How does IO Work?
First 35 teams who register may participate.
Each school may submit 1 team of 3-5 team
members.
Teams need to consist of at least 1 member of the
opposite gender
All team members must be initiated Thespians
(numbers submitted at registration)
How IO works (continued)
Teams should look at the rules for the 6 potential
games (posted on-line and emailed to captain) and
practice/be familiar with all of them.
Teams will play 1 Head-to-Head game on Thursday
night (late night activity) and 2 Scene games on
Saturday.
Teams that receive full Superior Ratings may be
asked to perform at the IE showcase on Saturday.
Ratings
Teams are rated in the following areas
The ability to work together
The ability to understand and follow the rules to the games
Complete structure
CORE (Character, Objective, Relationship, Environment)
NO denial or brownbagging
TEAMS ARE NOT COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER
Conference Schedule
Thursday night – 3-5 teams will play on of the Headto-Head games. The goal is to entertain the audience.
The host will get audience suggestions and call
‘scene’.
Saturday morning – Teams will go into their
scheduled room 1 at a time and play on of the Scene
games. Once in the room they should stay and be
audience members for the rest of the teams. The
host will get audience suggestions but teams are
responsible for calling ‘scene’ on their own scene
(host will call if team has gone over time).
Start Packet
Make sure you look at
the Start Packet on line
for more details and
general tips for improv.
Gripe Concerto
(Head-to-Head Thursday night)
Players from the teams playing in that round will
mix themselves up in a line like so:
ABCABCABCABC
The host/conductor will get suggestions for
things each of the players hate.
As the conductor points to a player they
complain about their object/subject.
Tips to Gripes
Make sure you pay attention to the conductor –
they will determine how long and how big (or
small) you should be complaining.
Since Environment is not really an important
aspect to the game, it is important that players
use their facial expressions and gestures to help
create interest in their complaining
Post-It Pronto
(Head-to-Head Thursday night)
Locations, occupations, and objects will be written
down on Post-it notes (Thursday during the
conference).
They are then stuck to the walls, stage, other items
on the stage.
Two players from opposing sides hope in, pick up the
closest post-it to them, read the suggestion aloud,
and then play a short (30-45 second) scene.
Repeat until all players have gone.
Tips to Post-It Pronto
Practice 3 Line Scene Drill – it’ll really help you
with this game.
Scenes need to be short and sweet
Yes Anding is very important
Don’t deny – it’ll only hurt you in this game
Aesop’s Fables
(Scene game Saturday morning)
Each player is given a different animal to portray
and the team pulls a question (created during
the conference on Friday) for the fable.
The scene begins when the narrator (one of the
players) starts with “When the Earth was
young…”
The ‘animals’ self-narrate throughout the action
Tips for Aesop’s Fables
Character and Relationship need to be
established 1st – then explore Objective.
Give and Take is also very important in this game.
This game allows for exploration of Environment
and Objective
Creation Myth
(Scene game Saturday morning)
Players will act out the story of how some
ordinary object (suggested by the audience) was
created.
The story is played out in 3 stages: life before the
object, creation of the object, and after the
object.
One player provides narration between the 3
scenes.
Tips for Creation Myth
Don’t forget your time limit of 6 minutes
Strong Environment is helpful in this scene game.
The narrator needs to be someone who is good at
helping with transitions and gifting.
Dire Consquences
(Scene game Saturday morning)
The audience provides a mundane action and a
cataclysmic event.
The players then need to play a scene that starts
with the mundane action and eventually leads to
the cataclysmic event.
Tips for Dire
Consequences
Yes anding is very important – players need to
agree in order to build a scene that leads to the
final event.
Environment is also important – use it to your
advantage.
Themed Restaurant
(Scene game Saturday morning)
Two players enter as ‘diners’ of a restaurant
based on a theme given by the audience.
The other player(s) enter in and out of the scene
as the wait staff.
Environment is given as 2 chairs and a table.
Tips to Themed Restaurant
Establish CORE quickly
Exploit the ‘theme as much as possible
Restaurant customers should not forget to
create characters as well (why would they pick a
themed restaurant like this?)