Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza/Trivia
Each show takes place as a series of games, including but not limited to:
Bob's Call
Adapted from "Show Stopping Number", and the first time the resident musician participates actively in the game. The players act out a scene, and Bob is allowed to add some Suspiciously Apropos Music at any time, starting with an intro that acts as the players' cue to turn it into a musical number.
First Date
Similar in concept to "New Choice" below - an actual couple is picked from the audience and asked about how they met, which is acted out by two players (with some help from the others). The couple is given two horns and two bells, allowing them to honk if the players get something wrong or ring if they get something right.
Forward/Reverse
Two players act out a scene, while a third player can call for the action to reverse at any time, making the two players re-enact their past actions in reverse, or at least as much as they can remember, making this the hardest game of all.
Freeze
Last seen in Green Screen Show, this one actually dates back to the early UK run of Whose Line: two players start out in physical positions picked by the audience, then act out their scene with regards to said positions. At any time one of the other players can pause the action, replace one of the players and take the scene in a completely different direction; Green Screen Show began the practice of having the next player join in the action, leading to more elaborate four- to five-man acts.
Hits Compilation
Known as "Greatest Hits" during Whose Line: after poaching the audience for a theme, two players act as presenters selling a compilation album based around that theme, making up song styles and titles while two or three other players have to sing those songs.
Kick It!
Basically the love child of "Show Stopping Number" and "Scene to Rap", two players act out the scene while a third can call 'Kick it' at any time, making the last person to speak turn the last thing he said into a gangsta rap, until the third calls 'Word' to end it.
Mousetraps
Possibly the most sadistic thing ever on television, two players have to act out a scene blindfolded, while walking barefoot on a stage covered in mousetraps. Makes Just as Much Sense in Context.
Moving People
Exactly the same as it was in Whose Line, two players act out a scene but cannot move on their own unless moved by two audience members.
New Choice
Last seen in Green Screen Show, this one was known as "Quick Change" in Whose Line: two players act out a scene while a third can call for either player to backtrack and replace their last lines or actions with something different.
Options
Basically "Film TV Theater Styles", elaborated on in Green Screen Show and taken Up to Eleven here. The audience's suggestions or styles of TV etc. are done during each pause rather than all written down before the scene starts, and Improv-a-ganza began the practice of invoking "Changed Letter" and "Number Of Words" play mechanics as well.
Playbook
Adapted from "Every Other Line" in the early UK Whose Line, two players act out a scene, but one player's lines all come from a randomly picked playbook that usually have nothing to do with the scene at hand.
Question This
Not a renamed "Questions Only", but actually a homage to Jeopardy!. One player takes the role of "host" with up to four other players as "contestants". The audience plays a bigger part than usual as each "contestant" names a category, thus prompting the audience to come up with their idea of an answer, and in turn making the "contestants" buzz in and answer in the form of a question. This one was last done in Drew Carey's Improv All-Stars, a reunion stage show that came between Green Screen and Improv-a-ganza.
Sentences
Originally known as "Whose Line" but expanded upon during Green Screen Show. Two players act out a scene and have to read out pre-written lines that they must work into the scene somehow (it became more than two lines during Green Screen Show).
Song For A Lady
Essentially the same as Duets: two to three players sing a song about an audience member, only this time she is asked more questions about other aspects of life, making this game similar to "American Musical" from the early UK Whose Line.
Sound Effects
Just like in Whose Line, this game follows the Mk II variation ie. having two players act out a scene and two audience members providing the sounds as and when needed (usually).
Storytelling
Last seen in Green Screen Show, all players line up in a row, save for one. The audience is poached for a title, and the standing players must make up the entire story, with the odd man out randomly picking one player after another to continue the tale.
Two-Headed Expert
A combination of "Three Headed Broadway Star" and "All in One Voice" but minus the singing. After the audience is poached for a subject, two pairs of two play this game, and one pair speaks alternatingly, one word at a time, while the other pair has to explain the subject to the first by speaking the same words at the exact same time.
- Hey, It's That Guy!: If you're an Internet geek (which you probably are), Heather Anne Campbell may look to be in need of a napkin to you.