Heightening: Do Both Vertical and Horizontal
Repeat the pattern, Tell the story
Today I’m publishing two essays. A niche topic for the paid subscribers (“Let’s Get Rid of The Pattern Game”) and this one for the free subscribers. Even though the subject of this one (“heightening”) seems abstract, I think it’s more accessible! We’ll see!
Two Types Of Heightening
Once you get a game in your improv scene, the thing to do is to HEIGHTEN. That’s where you play the pattern again, hopefully in a more and more absurd way.
I observe two broad categories of heightening: what I’m calling VERTICAL and HORIZONTAL.
VERTICAL heightening is where you basically do the same thing again, but MORE. Everyone does vertical heightening. It’s simple and fun. But it can be limiting.
HORIZONTAL heightening is where you flesh out the world around where the pattern is born. What’s the story here? What else is going on because of this pattern? Not enough people do this!
The UCB Theatre teaches “heighten and explore.” “Explore” is basically what I mean by “Horizontal.” For some reason, “vertical” and “horizontal” work better for my brain.
Let’s say the game is a bank teller is giving her customers unsolicited advice about their personal lives. They say something like “Okay, your checking account is all set up, and also, if I may say, you sound like the kind of person who needs to stand up for himself more. You probably date jerks.”
Vertical Heightening: Play the Pattern
VERTICAL heightening would be:
The teller keeps giving more and more personal advice to this same customer,
Maybe we see a line of customers, and we see the teller give each of them advice.
Maybe we go to other tellers, and they are also getting too involved in their customers’ lives.
You play the pattern, repeating what happened before in a more absurd way.
Horizontal: Say Why
HORIZONTAL heightening expands the story around the game, so we can find more ways to play it.
Most common type of horizontal heightening, and the easiest to remember, to give a WHY. The teller might say “You know that here at First Mutual we pride ourselves on the personal touch.” That gives us a method to the madness. It humanizes the behavior.
The trick is to USE the why. If that’s the why, what else if the bank doing to give a personal touch? Could be more than just advice. Maybe they customize their pens. Maybe they bug their clients phones to learn more about them, for the sake of being a better bank.
Horizontal: Ripple Effect
You can also do what I’ve heard described as a RIPPLE EFFECT. If the game is a pebble in the water, think of what effects are happening elsewhere in the world.
We see a married couple having an argument and one says “maybe we should talk to a bank teller.”
Or we see a finance professor at a university telling his graduate students that for their final exam they need to assess the performance of the stock market, and also demonstrate empathy for someone’s love life.
The Wall Street Journal has a love advice columnist
This is horizontal heightening. Take the initial pattern and use to expand the world. If you don’t do horizontal heightening, your scenes won’t last more than 2 minutes after finding an unusual thing.
Horizontal Heightening Is Still Playing Game
Horizontal heightening can feel a lot like plot and thus be discouraged by “game” centered improv classes. But plot is okay if you take the game with you.
Like, if a bank teller gives advice to a customer, so we follow the customer home where he’s telling his wife they need to visit a bank teller together. Technically, you’ve followed plot. But the game is still there.
“Horizontal” Second Beats
Let’s get extremely niche. My apologies to any normal readers.
Horizontal and vertical heightening is separate from “time dash” or “analogous” second beats in a Harold. You can do vertical or horizontal heightening in either case. It basically has to do if you’re just repeating a pattern (vertical) or expanding the world/story (horizontal),
First beat: A bank teller is giving overly personal advice to the customer. They say it’s because this bank values the personal touch.
Analogous second beat, vertical: The Fed Chairman is raising interest rates, and also says Americans need to be having better sex with their partners. It’s a similar interaction to the first beat, heightened.
Analogous second beat, horizontal: A married couple has come to an investment analysis about their bad sex life. It’s not exactly the pattern of the first beat, but it’s playing the same game.
Time dash second beat, vertical: The same customer from the first beat is applying for a mortgage. Mortgage banker wants a list of past five romantic relationships as references for emotional stability of the customer. It’s the same customer, having a very similar interaction.
Time dash second beat, horizontal: The customer from the first beat is home talking to his wife, and says that if they want to save for retirement, they need to start taking each other on date nights again. We’re expanding the world.
Time dash second beat, horizontal (different): The customer from the first beat is at a book club. They’re reading “Fifty Shades of Grey.” He just wants to speculate on all the crazy investments he imagine the characters being eligible for, since their relationship is so fiery.
I’m sure you have opinions on my examples! Let’s hear them in the comments.
Plugs, Fresh
The Sober Show - This is a monthly show I do at the UCB Theatre with other sober improvisers. We improvise scenes inspired by stories of drunken behavior — both our stories and ones that the audience volunteers. THIS SHOW SELLS OUT so if you want to go buy tickets in advance. Sunday Nov 19th 7pm.
Plugs, Ongoing
Screw It, We’re Just Gonna Talk About Comics - Comic book podcast, hosted by my brother Kevin and I. We are preparing to do a series on legendary comics writer Keith Giffen!
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.
Examples are perfect, no notes.
Why do you think people are mostly doing vertical heightening? Is this about being less familiar with horizontal, or is something going wrong when they are being taught?
Wow, it’s been 10 years since I’ve done any improv but this article really helped me understand some of the frustrations I had with heightening. I always felt like people expected vertical heightening and groups would abandon something fun in a game because it wasn’t ’what we’re supposed to do’. Putting this out there made something click and reminded me what’s fun about improv. Thanks!