and the weird little details. It teaches your team to find the “gifts” in what someone is actually saying, rather than just waiting for their turn to talk.
2. The Harold
The granddaddy of long-form. It’s a complex tapestry of three separate scenes that eventually weave together into a single, cohesive world.
The Ninja Move: This is the death of the ego. You have to keep track of what’s happening in everyone else’s scenes. You’re looking for patterns, callbacks, and connections. It proves that when everyone is focused on making their partner look like a genius, the whole project becomes a masterpiece that no one person could have planned.
3. The Living Room
This format starts with the team just sitting around, having a real conversation. It looks like a group of friends on a Saturday night. Then, scenes explode out of that conversation and return back to it.
The Ninja Move: This is about deep, empathetic observation. You aren’t “performing”; you’re being. It trains leaders to stay in “The Zone”—present and focused—even when the conversation feels casual. You’re catching the “scratch” in the talk before it becomes the “gash” in the scene.
4. The Movie
The team takes a genre (Film Noir, Western, Sci-Fi) and improvises an entire three-act “film” on the spot, complete with cinematic transitions and “camera angles.”
The Ninja Move: This is about shared vision. You have to “Yes, And” the physical environment so perfectly that the audience actually “sees” the imaginary set. It’s the ultimate expression of collaborative world-building. If I say we’re on a spaceship, we’re on a spaceship—and you better know where the airlock is.
5. The Slacker
This format uses “organic transitions.” One person leaves a scene, a new person enters, and the location and characters shift seamlessly based on a single word or physical movement.
The Ninja Move: This is the “inner jogging” of improv. It’s high-energy and requires total presence. You have to be ready to pivot at a moment’s notice. It’s the antidote to the “substitute teacher” leadership style—you can’t just follow a script. You have to react to the truth of the person standing in front of you.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re playing a Harold or leading a multi-million dollar project, the goal is the same: Make your partner look good. When you stop being a critic and start being a builder, the “plateau” disappears. You’re either growing or you’re slipping. These formats are the weights we lift to make sure we’re always moving up.
