Where's the Object?
Where's the Object is an object permanence exercise in which participants establish imaginary objects in a shared performance space and then hold those objects in consistent spatial locations throughout the scene, training the ensemble's collective memory of the fictional environment and the physical discipline required to maintain it.
Structure
The Setup
Performers begin a scene in an imaginary space. As objects are introduced, each performer commits to their location: the table is here, the door is there, the window is at this height.
The Test
As the scene progresses, each interaction with an established object must honor its agreed location. Performers who drift or replace objects are corrected by the ensemble, mid-scene if necessary.
The Debrief
After the scene, participants discuss which objects held consistently and which drifted, identifying the physical habits that cause object drift.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Where's the Object trains the physical and spatial memory required to maintain a shared imaginary environment across a full scene. Drifting objects signal that performers are not fully investing in the shared space.
Facilitation Notes
Begin with few objects and increase complexity as the group improves. Object drift is almost always unconscious; pointing it out in the moment is more effective than discussing it afterward.
Common Pitfalls
Performers establish objects rhetorically by naming them but do not physically anchor them to a specific location. Require full physical engagement with each new object at the moment of establishment.
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Related Exercises
What's the Object?
What's the Object is a physical mime and object-work exercise in which participants handle an imaginary object with sufficient specificity and consistency that observers can identify what it is, training precise physical commitment, object permanence, and the performer's spatial relationship to invented material.
Follow the Leaver
Follow the Leaver is a group movement exercise in which players move freely through the space and, when one player decides to leave the room or move to a specific location, all other players notice and follow -- without verbal communication or explicit announcement. The exercise develops peripheral awareness, ensemble attunement, and the ability to read and respond to a subtle behavioral cue rather than waiting for an explicit instruction.
Obstacle Course
Obstacle Course is a physical exercise in which players navigate a real or imagined series of obstacles using their bodies expressively. The exercise may be used to build physical confidence, practice environment work, or warm up the body before performance. It trains spatial awareness and encourages bold physical choices.
Object Endowment
Object Endowment is a scene exercise in which one performer enters a scene and, through their behavior and reactions, reveals the nature and significance of an object that the audience has suggested but the performer's scene partner does not know. The partner must discover what the object is through the first performer's physical and emotional treatment of it, not through direct naming or description.
Where Do the Fingers Go
Where Do the Fingers Go is a physical presence exercise in which participants become aware of and deliberately place their hands and fingers in specific, intentional positions during scenes and exercises, training the elimination of unfocused hand behavior and the expressive use of the body's extremities.
Scene / Character Walkabout
Scene/Character Walkabout is an exercise in which performers walk around the space embodying a character, then engage in brief scene interactions with other walking characters. The exercise develops character physicality, the ability to initiate scenes organically, and the skill of maintaining a character while simultaneously navigating an unstructured environment.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Where's the Object?. Retrieved March 19, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/wheres-the-object
The Improv Archive. "Where's the Object?." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/wheres-the-object.
The Improv Archive. "Where's the Object?." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/wheres-the-object. Accessed March 19, 2026.
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