Improv Invocation (Opening)
A ritual opening. The players 'invoke' the suggestion as an object of worship, building in intensity: 'It is…', 'You are…', 'Thou art…', moving from plain literal description up through metaphor to mythic, poetic exaltation. Voices overlap and answer each other, and the word is turned over, praised and mythologised until its themes glow. It's a high-commitment, high-poetry opening that mines a suggestion for deep associations rather than jokes. It teaches escalation, group listening and the courage to be earnest and lyrical on stage. Because it climbs from the literal to the mythic, it surfaces themes a jokier opening would skip — perfect fuel for a rich, resonant show.
🎓 Tips
Build in stages, don't start at the top. Coach the climb from literal ("it is red") through metaphor to myth — the escalation is the form. Earnestness over jokes. The invocation only works if players commit to genuine, lyrical praise — undercutting it with a gag collapses the ritual. Listen and answer, don't just take turns. Teach players to build on the previous line's image, so the group ascends together rather than in parallel.
Spotted a mistake, a missing variant, a better way to run it? Change it.