It's been awhile since the idea of using a suggestion bothered me. But coaching an inaugural college team has reminded me that there's a lot of little tips that you need to hear when you learn improv for the first time.One of which is to not take the suggestion literally.
If someone suggests banana, please do not eat a banana. If someone suggestions bathroom, do not take a mimed dump onstage. I'd forgotten the impulses to jump from one word immediately to the first thing I think of: that's what the audience does. When they say cake, they think in their heads "Oh my gosh, I love cake. I wish I was eating cake." But they don't really want to see a scene with a character who has a train of thought like that. You've gotta be one step ahead of your audience.
