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.
Structure
Setup
The facilitator provides an opening line, a situation, or the first few beats of a scene. This might be as simple as "You are two neighbors and one of you just found out the other has been stealing your newspaper" or as specific as a delivered opening line that the first performer must respond to.
Continuation
The performers pick up exactly where the facilitator's setup leaves off and play the scene forward. They do not restart, reframe, or question the premise. They accept what has been given and build on it. The exercise focuses entirely on the skill of continuing: taking what exists and moving it forward.
Development
As the scene progresses, the facilitator may offer additional coaching from the side. This might include encouragement to heighten an emerging dynamic, to slow down and listen, or to explore the relationship more deeply. The scene continues until the facilitator calls it or the performers find a natural ending.
Multiple Rounds
The facilitator provides different setups for multiple pairs, varying the complexity and emotional register. Some setups are lighthearted, others dramatic, and others deliberately ambiguous. This range shows performers that the skill of continuation applies regardless of genre or tone.
Variations
A tag-out version has performers rotate into the scene, each continuing from where the previous performer left off with the same character. A written version uses index cards with pre-written opening lines that performers draw at random.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Simple Continuation isolates the skill of building on an existing offer, removing the anxiety of initiation. It trains performers to listen, accept, and advance rather than planning or controlling. The exercise is particularly valuable for beginners who struggle with the blank-slate pressure of starting scenes.
How to Explain It
"I will give you the beginning of a scene. Your job is to continue it. Do not restart. Do not change the premise. Just take what I give you and keep going."
Scaffolding
Begin with setups that have clear emotional stakes and obvious directions for development. A setup like "You just found out your best friend is moving away" gives performers a clear emotional platform to build on. Avoid abstract or overly clever setups that require performers to puzzle out the premise before they can continue.
Common Pitfalls
Performers sometimes treat the facilitator's setup as a suggestion rather than a given, reinterpreting or redirecting the scene away from the established premise. The exercise specifically trains the discipline of accepting and building. Another pitfall is performers who continue the scene mechanically, advancing the plot without engaging emotionally with the characters or relationship.
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Related Exercises
Premise Lawyer
Premise Lawyer is a scene exercise in which one performer acts as an advocate for the scene's central premise, arguing for its logic and defending its reality whenever it is challenged or abandoned. The exercise teaches players to commit fully to established premises and resist the temptation to bail out when an idea feels risky.
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.
Create Obstacles
Create Obstacles is a scene exercise in which performers deliberately introduce complications and barriers to their characters' goals. The exercise teaches that obstacles are the engine of dramatic interest: characters who get what they want without resistance produce flat, unengaging scenes. By practicing the creation of obstacles, performers develop the instinct to generate tension and problem-solving pressure from within the scene rather than waiting for obstacles to arrive from outside.
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 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.
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). Simple Continuation. Retrieved March 19, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/simple-continuation
The Improv Archive. "Simple Continuation." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/simple-continuation.
The Improv Archive. "Simple Continuation." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/simple-continuation. Accessed March 19, 2026.
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