Great, Next Character
Great, Next Character is a rapid character-switching exercise in which a facilitator prompts a performer to create a new character every few seconds. The performer barely has time to establish one persona before being pushed to the next. The exercise trains the ability to make instant character choices, build characters from body and voice rather than concept, and prevent the overthinking that causes character hesitation in performance.
Structure
Setup
One performer stands in the space. The facilitator stands nearby with the authority to call "Next!" at any moment.
The Exercise
The performer begins: they make a physical and vocal character choice immediately -- not after deliberation, but as their first impulse. They embody the character, speak a line or two, and begin to establish the persona.
At any point -- often within three to five seconds -- the facilitator calls "Next!" or "Great, next character!" The performer drops the current character instantly and enters a new one: a new body, a new voice, a new emotional world. No transition, no cleanup.
Pacing
The facilitator controls the pace. Early rounds may allow five to eight seconds per character; as the performer warms up, the pace increases. The goal is to move fast enough that the performer cannot plan ahead -- they must discover who the next character is as they arrive.
Conclusion
The exercise ends after a set number of characters or a set duration. Performers may reflect on which characters arrived most fully and which felt constructed or generalized.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Great, Next Character trains instantaneous character commitment, the ability to build from body and voice rather than concept, and trust in the first impulse. It defeats the planning and evaluation that prevent character specificity in performance.
How to Explain It
"I'm going to call 'next' and you're going to give me a completely different person. Don't plan. Don't think about who's coming. Just arrive. First impulse, full body, full voice. We move fast."
Scaffolding
Begin with longer intervals -- seven to ten seconds -- to let the performer experience entering and briefly inhabiting a character before the pace increases. As confidence builds, shorten the interval. The discomfort of being cut off before a character is fully formed is intentional: the exercise teaches that a character does not need to be finished, only arrived in.
Common Pitfalls
Performers sometimes default to a small repertoire of types -- the same postures, voices, and ages recurring across the exercise. The coaching note is to notice when the same body keeps arriving and find a part of the physical or emotional range not yet explored. Encourage wide variation in age, energy level, physicality, and emotional state.
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Related Exercises
Cliched Characters Instant Depth
Cliched Characters Instant Depth is an exercise in which performers begin with a stock character type and progressively add layers of specificity, contradiction, and humanity. The exercise demonstrates that any character, no matter how familiar the starting point, can become compelling through committed detail work. It trains the skill of transforming a surface choice into a full person.
Character Walk
Character Walk is an exercise in which players move through the space while gradually adjusting their physicality to build a character from the feet up. Changes in gait, posture, tempo, and weight distribution produce distinct personas. The exercise demonstrates how physical choices generate character without any need for backstory or dialogue.
Opposite Characters
Opposite Characters is a scene exercise in which each performer plays a character whose traits are the direct inverse of their own natural tendencies. A quiet player adopts a loud persona, an analytical player becomes impulsive, and so on. The exercise expands performers' range by forcing them outside habitual choices.
Surprise Movement
Surprise Movement is an exercise in which performers interrupt their own scenes or monologues with sudden, unexpected physical choices and must justify them within the scene. The exercise breaks habitual movement patterns and teaches players that physical surprises can open new scene directions.
Character Study
Character Study is an exercise in which performers spend extended time developing a single character through exploration of physicality, voice, biography, and behavior. The focused work produces richer, more specific characters than the rapid choices of performance typically allow. It provides a foundation that improvisers can draw on in scene work.
Character / Scene Walkabout
Character/Scene Walkabout is an exercise in which performers walk through the space and, on a signal, immediately enter a scene with whoever is nearest. The random pairing and instant commitment prevent over-planning. The exercise builds comfort with initiating scenes with any partner and develops quick character choices.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Great, Next Character. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/great-next-character
The Improv Archive. "Great, Next Character." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/great-next-character.
The Improv Archive. "Great, Next Character." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/great-next-character. Accessed March 17, 2026.
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