Written Lines
Written Lines is a scene game in which performers hold slips of paper with pre-written lines that they must incorporate naturally into an improvised scene at opportune moments. The challenge lies in finding the right context to deliver each unrelated line without breaking the scene's logic. The game rewards smooth justification and the ability to steer a scene toward unexpected material.
Worth Reading
See all books →
Something Wonderful Right Away
An Oral History of The Second City and The Compass Players
Jeffrey Sweet
Acting Through Improv
Improv Through Theatresports
Lynda Belt; Rebecca Stockley
Theater Games for Rehearsal
Viola Spolin
Pirate Robot Ninja
An Improv Fable
Billy Merritt; Will Hines
The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual
Matt Besser; Ian Roberts; Matt Walsh
The Playbook
Improv Games for Performers
William Hall
Related Games
Script Tease
Script Tease is a short-form game in which performers hold actual scripts or random text and must incorporate the written lines into their improvised scene, reading from the page at key moments while making the pre-written text fit naturally within the context of the scene.
Fortune Cookie
Fortune Cookie is a scene game in which performers receive slips of paper with fortune cookie messages that must be incorporated into the scene at key moments. The random text injection forces creative justification and produces unexpected narrative turns. The game trains the skill of making any external input work within the scene's logic.
Blind Line Offers
Blind Line Offers is a scene exercise in which performers receive random written lines from slips of paper and must incorporate each one seamlessly into the scene as it unfolds. The unexpected text forces players to justify and connect disparate material in real time. The exercise trains adaptability and the skill of making any offer work.
Non Sequitor
Non Sequitur is a hybrid game and exercise in which performers deliberately break logical connections between lines of dialogue, forcing each new statement to have no apparent relationship to the one before it. The exercise trains performers to let go of the need to make sense, builds comfort with absurdity, and paradoxically reveals how audiences will construct meaning even from disconnected material.
Don't Mess with Textus
Don't Mess with Textus is a scene game in which performers incorporate pre-written text -- lines from a play, a manual, a newspaper article, or any fixed document -- into an improvised scene. The challenge lies in making the fixed text feel natural, motivated, and contextually appropriate within the scene's reality rather than inserted or forced. The game trains adaptability, contextual responsiveness, and the ability to find the meaning in given language.
Switch Gibberish
Switch Gibberish is a scene game in which performers alternate between speaking coherent dialogue and speaking in invented gibberish language. The switch happens on a signal from the facilitator or host, requiring performers to maintain scene continuity across radically different modes of communication.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Written Lines. Retrieved March 19, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/written-lines
The Improv Archive. "Written Lines." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/written-lines.
The Improv Archive. "Written Lines." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/written-lines. Accessed March 19, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.