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What are the chances?

There was a magic moment recently in my adult learners impro class. We were playing Pick Up Lines of Dialogue and focussing on the key cognitive verb JUSTIFY. It is a very important concept in impro, we have to justify (ie provide reasons, present evidence, link to context) our actions to our fellow improvisers and to the audience. I had set a Matt and Gillian in a troubled relationship and they were receiving counselling from Stephen. The scene was going well and Stephen drew a line from the container (I was using "the 100 most famous film quotes" as my lines of dialogue) which was the Ferris Bueller line "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it". I explained that this was a beautiful line for the couple to reconcile and reconnect. We could have ended the scene there, beautifully with a sincere embrace and it would have been a reflective adult moment in amongst the laughs. However I encouraged Matt to draw one me line out and tell it with great sincerity to his partner Gillian. Matt said "darling I have to tell you something important", then drew a line, and with perfect timing said "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn". The room erupted and we laughed for a long time after that. I have been laughing all this week. Its the gift that keeps on giving, thanks Gone With The Wind for all the unexpected hilarity.



 
 
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© 2025 by Alastair Tomkins

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