Secrets Endowment

Setup

The host collects or prepares secrets for each performer. These secrets describe something about the character that shapes their behavior: "You are planning to propose tonight," "You just robbed a bank," "You are actually a ghost," or "You are secretly terrified of the other person." Each performer receives their secret without the others knowing.

The host establishes a scene premise and the performers begin, each carrying their hidden information.

Playing the Scene

Performers must let their secret influence their behavior without stating it directly. A character who just robbed a bank might be nervous, protective of a bag, and eager to leave. A character planning a proposal might be unusually attentive and keep steering the conversation toward commitment.

The audience, who heard all the secrets, watches with full knowledge while the performers navigate their individual hidden agendas. The dramatic irony creates comedy as characters talk past each other, each driven by motivations the other cannot see.

Discovery and Reveals

As the scene progresses, secrets may surface naturally through the interaction. One character's nervousness prompts questions from another. A misunderstanding based on competing secrets creates escalating confusion. The scene often builds toward a moment where one or more secrets are revealed, recontextualizing everything that came before.

Variations

A written version has audience members write the secrets on cards. A progressive version reveals additional secrets to performers mid-scene, layering complications. A mutual version gives all performers the same secret that they each think only they know.