Town Council
A long form based on a basic Harold: a town meeting plus scenes about the problems the audience suggests.
Host
Yes
Full description
Setup and Launch
The form works well for mid to larger sized groups. Pick two players to take on the roles of leaders of the meeting. Two keep each other in check and move the meeting along together. Everyone else plays the town people.
Flow
The form is based on a basic Harold. Harold is a long form: a single audience suggestion unfolds into a collage of scenes that interweave and connect by the end.
1. Opening the meeting
The leaders make up a town name and call the meeting to order. Then they get a few town problems suggested by the audience. The other players disperse into the audience.
2. The discussion
Leaders and citizens together discuss the main issue and possible scenarios to solve it. Keep the discussion brief.
3. Scenes
Then all players take part in scenes based on those scenarios. A scene may or may not be exactly like the scenario from the meeting, but it should always help move the whole story forward. Scenes can involve characters from the meeting or new ones.
4. Back to the meeting
After three or four scenes, the team returns to the town meeting. The leaders stay the same. The meeting quickly discusses how well the previous scenes helped the overall problem or didn't. Then everyone suggests more.
5. Repeat and ending
Meeting and scenes alternate until some type of resolution is reached. Most likely the team will return to the meeting only three times, maybe four. The set ends in one of two ways: the town meeting is adjourned, or the team plays a wrap-up scene.
Context
Resources
What to try next
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Armando
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Harold
Long form: a single audience suggestion unfolds into a collage of scenes that interweave and connect by the end.
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