Did you know that Bent Theatre once had a game where players had to periodically stick their heads in a bucket of water?
Improv games are short scenes with one rule attached. Some rules are better ideas than others.
Bucket of Death had a very simple but messy premise. At its base level, the game is almost identical to Enter/Exit. Each player is given a trigger word, and when it’s said, they have to find an excuse to leave the scene or come back into it, depending on where they are at the time.
With Bucket of Death, however, when the word is said, the affected cast member submerges their head in a bucket of water. For obvious reasons (inability to hear and…well…drowning), the trigger word doesn’t bring them back. The submerged player comes back up after a 10-count, or when they’re tagged out, either because another player’s word is said and it’s their turn in the bucket, or because the submerged player’s own word is said again. Whichever happens first. While they’re under, they’re treated as though they’ve walked out of the room, and just like Enter/Exit, they have to justify both their exit and their reappearance (and the fact that they’re now soaked).
A rare sight between 2014 and 2017, it almost always ended the show, because by then the stage and half the cast were soaked. But hey, it always gave us a good excuse to mop the floors at The Bridge or Gorilla Theatre.
-Andy
Bucket of Death is retired. The rest of us are still performing, completely dry, at Fallen Tree Vineyard on Friday, October 30 and Decipher Brewing on Sunday, November 1.