[Ads-l] "yes and" improv(isation)

[Ben Zimmer]

>From 1984:

_Back Stage_, Aug. 24, 1984 [ProQuest]
"Tonight We Improvise! Creating Theatre On-The-Spot" by Ronn Mullen
p. 18, col. 3:
[Barbara] Contardi outlines the basics of improv, the rules of the games,
as it were, as: "Don't deny": Whatever reality is proposed by a partner
must be supported. "Yes, and...": Take a statement made by your partner,
agree to it and add some information of your own to further the scene.
p. 28, col. 1:
Establishment of place and character are skills taught; accepting
assumptions from the other performer and building on those assumptions
demonstrate the "yes, and..." technique.
p. 28, col. 2:
"Say 'yes, and...', embellish, add, expand the scene."


On Wed, Mar 9, 2022 at 2:03 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> Here's "yes-and" as a verb in 1987.
>
> https://archive.org/details/secondcitybacks00mccr/page/95/mode/1up
> Donna McCrohan, _The Second City: a backstage history of comedy's hottest
> troupe_ (1987), p. 95
> "Basically, as a director," says Don DePollo, who has appeared on the
> Second City stage, conducted workshops, and directed, "you _yes-and_, which
> is a term we use. You have to yes-and the actors and let them do their own
> material."
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 9, 2022 at 1:54 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> You can access Delton T. Horn's _Comedy Improvisation_ (1991) in full
>> view on Internet Archive. "Yes and" appears on pp. 18, 68, 69.
>>
>> https://archive.org/details/comedyimprovisat0000horn/page/18/mode/1up
>> https://archive.org/details/comedyimprovisat0000horn/page/68/mode/1up
>> https://archive.org/details/comedyimprovisat0000horn/page/69/mode/1up
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 9, 2022 at 1:43 PM Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> GB, 1991, yes and merely provisional:
>>>
>>>  <
>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=RK4RRWgC7FQC&q=rule+of+improv+yes+and&dq=rule+of+improv+yes+and&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZx8i_1bn2AhWsJUQIHYAfAhwQ6AF6BAgDEAI
>>> >
>>> Comedy Improvisation: Exercises & Techniques for Young Actors <
>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=RK4RRWgC7FQC&q=rule+of+improv+yes+and&dq=rule+of+improv+yes+and&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZx8i_1bn2AhWsJUQIHYAfAhwQ6AF6BAgDEAI
>>> >
>>> books.google.com › books <
>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=RK4RRWgC7FQC&q=rule+of+improv+yes+and&dq=rule+of+improv+yes+and&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZx8i_1bn2AhWsJUQIHYAfAhwQ6AF6BAgDEAI
>>> >
>>>
>>> Delton T. Horn<
>>> https://www.google.com/search?tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:Jan+1_2+1982,cd_max:Dec+31_2+1991&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Delton+T.+Horn%22&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZx8i_1bn2AhWsJUQIHYAfAhwQ9Ah6BAgDEAU>
>>> · 1991 · ‎Snippet view
>>> FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 68
>>> This rule is especially important in a character improv structure . ...
>>> Of course , an improvisation may be performed in any style , especially
>>> broad farce and absurdism , which are ... Instead of saying " No , ” say “
>>> Yes , and — .
>>>  <
>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=trn0lsct4g4C&q=rule+of+improv+yes+and&dq=rule+of+improv+yes+and&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZx8i_1bn2AhWsJUQIHYAfAhwQ6AF6BAgEEAI
>>> >
>>> Improv Comedy - Page 189 <
>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=trn0lsct4g4C&q=rule+of+improv+yes+and&dq=rule+of+improv+yes+and&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZx8i_1bn2AhWsJUQIHYAfAhwQ6AF6BAgEEAI
>>> >
>>> books.google.com › books <
>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=trn0lsct4g4C&q=rule+of+improv+yes+and&dq=rule+of+improv+yes+and&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZx8i_1bn2AhWsJUQIHYAfAhwQ6AF6BAgEEAI
>>> >
>>>
>>> Andy Goldberg<
>>> https://www.google.com/search?tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:Jan+1_2+1982,cd_max:Dec+31_2+1991&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Andy+Goldberg%22&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZx8i_1bn2AhWsJUQIHYAfAhwQ9Ah6BAgEEAU>
>>> · 1991 · ‎Snippet view
>>> FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 189
>>> One Sentence at a Time ( Two performers ) This scene has the same rules
>>> and setup as One Word at a Time except that , in this case , the performers
>>> may use only one sentence at a time . ... Review the exercises “ Yes , an
>>> Stephen G.
>>>
>>>

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