Firing Squad
Firing Squad is a scene game in which one performer faces a line of players who rapid-fire questions, challenges, or scene initiations. The solo performer must respond to each without hesitation. The exercise builds resilience under pressure and trains the ability to accept any offer instantly.
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Related Exercises
Party Planning
Party Planning is a group exercise in which participants collaboratively plan a fictional event using the Yes And principle. Each suggestion must be accepted and built upon, regardless of how unexpected it may be. The exercise demonstrates in concrete terms how much further a group progresses when members support each other's ideas rather than filtering or rejecting them, making it one of the most accessible introductions to collaborative improvisation.
Open Offer
Open Offer is a scene-starting exercise in which one performer enters the space and makes a clear, specific opening offer -- a line of dialogue, a physical action, or an emotional state -- that establishes a strong starting point for their scene partner to build on. The exercise trains the ability to begin scenes with purpose and generosity rather than caution or ambiguity.
Who Where Why Am I
Who Where Why Am I is a solo and ensemble scene-starting exercise in which performers establish the full context of a scene through action and environment rather than dialogue, committing to a specific who, where, and why before the first word is spoken, training physical specificity, environmental grounding, and intentional entry.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Firing Squad. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/firing-squad
The Improv Archive. "Firing Squad." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/firing-squad.
The Improv Archive. "Firing Squad." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/firing-squad. Accessed March 18, 2026.
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