Status See-Saw
1970s-present ยท UK / global
Also known as See-Saw, Status Transaction, Up and Down
Two players run a scene where status is treated like a see-saw: every time one raises their status the other must drop theirs, and the balance keeps tipping line by line.
Known for
- Built directly on Johnstone's see-saw discovery in Impro: 'I go up and you go down.'
- Teaches the two levers of status play: lower the other (you stink) or raise yourself (I smell good).
- Johnstone advised alternating the methods, sometimes diminishing the partner, sometimes exalting yourself, line by line.
- Reveals the exception too: when you identify with someone, their rise can raise you instead of lowering you.
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