Gorilla Theatre
Where are we?
Description
This is a Game. It is in the following categories:
How it Works
This format is played with 3 experienced players, one MC and another player, dressed up as a Gorilla. The Gorilla is the prize to be won; the best player of the evening gets to spend a week with the Gorilla, and of course this is quite a privilege!
The Gorilla enters with last week's winning player (real or faked). The MC explains that the score for the evening will be counted by means of bananas; the player that end up with most bananas at the end of the game wins another week with the Gorilla.
The audience is trained to 'vote' by yelling 'Banana' (for a good performance) or something else, like 'Die' or 'Forfeit' for a bad performance.
Each scene is then played by 2 players, and directed by the third. The beauty of it all is the fact that not the players are judged by the audience, but the director.
Players take turns directing, and after each game the audience either awards the director a banana, or a forfeit. Bananas are pinned on a scoreboard, or pinned onto the winning player's costume - cardboard bananas are preferable in the latter case.
A forfeit is like a punishment for a poorly directed scene. Possible forfeits might be calling your mom and explaining why you've been such a lousy director, or having to sing a song about your bad scene. A list of Gorilla forfeits can be found in the Lists section on Improvland .
The director gets to choose the scene or the game to be played. Perhaps a list of games to be played this night is on the stage, and directors can write their names next to the games they want to direct. The director directs the scene, gives players side-coachings, can interrupt the scene, introduce tilts or make the players repeat (part of) the scene. To ensure that bad scenes don't drag on forever, or to prevent directors to play tons of 30-second scenes in order to improve their chances, certain troupes limit the amount of time for directing to like 20 minutes per player.
This format can be played with or without attributes and props. The Gorilla might even be used as a prop, or even as a player, although the Gorilla should not try and steal the show. The Gorilla is a player, so he too should be prepared to take risks, and he's supposed to be naughty.
This is a fairly advanced format, as the players not only need to play well, they also need enough insight to effectively direct scenes. This is also a rather nice format, as players are not rewarded; 2 players playing well together generate a banana for the director, and this way the format prevents competition between the players.
Origin
Attributed to Keith Johnstone , and described in Impro for Storytellers .