Replay at Bernie’s/Weekend at Bernie’s

How to Play

Three or four players improvise a short scene. Afterward, the audience chooses one player to eliminate. Replay the scene with that player silent and passive: the remaining active players supply the character's voice and physically puppet their movements. After each replay, eliminate another player and repeat until only one active player remains. That player performs all three or four characters, moving and voicing every eliminated teammate. Finish after this final replay.

The Radio Milwaukee account of a ComedySportz Milwaukee match describes the three-player version and audience eliminations; Improv Circus plays with three or four players. The setup, example, and coaching tips below are practical suggestions for playing it.

Before starting, get a location or situation from the audience and agree on comfortable ways to move one another. Establish a clear relationship, a simple problem, and a few memorable actions in the first scene. On each replay, keep the same characters, main dialogue, and sequence of events; the increasing puppeteering workload supplies the complication. Eliminated players remain characters in the scene, rather than becoming dead within its story.

Examples

A scene takes place at a bakery: a customer orders a birthday cake, the baker hands it over, and an assistant lights the candles.

Customer: “You remembered all ninety candles!”

Baker: “We had to reinforce the frosting.”

Assistant: “Make a wish before the sprinklers start.”

If the assistant is eliminated, the active players repeat those beats, moving the assistant's arm to light the imaginary candles and supplying their line. If the baker is eliminated next, the customer must recreate both teammates' actions and voices as well as their own.

Player Tips

• Give the original scene an easy-to-remember beginning, middle, and ending.
• Use distinct voices and clear gestures so the audience can follow each character in the final replay.
• Let puppeteering take time. A pause to reposition a teammate can be part of the fun.
• Passive players should cooperate with gentle movement and support their own weight. Agree on contact beforehand; avoid pulling joints, lifting teammates, or sudden falls.

Host Tips

• Explain that eliminated players stay onstage and must be moved and voiced by the remaining players.
• Keep the first scene short enough to repeat two or three times without losing momentum.
• Make each audience choice clear before restarting the scene.
• End on the final replay's closing beat or a strong laugh once the last player has demonstrated the challenge.