🌄Pretty Flower / Spokane

Pretty Flower (or Spokane) is a contemporary experimental improv format that emerged in the 2000s in the UCB and IO communities as a freer alternative to the Harold. It is sometimes called the "Family Guy format" because of a structure resembling flashbacks and quick comedic inserts. The name Spokane alludes to an image of a wheel with spokes (or the city of Spokane), where the central axis is the main scene and the spokes are short offshoots.

The format combines elements of mono-scene and montage. The improvisation is built around one central scene, usually featuring two or more characters, which is not interrupted by swipes. Performers develop a stable situation — a family dinner, a gathering of friends, an office meeting, etc. As the action unfolds, participants make tag-outs, taking a character or idea into a short mini-scene connected to it. These "petals" are short and vivid, after which the action returns to the center to continue the main story.

Throughout the show, several such excursions are made. The finale arrives when the main scene has accumulated enough information and emotional tension, and it concludes naturally, often integrating knowledge gained from the side scenes. This approach makes the format both narrative and comedically dense.

One of the first troupes to play Spokane was "Sentimental Lady" (UCB Los Angeles). In New York, the group "Fancy Man" created the version "Fancy McManus" with a conversational axis scene (living room format). Today Pretty Flower is often used as a training or demonstration format: it allows performers to practice holding a storyline while also doing quick comedic tag-outs.

The philosophy of the format — balance between story and impulse. The central scene is the root of emotional truth, while the short offshoots are a place for fantasy and liberation. When played well, Pretty Flower looks like a complete piece in which each "spoke" helps deepen understanding of the characters and their inner world.