The Gerbil
Where are we?
Description
This is a Game. It is in the following categories:
How it Works
Invent a silly dramatic story, and explain it to the audience. Classic example is the following: "After fixing the roof, Roger decided to clean the house, including the cage of Mary's gerbil. He put the animal in a frying pan, from which it escaped to the roof, where it got stuck in some fresh tar. Roger put it back in it's cage, where it got smothered by the fresh woodchips. Roger tried to use a solvent to clean the creature, but the solvent fumes cause the creature to die of a cardiac arrest. At that point Mary walks in".
This is when the scene starts: Roger needs to explain what happens, but as soon as the audience starts laughing Roger is replaced by another player who gets a new shot. The idea is to try and play the scene without getting the audience to laugh.
Notes
Don't stick to the gerbil story - you can invent any silly story for this game.
Origin
Attributed to Keith Johnstone and described in Impro for Storytellers .