Primary Focus: Physical Agreement, “Yes, And,” and Instant Justification.
Game Overview
Action and Justify is a paired exercise designed to train players to recognize physical movements as narrative offers and immediately provide a logical context for them. Rather than relying on verbal initiations, the game forces improvisers to find the meaning behind random physicality, ensuring both players align on the established reality of the scene from the very beginning.
Setup
Players: Pairs of actors.
Materials: None.
The Ask: None (completely free-form physical initiation).
How to Play
The Physical Offer: Player 1 steps into the space and initiates a clear, distinct physical action or posture without speaking.
The Justification: Player 2 instantly observes the movement and delivers a line of dialogue that justifies exactly what Player 1 is doing.
The Agreement: Player 1 vocally accepts Player 2’s justification (“Yes, And”) and adds a new piece of information to solidify the shared reality.
Execution Notes
Accept and Build: This exercise is a powerful tool for teaching the core “Yes, And” principle. One player makes a silent physical offer, and the other must fully accept it and build on it rather than ignoring or blocking the posture.
Immediate Commitment: The initiating player must completely embrace whatever justification their partner provides, adapting their original personal intent to match the newly established context.
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Author: Walt Frasier
With over 30 years of experience in theater, comedy, and television, Walt Frasier is the Artistic Director of Improv Theater LLC, a leading edutainment center known for its high-impact comedy shows and workshops. His extensive career includes performing comedy sketches on MTV’s Stankervision, Late Nite with David Letterman, TruTV’s Friends of the People, and HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay. As an actor, Walt has appeared on NBC’s Blacklist, CBS’s Blue Bloods, USA’s Royal Pains, Netflix’s Lilyhammer, and NICK’s Naked Brothers Band, in addition to numerous commercials, industrials, and live performances worldwide.
Improv Theater LLC is a one stop edutainment center for corporate team building, office / holiday parties and more. Our comedy shows and workshops deliver high impact results. Clients include Cushman Wakefield, Google, Merck, Mercedes Benz, META /Facebook, TikTok, JP Morgan Chase, Accenture, Morgan Stanley, Twitter, Roblox, Rimowa, EI Digital, Accenture, Datadog HQ, Milbank, BING/Microsoft, Bank of America – Merrill Lynch, Home Depot, Ernst & Young, Johnson & Johnson, Louis Vuitton, Coach, UBS, BDO, AMEX, Master Card, Macy’s, 360i, IBM, GM, Kraft, UNILEAVER, HBO, Disney, American Express, WeWork, Prudential, Convene, Conference Board and many more including 1000s of public and private events in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska….
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