# Scenes from a Chat

Participants suggest scene premises in writing, then volunteer pairs act out brief improv scenes based on selected prompts. Non-acting participants support the scene by providing ideas or observing.

**Time:** 15 minutes. UWT suggested duration based on the 5-minute scene timing in the source text.
**People:** 4 to 16. Small performance pairs or trios with the remainder of the room acting as audience and prompt generators.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Practice spontaneous collaboration and supportive listening through low-stakes comedic improvisation.
**Use it when:** Use during team meetings, retro warmups, or remote social hours to shift focus toward playful co-creation.
**Skip it when:** Skip when psychological safety is low, when team members express discomfort with unscripted roleplay, or when evaluating individual job performance.

## Materials and tools

- Digital chat tool or index cards and pens for submitting suggestions
- Timer or stopwatch display

## Before participants arrive

1. Ensure all participants can access the text chat or physical cards.
2. Display the Sample Scene Prompts from participant materials on a shared screen or flipchart.

## Say this to open

Today we are playing Scenes from a Chat. Improv depends on active listening and accepting your partner's ideas. You can choose to be an actor or an idea contributor. If you are not on stage, your job is to write creative scene prompts into the chat. Then, our acting pair will bring one prompt to life for up to three minutes.

## How to run it

### 1. Set up prompt pool and roles (3 minutes)

Ask for two volunteer acting pairs to cover the two scheduled scenes. If more than four people volunteer, explain that time permits only two scenes and invite others to contribute prompts or track time. Everyone else writes short scene premises into the chat or on index cards. Keep prompts workplace-appropriate. For example: 'Two librarians who discover a secret portal behind the mystery section.' Review submissions and select one prompt for the first scene.

### 2. Run first scene (5 minutes)

Announce the selected prompt to the first acting pair. The pair begins acting immediately, building on each other's lines using the classic 'yes, and' principle. Give a 30-second warning at 2.5 minutes, then call 'scene' at three minutes. The audience applauds.

### 3. Run second scene (5 minutes)

Select a fresh prompt from the participant submissions and announce it to the second volunteer pair. Run the scene for up to three minutes, signaling when thirty seconds remain. Conclude by calling 'scene' and thanking both performers.

### 4. Reflect on collaboration (2 minutes)

Bring the whole room together for brief reflection on listening and support. Ask two participants to share what helped keep the scene moving forward.


## Debrief questions

- How did it feel to accept an unexpected line and build directly onto it?
- What behaviors from your partner made it easier to keep the scene going?
- Where in our day-to-day workflow does an improv mindset help resolve miscommunication?

**Finished output:** Two improvised micro-scenes completed with audience-submitted ideas.

## Remote

Run on video conference. Audience members type scene ideas in the text chat. Acting pairs turn cameras and microphones on while non-acting participants mute audio and can optionally turn video off to focus attention on the performers.

## Hybrid

In-person and remote participants submit ideas into a unified digital chat displayed on the room monitor. Form one hybrid pair or keep pairs co-located so in-room audio does not echo.

## Access and participation choices

- Acting is fully optional. Participants may participate solely by contributing written prompts, monitoring the timer, or observing.
- Performers may pause or conclude their scene early at any moment by saying 'scene.'

## If the session gets stuck

**Nobody volunteers to act first.**

Step in as a co-actor with one volunteer, or offer a highly structured prompt that requires only three lines per person.

**An audience prompt is inappropriate or put-down humor.**

Skip the prompt without calling out the author, choose a neutral backup from your prepared list, and remind the room to keep scenarios friendly.


## Terms used here

- Scenes from a Chat: An improv game adapted from short-form comedy where an audience provides written scenarios for actors to play without rehearsal.
- Yes, and: An improv convention where players accept whatever reality their partner states and add new detail to support it.

## Participant material: Sample Scene Prompts

1. Two astronauts arguing over who forgot to pack the coffee filters.
2. Friendly neighbors competing to grow the largest pumpkin.
3. Two time travelers who arrived at a bakery in the wrong century.
4. Detectives trying to solve the mystery of the missing stapler.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in TeamBuilding.com article 'Trust Building Activities & Exercises for Work Teams' by Angela Robinson (2021/2025), citing 'Scenes from a Chat' inspired by 'Whose Line is it Anyway?'

The source document is an overview article listing several distinct exercises. UWT isolated the single concrete, playable game described in the text, 'Scenes from a Chat' (adapted from 'Whose Line is it Anyway?'). UWT structured the timing into standard 3-minute performance intervals, provided explicit prompt submission guidelines, and established clear opt-out roles for non-actors.

[TeamBuilding.com](https://teambuilding.com/en/articles/trust-building)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/trust-building-activities-exercises-for-work-teams/