RUEN

ASSCAT

Also known as: ASSSSCAT 3000

A long-form format launched by a monologue: an invited guest tells a true personal story from an audience suggestion, and the ensemble plays scenes from its themes and details. The format trains translating what you hear into play and grounded scenes.

Players

4–8

Duration

50 min

Difficulty

Intermediate

Full description

Setup and Launch

Explain to the audience: they will give one suggestion, the invited guest will tell a true personal story inspired by it, and the ensemble will improvise scenes inspired by that story. Say that the guest may return later with another story.

Play on a bare stage, with minimal props or none at all. Arrange for a guest monologist in advance and gather the main ensemble of roughly four to eight actors.

Immediately establish the running time: the show typically runs in two halves of approximately 25 minutes each.

Play

1. Audience suggestion

Ask the audience for one suggestion: a word, phrase, or topic. Keep the request simple and singular so the guest has a clear starting point.

2. First monologue

Invite the guest on stage and ask them to tell a true personal story inspired by the suggestion. Let the monologue run for several minutes so that specific details emerge: names, objects, relationships, emotional turns.

3. Scene series from the monologue

As soon as the monologue ends, immediately begin scenes, taking starting points from specific moments, ideas, and branches of the story. Scenes can begin quickly and densely, but each scene still needs time to develop.

Play two-person scenes more often, and add larger scenes only when it genuinely helps. The monologue is the primary source of inspiration, but scenes can also inspire each other: callbacks, returning characters, locations, and details from previous scenes — all of this is a natural part of the format. Don't try to force scenes into a single unified plot.

4. Guest returns with a new monologue (optional)

When the ensemble feels they have mined everything useful from the current monologue, invite the guest back. The guest tells a second, and sometimes third, true story, usually inspired by what they noticed in the scenes played.

5. Another series of scenes

Continue playing scenes from the new monologue's material. Scenes can also pick up themes and characters from previous scenes — connections between scenes emerge organically through the ensemble's group mind.

6. End of the half

Finish the half around the 25-minute mark. The full show typically consists of two halves of approximately 25 minutes each.

Key rules

  • One clear suggestion — Take one word, phrase, or topic so the guest and ensemble have a shared and understandable starting point.

  • Treat the monologue as source material — Build scenes from specific details and emotional moments, because specificity gives playable choices, not vague general themes.

  • The monologue is primary but not the only source — Build scenes from the monologue, but callbacks and returning characters from previous scenes are a natural part of the format. Don't force scenes into one plot, but don't avoid connections that arise naturally.

  • Start fast, but let scenes live — Launch scenes immediately after the monologue to maintain momentum, but stay in the scene long enough to fully explore the idea.

  • Immediately clarify who, where, and what's happening — Quickly establish relationships, location, and activity, because clarity helps the scene develop without confusion.

  • Avoid denial and interrogating with questions — Make offers and build reality together with your partner, because denial and constant questions slow development.

  • Only bring the guest back when the material is exhausted — Call the guest back when there's nothing more to take from the current story, because random returns break the natural flow of the show.

Format structure

Context

Resources

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