Intentionality

is it okay to do things on purpose?

“Hines and You” improv show - Comedy Bar Danforth, 5/23/26

Improvisers describe themselves as playing either “game” or “relationship.” It’s a false choice and a dumb way to put it, but this terminology sticks.

A better way to differentiate improv styles: how INTENTIONAL is your improv?

We describe game versus relationship something like this:

Game focuses on unusual things, patterns and heightening. That’s UCB style. Relationship makes choices about the dynamic between characters, and assumes good things will follow. That’s “Chicago” style.

But here’s what this looks like in practice:

• game players steer, and

• relationship players avoid steering

That’s not built into the way these different types of improv are taught, but that’s what seems to happen.

A Week In Toronto

I thought of this last week when teaching in Toronto. I taught / coached six sessions for 21 hours total. Many players were new, many were seasoned. Most had trained at multiple improv schools: Second City, Bad Dog, Assembly, iO, UCB and others.

In general, there was not too much “game of the scene” training.

The classes had lots of passionate students who loved improv and were excited to try new things. It was really fun. There lots of hanging out before and after classes talking improv, and sharing stories of teachers and shows that people liked. It was an improv nerd party.

I got asked many times: “what do you notice about Toronto improv?” I didn’t see enough to really know. But I can say what I noticed about the 70 people I saw over 21 hours while in the city of Toronto.

My impression was this: people were very hesitant to steer the scene.

Like, they didn’t want to break from the pack. Scenes tended to be “we’re all in this together” weird world scenes.

There was terrific agreement at the top. People reflexively accepted each other’s choices. They also treated everything as if it were emotionally important even before they knew what was going on. This made for really pleasing beginnings.

Then people would not make things specific. There would be no “why” and no philosophy. People did not want to challenge things that might not make sense. They would assume it would get explained later, but it often would not.

Happy Strange Worlds

So you’d have happy strange worlds that would dead end.

I am making this example up, and it’s a bit exaggerated, but something like this. Say the suggestion is “pocket.”

Dad: “Honey, I got new blue jeans today.”

Mom: “Oh dear, I’m so happy for you! Let me see!”

Dad: (spins around) “And that’s not all. I got you a pair too.”

Mom: “For me? Why, I’m the happiest girl in all of Jeansville.”

Dad: “That’s my girl!” (hug)

(improviser enters) Kid: “Daddy! Are we all getting jeans?”

Dad: “You betcha!” (throws a pair)

(improviser enters) Dog: “Woof!”

Dad: “Roscoe, I couldn’t forget you! Here’s some doggy jeans!” (throws a pair, dog improviser dances)

(edit)

Fun. But also hard to sustain.

It’s very funny to give notes after a happy absurd scene like this. You are such a truly annoying buzzkill to say “But what do jeans MEAN in this world? Is that like a luxury car or a box of chocolates? Also, why is the town called Jeansville if no one has jeans?”

Again, I’m talking about folks who have studied at different schools playing together for the first time with a teacher they don’t know. I’m SURE there was caution in people’s play because folks didn’t want to be impolite to strangers! And the scenes were not all like this.

But I did see this type of scene several times in several groups/classes.

Doubt First, Agree Later

The scenes I see in Los Angeles are different. There’s a lot of frankly pretty bad agreement at the top of scenes. Everyone is so ready to put a spin on things they forget to simply accept and say yes. And things are unimportant until proven otherwise.

It’s a “I’ll say yes once you’ve earned it” vibe.

But players DO notice holes in logic. They do offer personal thoughts and takes. They impose opinions and philosophies onto others. They have NO fear of breaking off from the pack and calling stuff out. You can feel a grounded intelligent world in these scenes.

Here’s a version of the blue jeans scene that I might expect to see in a level four class here in Los Angeles.

Dad: “Honey, I got new blue jeans today.”

Mom: (shrugs) “Okay. And?”

Dad: “Well, you know, I’ve been saving up for them! Like we talked about!”

Mom: “Oh right. You grew up in a family that never had jeans.”

Dad: “Right. Because of religion.”

Mom: “I always forget that. Your religious family (huge pause) Anyway. Did you bring me what I asked for?”

Dad: “I only got you jeans. “

Mom: “Dear, why would you do that? I need medicine for my cancer!”

Dad: “I forgot.”

(edit)

And the notes for this type of scene are like this: “Why don’t these people like each other? And how come they don’t know anything about each other?” Prickly characters, ready to pounce on mistakes.

But the world of the scene feels pleasantly grounded. The players seem ready to speak their minds.

Maybe YOU’RE Weird

In both LA and Toronto, I saw a common tendency for players to point out unusual things in other characters before themselves.

Like, people are faster to go “Wow, that’s weird how you do [THAT WEIRD THING]” before they might say “By the way, I do [THIS WEIRD THING].”

So I run my “be a fool” exercises.

In LA, these exercises have been pretty successful at least as far as creating scenes that the class enjoys doing and watching.

In Toronto, though students eagerly tried them, it felt a bit more like a chore. Maybe making yourself a “fool” feels like you’re breaking away from the group. Maybe, compared to a weird happy world, it feels selfish. Or maybe I just explained the exercise badly!

Other Toronto Things

I talked about these observations with a few of the groups and it was really fun to hear everyone’s thoughts. It felt like everyone has studied with many different teachers and so everyone has their own individualized version of improv, drawn from many places.

Thanks to Alfred Chow who helped me set up my workshops! He is not responsible for any dumb ideas I may have said on this page! Thank you Alfred!

I also got to do a few shows while I was there.

Thanks to Gary at Comedy Bar for letting me and Lindsey Mullan be part of Catch-23, which is (sort of) a short form competition show. I was very nervous. But Lindsey led the scenes and the audience was really supportive and great.

Also thanks to Comedy Bar Danforth for letting me do “Hines and You” where I improvised with anyone who got on stage. I was inspired by (i.e. was copying) the show I’ve seen Scott Adsit do in NYC. Lots of students from my classes went. It was a surprisingly cooperative and orderly show.

Comedy Bang Bang backstage | Toronto 5/25/26

And I got to perform with Comedy Bang Bang the final night. Truly the happiest and most fun improv show I get to do, for the best audiences.

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Plugs

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