Typewriter
Typewriter is a long-form game in which one performer sits as a writer working on a book or story while the ensemble acts out the narrative being written. The author provides the narration and can edit, delete, rewind, or redirect the action at will. The game combines narrative authority with ensemble adaptability, and rewards both editorial precision from the author and immediate responsiveness from the cast.
Structure
Setup
One performer is designated as the author. They sit at a chair or desk, ideally with a symbolic typewriter prop or gesture suggesting the act of writing. The remaining ensemble stands or sits nearby, ready to perform.
An audience suggestion establishes the title of the book or story being written.
Gameplay
Andy Goteri documents the game in Something From Nothing: a writer at their typewriter is working on a book whose title comes from the audience. As the author writes, they narrate the story aloud, and ensemble members step forward to perform the scenes being described.
The author maintains editorial control throughout. They can:
- Accelerate the narrative ("And then, suddenly..."), which speeds up the onstage action
- Rewrite a moment ("No, wait, that's wrong"), which causes the ensemble to freeze and reset
- Delete a scene ("Scratch that entire scene"), which the ensemble abandons immediately
- Introduce new characters or events by narrating them into existence
The ensemble responds to the author's text as it is produced, not as it is planned. Scene players perform in real time, responding to whatever is being narrated while attending to any changes or corrections the author may call.
Narrative Structure
Edward Nevraumont notes in The Ultimate Improv Book that the Typewriter Game is a strong example of a "what" event: a game built around a specific narrative objective (telling a complete story) rather than a comedic constraint. The game gives the author incentive to shape the story with genuine dramatic intention, not merely to generate jokes.
Conclusion
The game ends when the story reaches a satisfying conclusion, or when the facilitator signals the end. The author types "The End" as a final gesture, returning the ensemble to neutral.
How to Teach It
How to Explain It
"Two players are in a scene. A third player operates a typewriter: they type the scene as it happens. They can hit backspace and make you replay a moment differently, or press return to jump to the next line of the story. Performers, when the typewriter speaks, you do what the typewriter says."
Objectives
Typewriter develops the authorial dimension of long-form improv: the capacity to step outside the immediate reality of a scene and shape it with editorial intention. For players who typically work within scenes, the author role requires a fundamentally different mode of engagement, which makes it a useful exercise for expanding the range of perspectives a player can occupy.
For ensemble members, the game reinforces extreme attentiveness to language and immediate physical responsiveness. When the author changes the text, the ensemble must change with it, without resistance or negotiation.
Scaffolding
For groups new to the format, begin with simple, clear genre suggestions (romance, thriller, children's story) that give the author a legible structure to work within. As groups develop facility, introduce more abstract or unusual titles that require the author to make genuine creative decisions rather than defaulting to genre conventions.
Practice the editorial interventions (delete, rewrite, accelerate) separately before combining them in a full game, so that the ensemble learns to respond to each signal instantly.
Common Coaching Notes
- "Author: you are writing a real story. Take it seriously."
- "Ensemble: you perform what is being written now, not what was written a moment ago."
- "When the author deletes something, it never happened. Your character forgets it immediately."
- "Author: edit with purpose. Delete when something isn't serving the story, not when you don't know what to do next."
How to Perform It
Audience Experience
The Typewriter game gives audiences two simultaneous pleasures: the comedy of watching the author-character work, hesitate, delete, and correct; and the comedy of watching the ensemble respond instantly to editorial interventions. The most entertaining moments usually occur when the author makes a dramatic correction (rewriting a scene the ensemble has invested in) or when the author types something the ensemble struggles to interpret.
The game is particularly rewarding when the author has genuine storytelling instincts: a Typewriter game built around narrative tension and real dramatic stakes is more interesting than one built around joke accumulation.
Author Casting
The author role rewards performers who are strong verbal storytellers and who can manage two simultaneous challenges: generating narrative content in real time while also tracking and directing the ensemble. Players who freeze under pressure or who default to rapid-fire joke delivery tend to produce thin Typewriter games. The best authors treat the book title as a real assignment.
History
The Typewriter game belongs to the family of author-narrator formats in which one player acts as a writer or storyteller with authority to direct, redirect, and edit the action performed by an ensemble. The format reflects a long tradition in improvisational and devised theatre of exploring the relationship between the creative authority of a single author and the responsive capacity of an ensemble.
The name connects explicitly to the technology of the mid-twentieth century writer's practice. Paul Sills, a foundational figure in the development of American improv through the Compass Players and Second City, staged Jean Cocteau's play The Typewriter in his early workshops and productions, and this reference to the typewriter as a creative instrument was already present in the improv community's cultural vocabulary from its earliest years.
Andy Goteri documents the game in Something From Nothing, placing it in a catalog of scene structures with specific audience interaction mechanics. Edward Nevraumont identifies it as the Typewriter Game in The Ultimate Improv Book, describing it as a structurally distinct short-form format focused on narrative completion rather than game-point competition.
Asaf Ronen lists Typewriter in Directing Improv alongside related author-narrator formats including Campfire and Documentary.
No single originator of the Typewriter game format within the improv tradition has been identified.
Worth Reading
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The Actor's Book of Improvisation
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Devising Performance
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The Art of Chicago Improv
Short Cuts to Long-Form Improvisation
Rob Kozlowski
Improvise
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The Improv Handbook
The Ultimate Guide to Improvising in Comedy, Theatre, and Beyond
Tom Salinsky; Deborah Frances-White
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Typewriter. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/typewriter
The Improv Archive. "Typewriter." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/typewriter.
The Improv Archive. "Typewriter." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/typewriter. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.