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Improv Prompt Jar Basket
Play Basket

Improv Prompt Jar Basket

A jar of folded paper scenes, a box of hats and scarves, and a rug that is now a stage. Draw a prompt, count to three, and start - no script, no rehearsal, no getting it wrong.

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Ages 5-1015 min prepSave to Pinterest

My daughter loves performing and hates learning lines. The improv jar removed the second part entirely and she has not stopped since.

The rule that made it work is that nobody is allowed to say no. Whatever the other person says is true - if they say you are a dragon, you are a dragon, and the scene keeps going.

We now play it while dinner cooks. One prompt, two minutes, everyone in the kitchen. It is the cheapest good mood in this house.

The costume box: one item per scene, chosen blind.
The costume box: one item per scene, chosen blind.
A rug, a row of cushions, and a lamp for a spotlight.
A rug, a row of cushions, and a lamp for a spotlight.
The jar of folded prompts — pull one out and the scene starts.
The jar of folded prompts — pull one out and the scene starts.

What you'll need

  • A large jar or tin, and slips of paper for the prompts
  • A box of dressing-up bits: hats, scarves, sunglasses, a walking stick, an apron
  • A rug or a taped rectangle on the floor to mark the stage
  • A bell or a timer for starting and ending scenes - two minutes is the maximum
  • Cushions in a row for the audience
  • A notebook for writing down the good lines afterwards, because they are always forgotten
  • Optional: a storytelling card deck, for prompts on days nobody can think of any
  • Optional: a lamp or torch aimed at the rug, as a spotlight

How to make it

  1. 1

    Write twenty prompts together on slips of paper. Two people plus a place plus a problem is the reliable formula.

  2. 2

    Fold them all and put them in the jar. Let them write at least half - theirs are always stranger and better.

  3. 3

    Set the three rules out loud: say yes to everything, never talk over each other, and end when the bell rings.

  4. 4

    Draw a prompt, read it out, count to three and start. No planning time at all - the planning is what kills it.

  5. 5

    Play the first scene yourself with them so they see an adult being ridiculous. This is the whole unlock.

  6. 6

    Let each scene run up to two minutes and ring the bell to end it, even mid-sentence. Short scenes stay funny.

  7. 7

    Add one costume item per scene, chosen blind from the box before the prompt is read.

  8. 8

    Afterwards, write the best line of the day in the notebook and read the old ones out before you start next time.

Tip

The two-minute bell is not optional. Scenes that run long turn into arguing about what happens next. And go first yourself - a parent willing to be a talking sheep buys about an hour of enthusiasm.

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