Here’s an exercise I’ve been doing to let people practice being a fool in scenes.
- Two people up. Give them a suggestion.
- In the first line, someone makes a “fun” accusation to the other person.
- In response, the person gives what I’m calling “low-status yes.”
A “fun accusation” means something creative, whimsical, silly, outrageous. “Are you wearing your shoes on your hands?” Even just a little strange is okay. “Are you putting all those donuts in a little pile?”
That’s as opposed to a “mundane” accusation like “Why are you ten minutes late?”
What I mean by “low status yes” is a “yes” where you know what you’re doing is weird but you’re doing it anyway.
A “high status yes” would be aggressive and oblivious — “Damn right I’m piling these donuts! I love piling donuts!” It’s what everyone does by default and it’s too crazy. You just want ONE NOTCH below the top of your intelligence.
A “low status yes” is more humble. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m piling donuts. I don’t know, exactly. I think I’m lonely.”
People don’t seem to naturally do low-status yeses but they’re more productive. You can still be mostly sane, just a LITTLE BIT of a fool. The people can still have a conversation about whatever is going on.
This makes for fun scenes, and whoever is the second person naturally plays a fool really well.