Bulldozing

A disruptive improv behavior in which one performer pushes their own ideas forward at the expense of a scene partner, preventing that partner from contributing meaningfully to the scene. The bulldozing player typically dominates initiations, negates or overrides offers, and steers the narrative so aggressively that their partner is rendered passive or blocked. The Upright Citizens Brigade Manual identifies it explicitly as a dynamic where one player controls while the other has no agency, often visible in teacher-student or authority-based scenes. As Fotis notes in Long Form Improvisation and American Comedy, some performers with more aggressive styles have a higher tendency toward bulldozing, pushing their ideas at the expense of their partners. While their energy may appear confident, the behavior undermines the collaborative foundation that ensemble improvisation depends on. Bulldozing is not limited to loud or domineering players; it can manifest subtly through persistent steering, ignoring a partner's contributions, or refusing to let a scene breathe. Importantly, as Seham observes in Whose Improv Is It Anyway, the remedy is not pure deference: constant passivity is just as damaging to the ensemble as bulldozing. Performers must learn to lead and assert without steamrolling, finding the balance between initiative and receptivity that allows both players to shape the scene together.