Improv Pattern Game (Opening)
A word-association opening for a Harold or montage. The group starts from the suggestion and riffs in waves — a word, an image, an opinion, a short heightened run — finding the themes, viewpoints and games that will fuel the scenes to come. It's not a scene and not a story: it's a collective brainstorm performed out loud, mined for material. Taught on its own, it's the single most useful longform skill. Players learn to free-associate without judging, to spot when a run is heating up and heighten it, and to leave the opening carrying a handful of clear themes rather than a blank mind. A strong pattern game makes the whole show that follows possible.
🎓 Tips
Associate freely, don't try to be clever. Coach the first honest link — the opening feeds on volume and truth, not wit. Heighten the hot runs. Teach players to notice when the group leans into an idea and to build it into a peak, not drop it after one line. Leave with themes, not a plot. The goal is a shared handful of ideas to draw on — debrief afterwards on what themes the group actually surfaced.
Spotted a mistake, a missing variant, a better way to run it? Change it.