One of the most confusing notes in improv is “give us a why.”
What it means is: that scene was not emotionally relatable. A “why” is whatever makes the audience understand the human motivation for the action.
Three common types of “whys”
you are mapping a different behavior
you have twisted logic
what you’re doing is, at its core, completely normal - you’re just doing it 1000%
Mapping
Example: Let’s say the suggestion for the show is “spider” and a group scene starts where someone comes out and says “Hey, good news, the company is giving out spiders!” And everyone cheers and starts playing with invisible spiders.
I could easily imagine this scene working. Silly, simple, fun.
But then the teacher might ask “So why was everyone glad to have spiders?”
Probably, the players don’t really know why their characters loved spiders. They’re just treating the spiders as if they are an unspecified good thing — like they were given a piece of chocolate cake, or $100, or a free car. I call this mapping.
(I actually personally like the term “as if” better but no one remembers “as if” and they DO remember the word “mapping.”)
For a short scene, this kind of vague mapping is fine. But what if the scene continues? You need to get more specific as to what the spiders really mean.
We cut to the home of one of the workers and they are telling their spouse “Guess what, sweetheart? Today at work, we got free spiders!” What if we cut to a dinner date at a restaurant and someone is saying “Happy Anniversary, here’s a spider.” Is that a big deal or not?
Generally, if all the players are committing to the scene, we will get a sense of what it means in this world to be given a spider.
Twisted Logic
Mapping is best in a “weird world” where everyone is acting odd in the same way.
But if it’s just one person being odd in a group of normal people, you could use twisted logic.
Example: You’re playing a character who is offered a free first class plane ticket, and you turn it down, saying you prefer to fly coach.
When asked “why” you answer with twisted logic: “No one on the plane will like me if they see me in first class. If I sit in coach, I will be loved.”
There’s a germ of truth in there, but it’s twisted. But that’s enough to make the decision to turn down a first class ticket relatable.
You can also call this “philosophy” or even “point of view.”
Real, But Heightened
Many times, it’s not the behavior that’s strange, but the intensity.
Like if someone gets a birthday cake, and starts going absolutely nuts with joy, you might wonder why they like birthday cake SO MUCH.
But here’s a weird thing: you never need to explain intensity in a comedy scene. If you are just doing a bigger version of a normal thing, than it is relatable.
If you are screaming with joy over a birthday cake and someone says “why are you screaming about this birthday cake” you can just go “because cake is good” and the audience will be satisfied.
Heightening: Keep The Why
In the above examples, it’s almost not necessary to analyze the “why.” It feels natural. The characters have simple emotionally relatable reasons for what they are doing.
The trouble comes when you heighten. That’s where you really need to consciously know the “why” behind things.
Like say you start with that scene where a company is giving out free spiders as a company bonus, and everyone loves it.
And then someone tags in and is giving a spider as a precious anniversary gift.
…And then someone tags and is using a spider to… disarm a bomb.
At that point a coach might stop the scene a go “Disarm a bomb? Wait, what does a ‘spider’ mean?”
The players have lost track of the mapping, or the “why.”
Or let’s take the example of someone who turns down a first-class ticket for a coach. He said it was because he wanted to be loved by the other passengers.
Someone might tag in and make it so this guy is trading his business suit for some ragged old clothes.
And then someone else tags in and makes it so he’s throwing away his iPhone in favor of an old wristwatch.
…And then someone tags in and make him buying a pair of shoes and asking for glass shards to be put in the soles.
I would say that last one is way off. It doesn’t make sense, given the twisted logic of “being loved.” The first two fit — we see the guy rejecting status symbols. But then with the glass in the shoes he’s just punishing himself… and it no longer makes emotional sense.
Ugh, it’s a real headache to analyze.
Justification
At UCBT, the term “justification” is used. A teacher would say “you need to justify that behavior.”
“Justification,” as an idea, got codified in the UCBT sometime in the mid 2000s. I believe this was because the UCB approach to “game of the scene” was producing scenes that were so unusual they were no longer relatable, and students needed to consciously tie their scenes back to reality with an explanation.
Like, if a boxer wants to fight while refusing to throw a punch — that’s unusual. But if he says “I read a biography of Mahatma Gandhi, and I now believe non-violence is the best way to defeat anyone.” Now the behavior is justified.
But once we had a term for it, people starting justifying too much, too hard. It was also too often verbal.
Teachers would ask students “do you understand WHY your character is doing the weird thing?” and you’d get back an overwrought backstory about parents forcing their kids to do something weird.
Sometimes you’re going nuts for birthday cake because cake is good, and that’s enough.
The real lesson is to stay emotionally committed, and don’t do something that you can’t imagine your character doing.
Plugs, Fresh
Empathy and Point of View Class in London — My improv cohort Jim Woods is teaming up with Mike OT (they are both co-founders of the awesome London improv theater the Free Association) to teach some intensives in London the first two weeks of July. It’s called “Empathy and Point of View” - four all-day sessions for 250 pounds. This will be an intense, challenging, and awesome course and I wish I could take it! There’s a weekday one (July 1 - July 4) and a weekend one (July 6, 7 and July 13, 14). Payment plans available. Email lorhri@gmail.com for info or to register.
Plugs, Ongoing
Screw It, We’re Just Gonna Talk About Comics - Comic book podcast, hosted by my brother Kevin and I. We just finished the Bendis/Bagley run of Ultimate Spider-Man.
Clubhouse Fridays - WGIS’ weekly improv show. Fridays 7pm at The Clubhouse. Free!
The World’s Greatest Improv School: The improv school I run with Jim Woods and Sarah Claspell. We’ve got classes online, in LA and even a few in NYC!
How to Be The Greatest Improviser On Earth - My improv book, available at Amazon. Kindle or print. It’s a hodge-podge of advice I wrote in 2016 about doing improv. If you’re broke and want a free PDF version just email me and I’ll send it over.
Yasss I have struggled with this for weeks 😩 so simple and clear.
This really helps the idea of making something make sense, make sense.