Artful Making: What Managers Need to Know About How Artists Work

so he doesn’t see what’s going on in the scene, then tell George

and Emily to play cribbage instead of kissing. When Dennis

gets the signal, he enters, expecting to be shocked and

enraged, only to discover an innocent card game. His surprise,

thus Polonius’s, is genuine, his reaction unpredictable. The

improvisation yields a fresh and stimulating action, full of new

information the actors and director can use.

Building Improvisational Capability:

Being in “Present Time”

In each of these cases, the director has helped the actors

by placing them in what we call “present time.” As they

become more and more accustomed to these kinds of surpris-

es, actors ...