Improv is Tetris

Tetris is an addictive, simple, elegant game, and I've recently been considering how it's a wonderful metaphor for scenic moves in improv. There’s even some life lessons in there. Hear me out!

The scene/game moves on with or without you.

In Tetris, the blocks are constantly coming at you. You cannot avoid it. In a scene, no matter what you do, the scene moves forward. You can choose to simply sit idly by, and your scene will move on, regardless.

Even making no choice is a choice.

In the game, if you make no choice, no movement whatsoever, the blocks will pile up and end the game. Sometimes, you will get lucky and a block will just drop into the right place, but that's rare. In a scene, you can elect to make no choices, no movement, no eye contact, no words. But even that has consequences to your scene.

Making a move of some kind is usually better than just letting the pieces drop.

Inevitably, if you choose to not to move in Tetris, you'll lose. If you make movements to try to get the pieces into the right spots, you may win, but you'll always be better off than simply letting the pieces drop down the screen.

The same can be said about an improv scene. Electing to remain silent, still, apathetic is often going to drag your scene down. It's one thing for a character to choose to be silent or still (this can happen for a million reasons), but if the actor does that, it's often from a place of fear of making the right choice. Any choice at all… is the right one.

If you’re always planning for that perfect piece, you will miss other opportunities.

In Tetris, there is a nice bonus you get when you clear out 4 rows at once, and the only way to do that is with the rare "long block". You can sit and wait for it, building slots for the piece to fit into, and all too often, it will not come, or it will come after you've given up on it.

In a scene or a show, you can end up in the same position. If you wait for the perfect time to edit a scene that's happening, it can drag on terribly. If you are in a scene and have something to say, but are looking for the perfect moment, you will be missing what's going on in the scene in front of you. And you'll miss other opportunities that aren't the exact same as your rare "long block" moments.

You don’t know what’s coming, so preparing for it is moot. Work with what’s in front of you.

In Tetris, you can only see the next block, not the next several. So, you can only work with what's coming immediately. In a scene, you can't read your partner's mind, no matter how much you've worked with them. So you should only work with what's in front of you.

The most successful approach to both Tetris and scene work is to keep planning to a minimum and work on a line or two at a time. Be flexible. Opportunities will present themselves when you least expect them.

If you intentionally avoid dealing with what’s already been dropped/built, it gets harder. Things are always happening.

Tetris is relentless. If your stack of blocks gets higher than the middle of the screen, the pieces drop faster, making it tough to get the rows cleared. Scenes are much the same way. If you avoid dealing with what's going on, you have a larger pile of information to deal with, and it becomes a nuisance.

Staying open to options will make your play seem magical.

I am no Tetris Master. But, the best scores I've gotten have been when I've stopped working at it, and have just let my brain relax and be open to the opportunities. The pieces move with a zen-like fluidity, and suddenly I've gotten a ton of points. I just focus on the here and now and keep my mind open to new opportunities. It looks like I planned it all along.

When you watch great improvisors, there is a similar quality. They aren't working at their performance. It appears effortless. It looks scripted, it flows so well. That’s because they’re in that zen state, and open to all possibilities.

Failure isn’t the end of the world. There’s no real stakes.

At the end of the day, Tetris is just a game. There's no stakes here. Improv, while an awesome artform, has no real stakes in every scene. Neither doing “well” or doing "poorly" is the end of the world. Chill out, relax, and enjoy the game. I mean, show.

Tony Rielage
Artistic Director/Head Instructor
Theatre Momentum