Triggers
Triggers is a scene game and exercise in which specific words, phrases, or gestures are designated before a scene begins, and whenever they occur the recipient must execute a predetermined physical or emotional response. The gap between the mundane trigger and the extreme reaction creates the comedic and theatrical engine of the game. It trains active listening, physical commitment, and justification under surprise.
Structure
Setup
Before the scene begins, one or more players are secretly assigned a trigger. A trigger is a word, phrase, or gesture that, when it occurs in the scene, produces a predetermined response from the player assigned to it. Responses may be physical (a spasm, a freeze, a burst of weeping, an involuntary dance) or behavioral (compulsive agreement, sudden anger, absolute stillness).
The trigger is typically chosen by the facilitator, a partner, or drawn from an audience suggestion. The player does not choose their own trigger. The other players in the scene do not know what the trigger is.
Gameplay
Andy Diggles describes the exercise mechanic in Improv for Actors: two players carry on an ordinary conversation until one of them says something perfectly ordinary that triggers a huge, unexpected emotional reaction in the other. The reaction is so overwhelming that the triggered player feels compelled to explain it, producing the first layer of scene justification: why does the word "Tuesday" reduce this person to tears?
The scene players proceed naturally, not attempting to find or avoid the trigger. When the trigger word or gesture appears organically in the scene, the triggered player executes their predetermined response immediately and fully. The scene must then absorb and justify what has occurred.
Multiple players can each be assigned different triggers, creating a scene in which any participant may be suddenly overtaken by their response at any moment.
Conclusion
The scene ends at the facilitator's call or when the scene reaches a natural conclusion. The trigger game works best when the scene has enough time to allow the trigger to occur naturally at least once, and ideally two or three times with escalating justification.
How to Teach It
How to Explain It
"One of you is the trigger. You are watching your partner carefully. Every time your partner says a specific word or makes a specific gesture, you react in a specific way we have agreed on in advance. The scene continues. You cannot explain your reaction. Just respond to the trigger every time it happens."
Objectives
Triggers develops active listening at the micro level: the triggered player must track every word and gesture in the scene while simultaneously performing naturally. It also trains physical commitment to a predetermined choice, which bypasses the self-editing that causes players to modulate their responses based on what feels proportionate.
The justification demand on both players (the triggered player explaining their reaction; the other players making sense of what happened) reinforces the improv principle that everything that occurs in the scene can become meaningful if someone accepts responsibility for it.
Scaffolding
Begin with very simple triggers (a single common word such as "fine" or "ready") and very clear, physical responses (a freeze, a stumble, a burst of laughter) before introducing more complex emotional or behavioral triggers.
For groups with facility, introduce multiple simultaneous triggers and assign them without revealing them to anyone except the individual recipients. The scene becomes an ensemble minefield in which any player may be affected at any moment.
Common Coaching Notes
- "When the trigger hits, do not hesitate. Execute immediately."
- "Partners: do not try to avoid the trigger word. Play naturally. Let it happen."
- "Triggered player: the reaction came from somewhere real. Find the reason after it arrives."
- "If the trigger never comes, play a good scene. The game cannot force it."
How to Perform It
Audience Experience
For audiences, the Triggers game creates a dual information structure: they can see the triggered player's response but do not know what caused it, mirroring the onstage players' experience of confusion. When the audience eventually connects the trigger word to the reaction, the recognition produces a comedic payoff.
For maximum audience engagement, the trigger should be established in the audience's awareness before the scene begins. Performers can whisper the trigger to the audience (but not to scene partners) at the game's outset, giving the audience the pleasure of anticipating the moment.
Casting
The most theatrically productive casting places the trigger response with a player who can commit to extreme physical or emotional expression without hesitation. Halfhearted triggers flatten the game. The onstage partners should have strong justification instincts, as they must make sense of whatever happens without any preparation.
History
Triggers as a structured exercise appears across multiple improv curricula as a direct descendant of the behavioral conditioning models that underpin much of physical theatre and actor training. Sybil Noreen Eldredge discusses external and internal triggers in Mask Improvisation for Actor Training and Performance (1997) in the context of what compels a performer's physical response to expand or contract.
In theatrical contexts, Deirdre Heddon and Jane Milling note in Devising Performance (2006) that structural rules using chance, mistakes, and accidents as performance triggers have been a recurring technique in devised and collective creation work since the mid-twentieth century.
Andy Diggles documents a scene exercise in Improv for Actors (2004) in which a player has been assigned an emotional trigger: something ordinary that produces a disproportionate reaction. The exercise requires the triggered player to justify the reaction while the scene players work to understand what they caused.
The specific short-form game format, in which triggers are assigned before a scene and reveal themselves naturally during performance, circulates widely in both educational and short-form improv repertoires. No single originator has been documented.
Worth Reading
See all books →
The Actor's Book of Improvisation
Sandra Caruso; Paul Clemens
Devising Performance
A Critical History
Deirdre Heddon; Jane Milling
Mask Improvisation for Actor Training and Performance
the compelling image
Sears A. Eldredge
Improvisation for the Spirit
Live a More Creative, Spontaneous, and Courageous Life
Katie Goodman
The Applied Improvisation Mindset
Tools for Transforming Individuals, Organizations, and Communities
Theresa Robbins Dudeck; Caitlin McClure
Something from Nothing
The Technique of Improvisation
Richard Goteri
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Rash
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Continuing Emotions
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Triggers. Retrieved September 28, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/triggers
The Improv Archive. "Triggers." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/triggers.
The Improv Archive. "Triggers." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/triggers. Accessed September 28, 2026.
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