Free Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation by Charna Halpern, Del Close, Kim Johnson Page A

sentences and telling a story.
    This is quite easy to do, assuming the players don't try to plan ahead, but more difficult to do smoothly and well. The words should come quickly, practically without thinking (though of course they should be sensible, coherent sentences), but the group should make it sound as if one person is telling a story at a normal, conversational pace.
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One of the best ways to achieve this is by listening — paying attention to what is going on at the moment. It's impossible to think about what to say in advance, because one player can Completely change direction, and a player who thinks Baking only delays the story. The response should be reflexive rather than a carefully chosen word (this is in sharp contrast to scenes, where each response is slowly and carefully considered). The word "and" should also be avoided, and players must strive to sound like one voice.
    As the group becomes more comfortable with the game, there are other devices to enhance its value. One variation has any player who delays in responding to step out of the group, eliminating the slower players one by one, as in a spelling bee; this teaches the group to keep up the pace. Naturally, inappropriate responses also cause players to lose (when played in front of a group or an audience, good-natured jeering often results). When a player fails, he is often forced to stage his own death before the audience and his teammates, preferably in some manner that reflects the story at that point. Another technique, particularly used in a performance (or as an opening exercise) utilizes a theme, a title, or an audience suggestion for the story.
    CONDUCTED STORY
    A Conducted Story is a little more elaborate than a One- Word Story, but the principle is the same. Like the One-Word Story, this teaches players the importance of being "in the moment," and makes it painfully obvious when they are not.
    Basic Conducted Stories require players to build a story together, as though they had one brain, but several mouths. The players line up in a semicircle on stage, with one of them crouched down at the front of the group to function as a conductor, just as a symphony conductor leads an orchestra.
    The conductor leads the narration — generally one player at a time — by pointing at (or otherwise signifying to) the players so they know when to start and stop talking. The exercise often begins with an audience choosing a title, or an object that eventually is incorporated into the story. The goal of the group is to tell one single, coherent story with short segments, as chosen by the conductor.
    When the conductor points at a player, he begins speaking immediately, picking up the tale precisely where the last player left off. He continues talking for as long as — or as short as — the conductor indicates. When the conductor suddenly points to someone else, the player shuts up instantly so that the new player can pick up the story from him.
    The challenge for each improviser is picking up the very next word — or even the very next syllable — in the sentence. Each player has to listen carefully and watch the conductor at all times, so that he can stop on command. The story should not be choppy, but told in a continuous narrative voice.
    During a scene, a beginning improviser often has trouble knowing when he is not in the moment. If he tries to think ahead during a Conducted Story, however, his mistake will stick out like a sore thumb. Players who think ahead trying to second-guess what comes next in the story usually end up starting a new sentence when they are pointed at, instead of finishing the sentence started by a fellow player. This is because the actor wasn't listening. The only way to succeed at a Conducted Story is to listen and pay attention every step of the way.
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The pace of editing each narrator varies according to the whim of the conductor, but the Conducted Story is most entertaining when the players have to finish each