Landing tag moves
Many improv shows use ‘tag’ moves to move their show along.
Good improvisers clearly establish a game that their teammates on the backline understand. A game is the fun repeatable thing about a scene. This might be one character with an unusual point-of-view, or several ‘peas-in-a-pod’. Ideally, the game is rooted in active behaviours, things the improvisers can do (show, don’t tell!).
In a tag, a performer outside a specific scene taps one inside it on the shoulder, taking their place for a new scene with the remaining character. Usually, this will take that remaining character to a new setting where they can play the game in an unexpected way. An expected way will do fine too.
So, what makes a good tag move?
- Be facilitative
Tags should serve the game that’s already established. We’re primarily interested in the reaction of the unusual character that’s already in the scene.
Rather than firing them or pointing-out that they’re crazy, consider how you make them do more of their thing.
Make it clear what behaviour your teammate is expected to respond with. If this is hard to do in one-line, the game probably isn’t clearly established yet. Give your teammates space to establish it, or try another support move to help.
2. Let tags AND the reaction to them happen in full
If the game has a clear justification — a why — the backline will have many options for tagging-in to help play the game. Perfect. Except this is also where things can go off the rails. A giddy team enjoying themselves can often slip into a quick-fire run of tags, with barely enough time to see one incoming tag before the next one.
Patience is good. We’re selling ourselves short if we don’t see a character’s reaction to each tag.
A tag run shouldn’t be a game of one-upmanship by the backline. We will tire without a breather between tags. Your poor teammate receiving a merry-go-round of unreturned jokes will quickly tire too.
Seeing the reaction, and even a few lines after, massively widens our options.
Our unusual character might discover a new behaviour consistent with their point-of-view, deepen their ‘why’, or move the scene along narratively. Perhaps they’ll also establish something fun about the incoming character, and then we have a whole new avenue we can explore. Fuel for the rest of our show.
Here’s a dumb example:
The scene: Player 1 is playing an office worker, Paul, who wants to return to their previous job as a circus ringmaster. Player 2 is a co-worker.
In this run, rapid early tags suck the oxygen out of the game and we run out of options to find fun:
Player 1: ….So I’m hoping this will be useful for my next steps.
Player 2: We’ll be sorry to lose you. What was it you did again?
Player 1: Circus.
Player 2: Circus? What’s that, another tech firm?
Player 1: No, I was a ringmaster. At Zippo’s.
Player 2: Wow. I wouldn’t have thought that was much use here.
Player 1: Good for presentations.
Player 2: I guess-
((Player 3 tags out Player 2.))
Player 3: So Paul, take me through the accounts…
Player 1: ROLL UP ROLL UPPPPP FOR THE BONANZA OF A LIFETIME
((Player 4 tags out Player 3.))
Player 4: Erm, Paul, is that your lion in the break room?
((Player 5 tags outs Player 4.))
Player 5: What do you mean I need a ticket to use the meeting room?
((Player 6 tags out Player 5 AND 1, bringing in another player))
Player 6: Does Paul always somersault off the ceiling fans during presentations?
There’s nothing wrong with the ideas these players are tagging in with. All play the game of a colleague who wants to be a circus ring-master again. Each will get a laugh (I think, but then I wrote them).
However, by tagging so quickly we learn nothing new about our unusual character, and the improviser playing them hasn’t been able to do much in response. The final move removes the unusual character entirely and also rehashes the first tag, partly because we didn’t allow enough space for our teammates to give us more options.
We’d have more success with a little patience:
Player 1: ….So I’m hoping this will be useful for my next steps.
Player 2: We’ll be sorry to lose you. What was it you did again?
Player 1: Circus.
Player 2: Circus? What’s that, another tech firm?
Player 1: No, I was a ring master. At Zippo’s.
Player 2: Wow. I wouldn’t have thought that was much use here.
Player 1: Good for presentations.
Player 2: I guess-
((Player 3 tags out Player 2.))
Player 3: So Paul, take me through the accounts…
Player 1: ROLL UP ROLL UPPPPP FOR THE BONANZA OF A LIFETIME
Player 3: Just talk me through Q1.
Player 1: Sorry, I just like to add showbiz to things!
((Player 4 tags out Player 3.))
Player 4: Erm, Paul, is that your lion in the break room?
Player 1: Absolutely. King of the Jungle. There’s a lot to learn from this noble beast.
Player 4: About what?
Player 1: Deals.
((Player 5 tags outs Player 4.))
Player 5: What do you mean I need a ticket to use the meeting room?
Player 1: You need to think more like a professional entertainment business, Mike. No freebies. Unless you’re press?
((Player 6 tags out Player 5 and 1, bringing everyone in.))
Player 6: Alright, editorial meeting. I’m refreshing the culture section. We’re going to review tech firms now.
By allowing an extra line after each tag, we’ve learned that Paul also likes adding showbiz to things, takes business inspiration from lions, and thinks you should charge for meeting rooms. All consistent with the original point-of-view, but opening up new avenues for scenes away from just having Paul do circus things in an office.
3. If your tag feels risky, wait 5 seconds.
If it still feels right, go for it. That extra time is probably enough assurance that your impulse is helpful and on-game. If the moment has passed, leave it be.
4. Finally, disregard all of the above if it feels like fun to do so.
It’s only improv. Better a team tags too much and supports too hard than hugs the backline. Have fun!
