Something to be aware of when talking about a group is pace. Not pace in terms of how quickly people are talking or how high energy the scene is but the pace of the unusual things. When does the first unusual thing happen, and then how quickly does it heighten?

There’s no right answer. Some groups are fast — they put an unusual thing in the first line, then a tag-out in the 5th line; and they’ve moved to a new scene inspired by that in the 7th line.

Other groups like to really wait. Set a slow pace. Unusual thing just hinted at, then confirmed, then really confirmed. Heightened maybe once and then edited.

Neither one is better than the other; it’s just how the group plays.

Also, this “pace” is actually separate from the tempo of the scene. A scene can have two high energy characters adding lots of info – but if the funny/unusual part is advanced slowly — well, that’s still a slow scene, improv comedy wise.

Lots of members of groups wish their group played at different paces. It’s hard to DECIDE to play at a different pace than the group naturally falls at.

Here’s where forms can help. A monoscene tends to encourage a slower heightening than a montage where you’re allowed to tag-out. Or a decision to only have two person scenes for the first 3 or 4 scenes can slow down heightening.

Whatever happens, it’s easier to speed up than it is to slow down. Slowing down takes confidence at first and then smart choices later when you want your scenes to actually heighten now that you’ve been slow for a while.