Here are some tough beginnings, acting-wise, to practice. Each of these common starts to scenes has something built in that will distract you, unless you tackle it head on with confidence.
For each of these, the characters must talk about something besides what they’re doing.
At the top of the scene you are:
- Playing ping pong or volleyball
- Dancing
- Talking with an accent
- Bowling
- Playing blackjack (one dealing, one playing)
- Shopping for books (name books without making the scene about those books)
- Characters from whichever movie is currently popular
- Romeo and Juliet talking (Shakespeare stuff comes up all the time in improv)
- Someone angrily accusing the other of something
- Something weird and specific and fantastical but not a direct reference to any movie, e.g., two people in a room beneath the earth’s surface controlling the weather
- George Washington talking to Thomas Jefferson (or any two historical figures)
- Evil witch and good princess
- Scientist and his robot