What's My Name
Two actors play a scene, constantly addressing their partner by their real name. The exercise strengthens contact, attention to the partner, and naturalness in performance, removing unnecessary artificiality.
Full description
Setup and Launch
Place two improvisers on stage, the others observe. Give a clear instruction: during the scene, regularly call your partner by their real name, not their character's name.
How It Works
The focus is on presence and genuinely addressing the specific person on stage.
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Form a pair and confirm each person's preferred form of their name if pronunciation might be tricky.
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Launch a normal scene with no extra conditions. The name can be spoken in any line or reaction.
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Throughout the scene, consistently use your partner's real name: in addresses, clarifications, confirmations. Don't switch to invented names.
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Track the effect: addressing by real name "grounds" the scene, reduces theatricality, and nudges toward truthful, natural behavior.
This mode of address pulls the actor out of template play and returns attention to the partner and the present moment, strengthening the truth of the interaction.
Key rules
Use only the partner's real name — no character names.
Say the name often, but organically — weave it into lines and reactions, not as a separate act.
If the name is difficult to pronounce, agree on a comfortable version in advance.
Observe how addressing by name grounds the scene, and maintain simplicity and truthfulness of behavior.
Context
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