Here's an exercise to help you get good at seeing a theme that is emerging from a bunch of material. This skill is especially good in performing multi-scene games, especially the Harold.
Ask for a word. Five people do monologues starting off that word, just like at the start of a Harold.
One player (who did not give a monologue) has to identify a theme in the monologues. Just verbally spell it out. The theme should incorporate everything, or nearly everything, that appeared in the monologues. You can take your time before giving an answer.
If you see a theme after three or four monologues, just call it out and end the exercise. But no fewer than three.
Optional: Now do a scene that uses that theme, possibly incorporating material from the monologues.
The word is cake.
Monologue #1: When I was 11, I had a big birthday party. I made a wish and tried to blow out the candles, but I missed two of them.
Monologue #2: My best friend when I was a kid was born on September 9. That meant that he celebrated his 9th birthday on the 9th day of the 9th month of the year. I was born on October 9, so I will never have such a fancy birthday.
Monologue #3: In 2000, when the predictions that the Y2K bug would cause the collapse of civilization proved false, started insisting that we need to prepare for the Y1M bug: the problems that would happen to computers in the year 10000.
Monologue #4: I kept partying like it's 1999 well into 2000. I haven't stopped, actually.
Theme: Numbers.
Or: Birthdays.
Or: Parties.
The word is "advisory"
Monologue #1: The last leg of my flight was from Sheboygan to Appleton. It was totally cloudy. I assume the pilots were using Instrument Flight Rules.
Monologue #2: Ah, Wisconsin! The dairy state!
Monologue #3: My mother bought her computer from Gateway because she liked the "cow" theme on their packaging.
Monologue #4: I've read that the avionics software used in airplanes actually uses mathematics. I would be afraid to work on that kind of software. One typo, and a whole planeload of people goes down.
Theme: Automation.
A good follow-up scene to this would involve somehow automating cows (automatic milking machines?), since "the dairy state" wasn't incorporated.
Version 2 2004-Apr-26 03:50 UTC
Last edit by Ben Kovitz
