You're Not All Named Gerald
An improv pet peeve
Improvisers are taught to take the “first unusual thing” and turn it into a game of the scene. Improvisers are taught to get names of characters out early in the scene. Improvisers are bad at names. This leads to the Gerald Scene, which looks something like this:
Player 1: Hi, Gerald. Busy day at the zoo today.
Player 2: Yeah, those koalas are deal divas, but you’re getting better at dealing with them, Gerald.
(a moment of confusion trying to figure out which person is Gerald)
Player 1: I think it confuses the animals that we have the same name.
Player 2: Yeah, maybe we should come up with nicknames?
(Player 3 enters)
Player 3: Hey, Gerald and Gerald, good to see you.
Players 1 and 2 in unison: Gerald!
The name doesn’t have to be “Gerald,” but it often is for some reason. The improvisers are just trying to follow the rules of finding game in scenes; however, the Gerald game usually completely derails the scene from any sort of meaningful relationship or character-work. In my classes, after I see the Gerald game play out twice, I tell my students that this game is off limits, and they’re usually happy to leave it behind.
These are some common Gerald scene variants:
We all have the same name.
Everyone in this town has very similar names. E.g., Jim, Gem, James, and Jimm (with two ‘m’s)
This character keeps calling everyone the wrong name.
This character keeps changing their name.
While a short Gerald scene might not be too out of place in a montage, it can completely kill a narrative. When you need to remember names for a whole show, it’s best not to do bits about people’s names. It is confusing for the audience and the people on stage. While the name bit can get some laughs, it comes at the expense of the show.
Consider that in reality, it’s not actually that unusual for two people to have the same name. It doesn’t have to be the game of the scene. Improvisers are just hyper-aware for any sort of pattern-matching. If we all agree that we’re not going to do Gerald scenes, then we ignore the name flub, and move on to the first actually unusual thing.
Improvisers are going to mess up names. It happens from time to time. I think the best policy is to quickly correct the mistake and clarify what the names are. The audience will forgive the error. They already know it’s a mistake. You’re not pulling the wool over their eyes by doing a Gerald scene and pretending the name game was the plan all along. Audiences are having trouble keeping track of the names too, so if a player takes a moment to get the names sorted, it makes everyone feel better.
I do wonder if “Gerald” is regionally specific. What is the “Gerald” equivalent where you perform? Is it also “Gerald"? Let me know in the comments.