The Monoscene

I’m about to wrap up a level 301 Improv class with Stranger than Fiction. Our class culminates in a student showcase. Our class opens the show for the main cast. There’s 11 of us in class and we’re performing the Monoscene format. Come see us in Portsmouth on Friday August 15th, 2025!

The Monoscene is just as it sounds. One scene. Everything takes place in one location. It’s a challenge as each performer has to manage their own entrances and exits. Other formats handle that in different ways, usually by an off-stage performer choosing when to “edit" the scene. Ending one scene and beginning another. 

With the monoscene the location is usually a suggestion from the audience. "Can I please get a non-geographic place that will fit on the stage?” 

A book store, or comic book shop, or train station ticketing and waiting area. That kind of thing. 

Typically the performers play the same characters throughout. Two person scenes are typically performed. So everyone has to justify entering and exiting. Or fading into the background to clean the table in the back or whatever. 

It’s a fun challenge and I’ve really taken to like the format. 

Like most things in Improv it scared me at first, and now I really enjoy it.