Have you seen the Barbie movie? I only saw it a few weeks after the film came out after everyone had seen it but I thought I would still make an effort to go to the cinema to watch it. The last time I went to the movies I think was to see Avengers Endgame, so it had been a while! I ended up really enjoying the film and thought it was a good film.

When I was watching it, I thought to myself that there are some things that we can take away from the film and use for the world of improv. Now, I am not talking about the overall messages in the film but I am talking about simple actions or things that occurred that I think would make a scene fun in a show. I hope by writing this article I am not ruining Barbie for anyone that hasn’t seen it as the three points I make below are very obvious in small parts of the trailer. Watching the film in it’s entirety, it made me think about these little things and I hope that they may help you in your improv scenes.

+ Take a simple action and make it have a big deal in your scene:

The feet are the most iconic part of both the trailer and the film and it got me thinking, it is a fantastic way to really channel an improv scene – take something that is as simple as a foot and make it the main drama of the scene. It is such a simple way to create drama in improv and you can really have fun with it, the possibilities are endless and you could have so much fun with it!

+ One really dramatic character and one really realistic character

If there is one thing that is really evident in the whole of the Barbie Film, then it is the energy of Ken or should I say Kenergy! The reason it works so well is because he is a really big character and has this really intense style about him that is unique to any other person in the film. Imagine having a character in an improv sequence with that level of energy in a scene. Just one character that is on a completely different level of energy compared to the others in the scene – that could be something that could be really fun to play around with!

Also, on top of that why not add another character that is the complete opposite! A realist, someone who only wants to see things as they are and contradict the Kenergy – that could be also another level of complexity that you can show in your performances!

+ Synchronised dancing :

One thing that is a main part of the whole Barbie-universe is dancing! Something that can be incredibly fun to see in an improv scene is improvised dance, it is usually accompanied by an improvised song but why not mix it up! Why not get the tech person to play a song at a random time in the scene and whenever it plays you have to dance! Or why not just dance with no music and create a tribe like vibe. The possibilities are endless!