Simple Continuation
Simple Continuation is a scene exercise in which a facilitator starts a scene with a basic premise and the performers must continue it without adding unnecessary complications, practicing the discipline of building on what exists rather than introducing new elements. The exercise teaches restraint and the value of following an idea to its natural conclusion.
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Related Exercises
Premise Lawyer
Premise Lawyer is a scene exercise in which one performer acts as an advocate for the scene's central premise, arguing for its logic and defending its reality whenever it is challenged or abandoned. The exercise teaches players to commit fully to established premises and resist the temptation to bail out when an idea feels risky.
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.
Create Obstacles
Create Obstacles is a scene exercise in which performers deliberately introduce complications and barriers to their characters' goals. The exercise teaches that obstacles are the engine of dramatic interest: characters who get what they want without resistance produce flat, unengaging scenes. By practicing the creation of obstacles, performers develop the instinct to generate tension and problem-solving pressure from within the scene rather than waiting for obstacles to arrive from outside.
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.
Who What Where
Who What Where is a foundational scene exercise in which performers must establish the who (characters and relationship), what (activity), and where (location) within the first few lines of a scene. The exercise trains the habit of front-loading essential scene information and ensures every scene begins with a clear foundation.
Without Sound
Without Sound is a scene exercise in which performers play an entire scene with no vocal output, communicating exclusively through physicality, facial expression, and gesture. The exercise reveals how much of scene work can be conveyed nonverbally and trains performers to make bold, clear physical choices.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Simple Continuation. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/simple-continuation
The Improv Archive. "Simple Continuation." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/simple-continuation.
The Improv Archive. "Simple Continuation." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/simple-continuation. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.