Park Bench
Park Bench is a short-form character game in which one performer sits on a bench while a series of characters enter one at a time, each with a distinct personality or objective. The seated player interacts briefly with each visitor before finding a reason to leave; the visitor then takes the seat and becomes the new resident, ready to react to the next arrival. The game rewards strong character entrances, rapid relationship establishment, and the ability to generate an exit.
Structure
Setup
A bench (or two chairs arranged side by side) is placed facing the audience. One performer takes a seat as a character of their own choosing or based on a suggestion. The host briefly introduces the game format to the audience: characters will approach the bench, interact, and one player will leave.
Gameplay
A second performer enters as a new character and sits on the bench (or stands near it). The two characters interact: their relationship is discovered through the scene, not declared. The interaction is brief, typically thirty seconds to two minutes. At some point, one of the players finds a reason to exit, leaving the other alone on the bench. A third performer then enters as a new character.
The game cycles through characters, with the bench serving as the stable fixed element. The departing player's exit may be motivated by the new arrival's behavior, the content of the scene, or a situation that develops. The remaining player becomes the new "resident" who will interact with the next arrival.
Variants allow the arrivals to be pre-assigned specific character types or given to the arriving performer as a whispered suggestion from the host. In the Status Bench variant documented by Dan Diggles in Improv for Actors, two performers sit on the bench and the scene explores the status transaction between them: which player rises and which yields.
Debrief
After the game, players discuss the entrances: which characters arrived with a clear, specific personality or objective, and which arrived generically. The debrief focuses on the quality of the entrance, which is the primary creative unit of the game.
How to Teach It
How to Explain It
"One person sits on the bench. Characters come and go: strangers, acquaintances, odd passersby. Each character has a reason to sit, a relationship to the person on the bench, and a reason to leave. The person on the bench stays. The world comes to them."
Objectives
Park Bench develops character entrances: the ability to arrive as a distinct, specific character in the first moment of a scene rather than building to character over time. The game's structure rewards specificity at the moment of entry because the character has only a short window in which to establish who they are before the interaction begins.
The game also develops adaptability: the seated player must respond to each new arrival's character and find a relationship to them quickly. The arriving player's character should provoke a response in the seated player that changes the scene's direction.
Scaffolding
Begin by having players practice entrances alone: each player enters the space as a specific character (age, occupation, emotional state, physical quality) without speaking. Observers call out what they see. This builds the physical vocabulary of character before the interactive demands of the game are added.
For the full game, assign the arriving character's type in advance (to the arriving performer as a whisper) before they enter. This reduces the cognitive load of simultaneous character invention and relationship management.
Common Coaching Notes
- "Who are you before you sit? Arrive as the character, not as yourself."
- "The exit should feel inevitable. What about this situation would make this character leave?"
- "React to what arrived. The seated player's response defines the relationship."
- "Small specifics create big characters. Pick one detail and commit."
How to Perform It
The game's primary entertainment value lies in the contrast between characters: each new arrival to the bench should be distinctly different from the previous one in physicality, personality, and objective. When consecutive characters are similar in type or energy, the game flattens; when each arrival introduces a surprising new quality, the game builds.
The exit is the game's most technically demanding moment. An exit that is unmotivated or forced breaks the game's reality; an exit that is inevitable, given what just happened in the scene, makes the rotation feel earned. The best exits arise from the scene's logic: a character who is embarrassed departs to escape embarrassment; a character who is curious achieves their curiosity and has no reason to stay.
The bench itself is the game's throughline. Audiences orient to it as the fixed point, and performers who use it specifically (choosing where to sit on the bench, how to orient their body, how to relate to the bench as a physical object) give the game spatial coherence.
Audience Intro
"In this game, one performer stays on the bench the whole time. Characters will come and sit, have an encounter, and leave, but our bench-sitter never moves. Watch how the whole world comes to one person."
History
Andy Goldberg documents Park Bench as a named game in Improv Comedy (1991), listing it at page 151 alongside a series of character-based games including Bus Stop and Waiting Room. Goldberg's curriculum places Park Bench within a sequence of fixed-location character games that use a stable physical context to generate a series of distinct character interactions.
The game is listed in the ComedySportz repertoire, the short-form improv league founded by Dick Chudnow in Milwaukee in 1984, which codified and distributed a standard set of short-form games across multiple franchised companies. ComedySportz's widespread reach contributed to the game's broad circulation within the short-form improv ecosystem.
Dan Diggles in Improv for Actors documents a status variant called Status Bench: two players sit on the bench and the scene explores the status dynamics between them, using the physical arrangement (side by side, facing the audience) as a frame for status work. Diggles connects the exercise to Keith Johnstone's status theory.
Worth Reading
See all books →
Business Improv
Experiential Learning Exercises to Train Employees
Val Gee
The Actor's Book of Improvisation
Sandra Caruso; Paul Clemens
Theatrical Improvisation
Short Form, Long Form, and Sketch-Based Improv
Jeanne Leep
Improvisation for the Theater
A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques
Viola Spolin
Acting Up!
An Innovative Approach to Creative Drama for Older Adults
Marcie Telander; Flora Quinlan; Karol Verson
Improv Comedy (20th Anniversary Edition)
Andy Goldberg
Related Games
Character Bench
Character Bench is a short-form game in which performers sit on a bench in a public place, each entering with a distinct character who interacts with whoever is already seated. Characters cycle on and off the bench, creating a parade of brief encounters. The game rewards strong character initiations and the ability to build a relationship quickly.
Airport
Airport is an improv structure that uses the airport terminal as a setting for character-driven scene work and trust-building exercises. The airport provides a natural framework for dramatic encounters: strangers with different destinations, emotional states, and agendas occupy shared space under time pressure. As a scene game, players adopt distinct characters navigating arrivals, departures, delays, and the heightened emotions of travel. As a training exercise, the airport setting frames trust and communication drills where players guide each other through physical challenges. The structure appears across multiple improv and acting traditions, with variations ranging from scenic improvisations in waiting areas to guided obstacle courses using the metaphor of pilots and signalmen. The game rewards clear character choices, environmental awareness, and the ability to build layered group dynamics within a fixed location.
Actor Switch
## Actor Switch: Content Actor Switch is a foundational improv structure, frequently utilized as both a game and an exercise. It centers on the rapid and unexpected exchange of character traits or roles between performers. The core mechanic involves one player initiating a switch by verbally or physically signaling another player to adopt a specific characteristic, emotion, or even a complete persona from the initiating player. This creates a dynamic shift in the scene, demanding adaptability and responsiveness from all involved. The origins of Actor Switch, like many early improv games, are challenging to definitively trace. It likely evolves organically within the burgeoning Chicago improv scene of the 1960s and 70s, drawing from techniques explored by Second City and Del Close. No single individual receives credit for its invention, but its consistent presence in improv training materials suggests early adoption and subsequent refinement by numerous practitioners. It serves as a crucial tool for developing active listening and quick thinking. To execute Actor Switch, a scene begins as usual, with performers establishing a baseline scenario. At any point, a player can declare "Actor Switch!" and then specify the element to be transferred, for example, "Actor Switch: Your frustration!" The targeted player immediately embodies that element, integrating it into their existing character or behavior. This process repeats, with players continually switching elements, creating a layered and unpredictable performance. The goal is not necessarily to create a coherent narrative, but to explore the possibilities of character and reaction. Actor Switch offers several benefits. It encourages performers to observe and react to their scene partners, fostering a heightened sense of ensemble awareness. The rapid shifts challenge performers to abandon preconceived notions and embrace spontaneity. Ultimately, Actor Switch cultivates a playful and dynamic approach to improvisational storytelling.
Bucket
Bucket is a short-form game in which scene suggestions, character traits, or constraints are written on slips of paper and placed in a bucket before the show. During scenes, performers draw slips at designated moments and must immediately incorporate whatever is written into the ongoing action. The random elements inject controlled unpredictability, forcing performers to accept and justify offers that could not be anticipated. The game rewards flexibility, quick thinking, and the ability to absorb any suggestion without hesitation. Bucket demonstrates the core improv principle that accepting external offers, no matter how disruptive, produces stronger and more surprising scene work than relying solely on performer-generated choices.
The Lineage
Explore the schools and structures that influenced or evolved from Park Bench.
ComedySportz
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Park Bench. Retrieved September 28, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/park-bench
The Improv Archive. "Park Bench." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/park-bench.
The Improv Archive. "Park Bench." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/park-bench. Accessed September 28, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.