Stand Up/sit Down
Stand Up/Sit Down is a scene exercise in which performers alternate between standing and sitting positions, with each change of posture prompting a shift in the scene's energy, topic, or emotional register. The exercise trains awareness of how physical position affects performance and teaches players to use body state as a storytelling tool.
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Related Exercises
Sit Stand Lie Lean
Sit Stand Lie Lean is a scene exercise in which each performer must maintain a different physical position at all times. With four performers, one must be sitting, one standing, one lying down, and one leaning. Whenever one person changes position, someone else must adjust to maintain four distinct positions simultaneously.
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.
Sitting Standing Lying
Sitting Standing Lying is a three-player scene exercise in which one performer must always be sitting, one standing, and one lying down. When any performer changes position, one of the others must immediately switch to maintain three distinct positions, creating a constant physical negotiation underneath the scene.
Surprise Movement
Surprise Movement is an exercise in which performers interrupt their own scenes or monologues with sudden, unexpected physical movements, then justify those movements within the scene's reality. The exercise develops physical spontaneity and the skill of incorporating accidents and impulses as offers.
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.
Split Focus
Split Focus is an exercise in which two separate activities or scenes happen simultaneously on stage, and performers must manage audience attention between them. The exercise trains the skill of sharing stage focus and teaches players to find natural moments to take and yield the spotlight.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Stand Up/sit Down. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/stand-upsit-down
The Improv Archive. "Stand Up/sit Down." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/stand-upsit-down.
The Improv Archive. "Stand Up/sit Down." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/stand-upsit-down. Accessed March 18, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.