Old Job New Job
Old Job New Job is a short-form game in which one performer plays a character in their current occupation while simultaneously being haunted by habits, skills, and reflexes from a completely unrelated previous career. The comedy arises from the collision of two incompatible professional worlds within a single person.
Structure
Setup
One or two performers take the stage. The audience provides two occupations: the character's current job and their previous job. The current job is the scene's setting; the old job is the source of intrusion.
Progression
The scene begins with the performer working competently in their current occupation. As the scene progresses, habits from the old job begin bleeding through: a surgeon who used to be an auctioneer starts talking faster and louder as the operation intensifies, a kindergarten teacher who used to be a drill sergeant addresses the children with military precision.
The old job intrusions begin small and grow in frequency and intensity. The performer may try to suppress them, apologize for them, or be completely unaware that they are happening. Other performers in the scene react to the odd behavior, creating additional comic pressure.
Ending
The game ends when the old job has fully overtaken the new one, when the performer's dual identity has been exposed in a climactic moment, or when the host calls the scene at its comic peak.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Old Job New Job trains the game-of-the-scene mechanic: identifying one behavioral pattern and heightening it through repetition and escalation. It also develops the ability to sustain two competing character layers simultaneously.
How to Explain It
"You have a new job, but your old job keeps showing up in how you act. Start with small leaks from the old job and let them grow. By the end, the old job should be taking over."
Scaffolding
Begin with occupation pairs that have strong physical contrasts -- ballet dancer turned construction worker, opera singer turned librarian -- so the intrusions are immediately visible and audible. For advanced performers, use subtler contrasts that require more sophisticated behavioral choices. The escalation should follow a clear three-beat structure: small leak, noticeable pattern, full takeover.
Common Pitfalls
Performers sometimes start at full intensity, mixing both jobs from the first moment, which leaves nowhere to escalate. Coach them to earn the first intrusion by establishing the current job genuinely before the old one appears. A second pitfall is performers explaining the premise in dialogue ("Sorry, I used to be a...") rather than simply exhibiting the behavior and letting the audience discover the pattern.
How to Perform It
Audience Intro
"We need two jobs for our performer -- their current job, and what they used to do before. The old job never quite goes away."
Cast Size
One to three performers. The central performer carries the dual-occupation premise; scene partners provide context and reactions.
Staging
Set the scene in the current job's workplace. Physical space should be established clearly so the old-job intrusions contrast visibly with the environment.
Wrap-Up Logic
End when the old job has thoroughly infiltrated the new one. Two to three minutes gives enough time for the escalation to build through at least three clear levels.
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Old Job New Job. Retrieved September 29, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/old-job-new-job
The Improv Archive. "Old Job New Job." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/old-job-new-job.
The Improv Archive. "Old Job New Job." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/old-job-new-job. Accessed September 29, 2026.
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