What Would She Be If
What Would She Be If is a character-building exercise in which the group describes what a character would be if they were a color, an animal, a type of weather, a piece of music, or other metaphorical categories. The associations build a rich, multidimensional character portrait through lateral thinking. The exercise teaches players to develop characters through sense and metaphor rather than biography.
Worth Reading
See all books →
Group Improvisation
The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games
Peter Campbell Gwinn; Charna Halpern
Improv Ideas
A Book of Games and Lists
Mary Ann Kelley; Justine Jones
Pirate Robot Ninja
An Improv Fable
Billy Merritt; Will Hines
Action Theater
The Improvisation of Presence
Ruth Zaporah
Business Improv
Experiential Learning Exercises to Train Employees
Val Gee
Improvised Theatre and the Autism Spectrum
A Practical Guide
Gary Kramer; Richie Ploesch
Related Exercises
Emotions Characters
Emotions Characters is a character-building exercise in which performers construct a character whose entire identity is defined by a single dominant emotion. Rather than playing a character who experiences an emotion, the performer plays a human being for whom that emotion is the organizing principle of their existence: a person constituted entirely by joy, or anger, or longing, or fear. The exercise develops the skill of using emotion as a generative foundation for character rather than as a surface-level behavioral quality.
Scene / Character Walkabout
Scene/Character Walkabout is an exercise in which performers walk around the space embodying a character or exploring a scene's environment before any dialogue begins. The physical exploration establishes character through movement, posture, and spatial behavior. The exercise teaches players to build characters from the body outward rather than from dialogue inward.
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.
Name the Monster
Name the Monster is a reflective exercise in which participants identify and name the internal critic, fear, or resistance that arises for them in improvisation or creative work. By giving the inner critic a distinct name and persona, the exercise creates psychological distance from self-limiting thought patterns, making them easier to recognize and set aside during performance or rehearsal.
Party Planning
Party Planning is an exercise or scene game in which a group of performers must collaboratively plan a fictional event while navigating different character agendas and communication styles. The exercise trains group agreement, negotiation, and the ability to advance a shared objective while maintaining individual character perspectives.
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.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). What Would She Be If. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/what-would-she-be-if
The Improv Archive. "What Would She Be If." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/what-would-she-be-if.
The Improv Archive. "What Would She Be If." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/what-would-she-be-if. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.