Rule of Yes

Straw poll here - who all has been involved in improv theatre?

Those of you who have been will have heard of the "rule of yes". Basically, the theory is that if you're engaged in improvisation (such as LARP), every time you say 'no', you shut down the possibility of conversation and the possibility of exploring new ideas and new plots and new themes. Therefore, the 'standing rule' is that if someone asks you a question, you should answer 'yes', and explore wherever that might take you.

When you say 'no', you "block" the scene...you're rejecting the ideas being offered to you.

"Yes And" is wonderful as well. It's a way of accepting the energy and the ideas of the scene/dialogue and carrying it forward.

In fact, some actors consider "The Rule of Yes" to be the cardinal rule in improv. It does what's called "moving forward", which is to say, it propels the conversation/scene/action along, particularly when you use "Yes and".

The basic idea is fairly simple : when presented with a situation or a question in which you are being asked to accept information, you have a choice to reply with "Yes" or "No"...When you reply with "yes", you do not 'block' the conversation/scene, etc.. With "Yes and", you offer more. You take what's given to you and you add to it.

Compare:

She: "Did you just eat gum off the bottom of the table?"
He: "No." - not interesting, not compelling, not great.

"Did you just eat gum off the bottom of the table?"
"Yes." - leaves you with the question 'why would he do that?' and 'how did she know?' and 'iew'. More compelling than 'no'.

"Did you just eat gum off the bottom of the table?"
"Yes, and it only tastes about a week old. The gum I had yesterday was *much* more stale." - more movement, more interest, more iew, and fun.

So when you're in a LARP situation, I'm not saying you believe whatever you're handed IC, but if you're in a situation where someone says, "Didn't I meet you one time in Krzykstan?", try choosing to say "Yes" rather than "No."

See where it takes you.

Can I add another "rule"?

I'll call it The Rule of Sharing.

It's simple, really. Anything that is interesting for your character becomes awesome when another character gets involved and phenomenal when a group gets involved. If you can find some way to include even one other person in on your personal plots then you increase the interconnectedness of the game and add a new depth to the relationships between the characters. In my experience it increases the enjoyment as others try to help, "help", and/or hinder your goals.

I'm not suggesting that all personal plots immediately become public. I am suggesting that eventually including people in them will draw others into the game, increasing interest and possibly even creating coteries.

This "rule" often works best when you share with someone outside of your normal interactions but it is still valuable within your character's circle of associates.

Larpers often fall into the trap of hoarding secrets because it is what their character would do. I can't fault anyone for playing their character. If, however, you can find a reason to disseminate such information, then I will whole-heartedly applaud your magnanimity (OOC if not IC).

And yes, I'm a hoarder from time to time. It's harder to retain information while playing a Charity, but I still occasionally need an OOC reminder to blurt out my secrets.

As a corollary to the rule of 'Yes', in LARP we often have problems with saying 'yes' because it violates backstory or what our character would do. Sometimes, saying "No, but..." is another way of saying 'Yes'. It's tricky: when you say no, you shut down a particular possibility (which sometimes you need to), but when you follow it up with "but..." and another line, you've redirected things instead of shut them down.

Saying yes is always the best option, but for those times when you don't have the room, "No, but" does work.

And there's nothing saying certain, less important aspects of your background can't be mutable. F'rinstance, if it's really not important whether you've ever played the hurdy-gurdy, and someone asks you if you're familiar with the instrument, go ahead and say 'yes'.

If someone asks whether you were excommunicated, that might be an important area to say 'no'. I mean, if you weren't. Or, if you're intent on lying about it.

Basically, the 'rule of yes' and 'rule of sharing' both encourage more discussion and direction for an IC dialogue.