Beat the Block

This is one of our favourite games because it teaches the idea of offering and accepting, that is, strongly accepting elements of narrative that have already been raised in the story. When you say "No, let's do x instead" or "No, I don't want to do x" then you're doing what's called a block, wimping away from something suggested in the story. when forced to say "Yes and" then you automatically add to the flow of the scene. What's also interesting in this scene is right at the end when the coach is asked "Will you ever leave me?" I feel like that's a great example of blocking. He tries to say "Yes" but quickly changes it to a "No." But doesn't that strike at the heart of the emotional development of the scene? The baseball player is terrified of rejection. Wouldn't it be more dramatic, be more *interesting* if the coach said "Yes, I will leave and..." rather than "No, I won't leave you..." or "Yes, I'll leave you but really you'll be okay" It's an example of shying away from an emotional moment.

Posted by Helen Marshall on March 13, 2010 at 8:59 AM

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