I'll Have a Coke
I'll Have a Coke is a scene exercise in which one performer makes a simple, mundane request -- ordering a soft drink, asking for the time, requesting a pen -- and the scene partner responds by investing the exchange with emotional weight, relational history, or narrative significance. The exercise demonstrates that any ordinary transaction can become the foundation for compelling scene-work when the performers bring genuine investment to it. The mundane request is the entry point; the performers discover what it actually means.
Structure
Setup
Two performers. One performer makes the opening request: something simple, specific, and ordinary. The second performer receives it.
The Response
The second performer responds -- but their response carries weight. The tone, the pause, the specificity of their delivery signals that this ordinary exchange is happening between two specific people in a specific context. The response makes the request mean something.
The Scene
The scene develops from the investment the second performer introduced. The first performer discovers the context and responds. A relationship, a history, or a situation emerges from what began as a drink order.
Debrief
After the scene, the facilitator may name what the second performer did: where they invested, what they established, and how the mundane exchange was transformed. Multiple pairs can demonstrate different ways to invest the same request.
Conclusion
The exercise ends after several pairs have demonstrated, or when the group has sufficient examples to understand the principle: the scene's meaning comes from the performers' investment, not from the premise's inherent interest.
How to Teach It
Objectives
I'll Have a Coke demonstrates that any ordinary exchange can become compelling scene-work when performers bring genuine emotional and relational specificity to it. It combats the common tendency to wait for an interesting premise rather than making the present moment interesting.
How to Explain It
"You're going to make the most boring request possible. Your partner is going to turn it into a scene. The request is not the scene -- how you receive it is the scene. What does it mean for your character to get or not get that Coke from that specific person right now?"
Scaffolding
Begin with paired demonstrations before asking the full group to practice. The contrast between a flat, uninvested response and a genuinely invested one makes the principle clearer than explanation.
Common Pitfalls
Performers sometimes invest in a surprising or unusual interpretation rather than a genuinely felt one -- making the scene clever rather than real. The coaching note is that the investment should feel true rather than inventive: the scene partner's response should suggest a real relationship, not a twist on the premise.
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I'll Keep is a callback and commitment exercise in which performers identify strong offers within a scene and deliberately retain them for use later. The exercise trains the habit of recognizing and remembering the most potent material generated during improvisation, which is essential for creating satisfying callbacks.
Giving a Gift
Giving a Gift is a scene exercise in which the act of presenting a gift to another character drives the interaction. The choice of gift, the manner of giving, and the recipient's reaction reveal character, relationship, and emotional subtext. The exercise trains performers to find dramatic weight in a simple, universal human gesture.
What You Just Said
What You Just Said is a scene exercise in which performers must treat the last thing their partner said as the most important line of the scene and build directly from it. The exercise trains active listening and breaks the habit of waiting for one's turn to speak rather than genuinely responding to offers.
Piece of Cheese
Piece of Cheese is a scene exercise in which a performer endows a simple object with extraordinary emotional significance, treating it as though it carries deep personal meaning. The exercise teaches players that strong scene work comes not from extraordinary premises but from the emotional weight characters assign to ordinary things.
Who Where Why Am I
Who Where Why Am I is a scene exercise in which a performer enters a space and must quickly establish their character, location, and purpose through physical behavior before any dialogue begins. The exercise prioritizes physical storytelling and teaches performers to communicate essential scene information through action rather than exposition.
Open Offer
Open Offer is a scene exercise in which one player enters the stage and makes a simple physical or verbal offer without a predetermined plan. Their scene partner must accept and build on whatever is presented. The exercise reinforces the principle that scenes begin with offers rather than ideas and teaches performers to trust the process of collaborative discovery.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). I'll Have a Coke. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/ill-have-a-coke
The Improv Archive. "I'll Have a Coke." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/ill-have-a-coke.
The Improv Archive. "I'll Have a Coke." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/ill-have-a-coke. Accessed March 17, 2026.
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