Slideshow
Slideshow is a performance game in which a narrator presents a series of still images formed by the ensemble, describing them as photographs from a trip, event, or life story. The physical performers create tableaux that the narrator must explain and contextualize. The game combines physical sculpture with storytelling and rewards inventive narration.
Variations
Known variants of Slideshow with distinct rules or structure.
Slide Show
Slide Show is a short-form game in which one performer narrates an imaginary slideshow presentation while other players freeze into poses representing each slide. The narrator must justify whatever positions the performers adopt. The game rewards quick justification and the comic contrast between the narrator's authority and the absurdity of the images.
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Related Games
Pop-Up Book
Pop-Up Book is a narrative game in which performers illustrate an improvised story through frozen tableaux that pop into view page by page before springing briefly to life. A narrator or host advances the book one page at a time, and the ensemble builds a playful visual story with strong physical pictures. The game is family-friendly and rewards expressive group images as much as spoken storytelling.
Slide Show
Slide Show is a short-form game in which one performer narrates an imaginary slideshow presentation while other players freeze into poses representing each slide. The narrator must justify whatever positions the performers adopt. The game rewards quick justification and the comic contrast between the narrator's authority and the absurdity of the images.
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.
Beatnik Poet
Beatnik Poet is a short-form performance game in which a player delivers an improvised poem in the style of a 1950s coffeehouse poet. The audience provides a topic and the performer must sustain a stream of free-verse imagery with dramatic flair. The game is closely related to Beat Poets and rewards the same skills of verbal invention and heightened delivery.
Glamour Story
Glamour Story is a storytelling game in which performers narrate and act out a story with exaggerated elegance, sophistication, or dramatic flair. The heightened style transforms mundane content into something theatrical and entertaining. The game builds confidence in bold delivery and trains the ability to elevate any material through commitment to tone.
Film Dub
Film Dub is a performance game in which performers provide improvised dialogue over a silent film, foreign language clip, or muted video playing on a screen. The performers must match their dialogue to the on-screen actors' mouth movements and physical actions. The game rewards quick verbal invention and the ability to justify visual information in real time.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Slideshow. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/slideshow
The Improv Archive. "Slideshow." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/slideshow.
The Improv Archive. "Slideshow." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/slideshow. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.