Call from Ray
Call from Ray is a short-form game in which a scene is interrupted by a phone call from an unseen character named Ray, whose offstage dialogue (supplied by another performer) introduces new information that shifts the scene. Each call raises the stakes or redirects the narrative. The game trains adaptability and the ability to incorporate external offers mid-scene.
Structure
Setup
Two performers are mid-scene. A third performer waits off-stage as "Ray" - an unseen caller whose information will interrupt the action.
The Mechanic
At a dramatically appropriate moment (or on a host's cue), one character's phone rings. They answer. The offstage performer provides Ray's side of the conversation: new information, a revelation, a complication, a request. The onstage character responds to what Ray is saying while the scene partner watches and reacts.
When the call ends, the scene must incorporate whatever Ray introduced. The phone call is an irrevocable offer - it has happened, and the scene's world has changed.
Multiple Calls
The game can feature multiple phone calls across the scene - each from "Ray," each with new escalating information. Ray's identity, relationship to the characters, and the nature of their calls can shift dramatically across calls.
Casting Ray
The performer playing Ray should not be able to see the scene. They create their calls based purely on what they are told ("Ray" is involved with the characters in some way) and their own impulse, creating a natural disconnect that produces useful comedic and narrative friction.
Variation: Everyone Gets a Call
Both characters receive calls from Ray at different points. The two Rays may have contradictory information, requiring the characters to navigate conflicting realities.
How to Teach It
How to Explain It
"Two performers in a scene. At some point, one of you gets a call from Ray - an offstage character who will say something that changes everything. Whatever Ray says, it's real. You can't un-ring that phone."
Why It Matters
Call from Ray teaches performers to treat external offers - especially disruptive ones - as gifts rather than intrusions. The phone call is the purest form of an unexpected offer: it arrives without warning, it has its own specific content, and it is irreversible. Performers who have developed the reflex to accept and build from these offers have developed one of improv's most valuable skills.
Common Coaching Notes
- Ray must commit to specific information. Vague calls ("Something has happened") are unplayable. Coach Ray: "Give them a specific, concrete piece of information. Something that matters."
- The call changes the scene - always. If the onstage character absorbs the call and the scene continues unchanged, the exercise has failed. Something in the scene's world must shift.
- Watch for stalling. Performers sometimes turn the phone call into a long conversation that avoids its implications. Coach: 'Hang up. Now deal with what Ray said.'
How to Perform It
Audience Intro
"Two performers, one scene. Somewhere along the way, someone's phone is going to ring. And it's going to be Ray. None of us know exactly what Ray is going to say - not even our third performer, who'll be playing Ray's side of the call from right over there. What should the scene be about?"
Get a suggestion, then establish where Ray fits in: "And who is Ray to these characters?"
Cast Size
Three performers: two onstage, one as Ray. The host manages the timing of the call(s).
Staging
Ray performs from the wings or off the edge of the stage - visible to the audience, not to the onstage performers. The physical separation reinforces the "offstage call" reality.
Wrap Logic
The scene wraps after the final call's implications have played out. If multiple calls happen, the host should signal the final one: a slight change in tone or a gesture toward the performers indicating the game's climax. End on the scene's natural dramatic conclusion, not after the call itself.
Worth Reading
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Something from Nothing
The Technique of Improvisation
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Improvisation for Actors and Writers
A Guidebook for Improv Lessons in Comedy
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Improvising Now
A Practical Guide to Modern Improv
Rob Norman
The Improvisation Game
Discovering the Secrets of Spontaneous Performance
Chris Johnston
Improvise
Scene from the Inside Out
Mick Napier
112 Acting Games
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Call from Ray. Retrieved September 28, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/call-from-ray
The Improv Archive. "Call from Ray." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/call-from-ray.
The Improv Archive. "Call from Ray." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/call-from-ray. Accessed September 28, 2026.
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