Repeater

Repeater is a scene game in which one performer must repeat every line that another performer says before responding with their own dialogue. The echoing constraint slows the scene's rhythm, creates comic frustration, and forces both players to choose their words carefully. The game trains listening and demonstrates how repetition changes the weight of language.

Worth Reading

See all books →

Related Games

Switch Gibberish

Switch Gibberish is a scene game in which performers alternate between speaking coherent dialogue and gibberish on command. Scene partners must maintain the scene's emotional arc and narrative logic regardless of which mode they are in. The game demonstrates how much communication happens through tone and physicality independent of words.

Déjà Vu

Deja Vu is a scene game in which a specific line or action triggers an exact replay of a previous moment in the scene. The repetition creates a comic loop that intensifies with each recurrence. The game trains precise recall and the ability to recreate physical and vocal choices exactly.

Deaf Replay

Deaf Replay is a short-form game in which a scene is performed once with full dialogue and sound, then replayed by a different set of performers who watched the original without being able to hear it. The silent observers must reconstruct the scene's action, emotion, and physical activity based on what they could see but not hear, producing a version that may diverge from the original in comic and revealing ways.

Half Life

Half Life is a short-form game in which a scene is performed at full length, then replayed at half the time, then half again, compressing until the entire scene fits into a few seconds. Each repetition forces performers to identify and retain only the essential beats. The game reveals the core of a scene by stripping away everything nonessential.

He Said While She

He Said While She (also called Two-Headed Expert or Narration Game) is a scene game in which narration and action interweave: one performer narrates what a character says while the other physically performs and voices the character's actions. The split between narrator and performer creates a dual-track reality in which the narration and the physical performance can align, diverge, or generate irony through contrast. The game rewards physical specificity and the narrator's ability to use the performer's choices.

Dubbed Movie

Dubbed Movie is a scene game in which one set of performers provides the physical action while a separate group supplies all voices from offstage or from the side. The disconnect between bodies and voices generates comedy through mismatched timing, unexpected interpretations, and the challenge of physical performers having to commit fully to words they cannot predict. The game trains both physical storytelling and vocal responsiveness.

How to Reference This Page

APA

The Improv Archive. (2026). Repeater. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/repeater

Chicago

The Improv Archive. "Repeater." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/repeater.

MLA

The Improv Archive. "Repeater." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/repeater. Accessed March 17, 2026.

The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.