Monopoly is a Game
So I’ve been looking into improv philosophy a little deeper while I have some free time at work. I found this via Improvoker, a blog on Improv. The quote itself is by Anthony King, Artistic Director at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater. Needless to say, I found this quote fascinating enough to post.
Monopoly is a game.
We use the pattern of moving pieces around the board to play that game.
That pattern in and of itself is not very interesting.
But the pattern serves the game. It moves it forward. It lets us find more fun.
The fun is in what we DO in that game. It’s WHY we’re playing it.
You can play it fast. Or slow. You can spend time in jail. Or you can work as hard as you can to buy up all the railroads.
That’s your choice.
Because monopoly is a game.
Game is what we play.
If something is funny, it has a game.
Pattern is how we play it.
We use patterns to explore and heighten the game.
Choice is up to the individual player.
At UCBT we teach people to make strong choices at the top of their intelligence and then to commit to those choices.
Strong, committed choices show off your sense of play and sense of humor. They bring your ideas to the group mind.
Then everyone gets to play and enjoy and support each others ideas.
You can make a pattern out of anything. But if it’s not a pattern serving a strong game – it’ll be boring.
Just like Sorry.
That’s a terrible game.
This is some material to present to the improv classes in the Fall at RIT, for sure. It is SO VITAL that a pattern be recognized in a scene or the potential for blocking and lost scenes is increased. Nobody wants a scene that goes nowhere, because that’s just not funny.