Scenes from a Suggestion
Scenes from a Suggestion is a foundational exercise in which performers build a scene directly from a single audience suggestion, practicing the core skill of transforming a word or phrase into characters, relationships, and situations without additional prompting or warm-up games.
Structure
Setup
The facilitator or host takes a single suggestion from the audience or group. The suggestion can be a word, a location, a relationship, or an occupation. Two performers step out and begin a scene inspired by that suggestion.
Building the Scene
Performers use the suggestion as a launching point rather than a rigid constraint. A suggestion of "laundromat" does not require a scene set in a laundromat; it might inspire a scene about cleaning up a mess, or about the monotony of routine, or about two strangers waiting. The suggestion opens a door rather than dictating the room behind it.
The first few lines establish the who, what, and where. Performers name each other, define their relationship through behavior, and ground themselves in a specific location through object work and environmental references. The suggestion serves as shared context that both performers can draw from.
Development
Once the relationship and situation are established, the scene develops through discovery. Performers follow the emotional thread of the relationship, finding the game of the scene or deepening the conflict. The suggestion recedes into the background as the scene takes on its own life.
Multiple Rounds
In a workshop setting, the facilitator calls for new scenes from the same suggestion, showing how a single word can generate completely different scenes. This demonstrates that suggestions are not blueprints but catalysts. Four different pairs given "dentist" will produce four entirely different scenes.
Variations
A chain version uses the ending of one scene as the suggestion for the next. A themed version restricts suggestions to a category such as emotions, locations, or occupations. A rapid-fire version gives pairs only sixty seconds per scene before the next pair takes over with the same suggestion.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Scenes from a Suggestion trains the fundamental improv skill of creating something from nothing. It develops the ability to interpret suggestions creatively, establish scenes efficiently, and build relationships without elaborate setup.
How to Explain It
"Take a suggestion and start a scene. The suggestion is your inspiration, not your script. Find the characters, find the relationship, and let the scene go wherever it wants to go."
Scaffolding
Begin with concrete, location-based suggestions before moving to abstract words. New performers find it easier to start a scene in a "doctor's office" than from the word "freedom." As comfort grows, move toward more open-ended suggestions that require greater interpretive leaps.
Common Pitfalls
Performers sometimes treat the suggestion as a topic to discuss rather than a world to inhabit. A scene about "vacation" should not become two characters talking about vacations; it should be two characters living inside a specific moment. Another common issue is performers who ignore the suggestion entirely. While loose interpretation is encouraged, completely abandoning the audience's contribution breaks the implicit contract of improvisation.
Worth Reading
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Related Exercises
Simple Continuation
Simple Continuation is a scene exercise in which a facilitator starts a scene with a basic premise and the performers continue from that point, practicing the skill of receiving an offer and building on it without the pressure of initiating from scratch.
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.
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.
Personalize It!
Personalize It is a scene exercise in which one player delivers a neutral, factual statement and the other responds as if the fact were deeply personal to their character. The exercise trains improvisers to create emotional stakes from nothing, treating every piece of information as personally meaningful rather than letting it pass as background detail.
Character Study
Character Study is an exercise in which performers spend extended time developing a single character through exploration of physicality, voice, biography, and behavior. The focused work produces richer, more specific characters than the rapid choices of performance typically allow. It provides a foundation that improvisers can draw on in scene work.
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). Scenes from a Suggestion. Retrieved March 19, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/scenes-from-a-suggestion
The Improv Archive. "Scenes from a Suggestion." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/scenes-from-a-suggestion.
The Improv Archive. "Scenes from a Suggestion." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/scenes-from-a-suggestion. Accessed March 19, 2026.
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