Flash Forward

A flash forward is a performance technique in which players jump ahead in time to depict the future consequences of a present action or decision. Borrowed from cinematic storytelling, the device allows improvisers to leave a scene's present moment, leap to a point in the future, and dramatize what happens as a result of a choice being contemplated or already made. It is commonly used to explore "what if" scenarios, often revealing unintended, exaggerated, or disastrous results before snapping back to the original timeframe. The technique serves both comedic and dramatic purposes: comedically, it heightens stakes by showing absurd worst-case outcomes; dramatically, it lends weight to seemingly minor decisions by exposing their long-term ripple effects. Flash forwards work especially well in sketch-style improvisation and narrative longform, where temporal jumps can be clearly signaled to the audience through verbal announcements, physical transitions, or lighting changes. The device pairs naturally with its counterpart, the flashback, and both fall under the broader category of time-based scene techniques. Lynn Johnston highlights the flash forward as a reliable "sketch insurance policy," a structural tool that can rescue or energize a scene by reframing a mundane present-tense premise through its future consequences.