A character-chain longform format where each two-person scene shares one character with the next, forming a circle that returns to the first character. Named after Arthur Schnitzler's 1897 play Reigen (La Ronde).
Origin: Developed by Craig Cackowski in Chicago in the mid-1990s after watching the Schnitzler film adaptation. Introduced to Frank Booth rehearsals where it served as an exercise for over a year. Independently, Miles Stroth developed a variation at iO during a class on story structure.
How it works (5 performers):
- Scene 1: Characters A and B
- Scene 2: Character B stays, joined by new Character C
- Scene 3: Character C stays, joined by D
- Scene 4: Character D stays, joined by E
- Scene 5: Character E stays, joined by A — completing the circle
The two-wave variant: Four players perform a first wave of scenes, then a significant off-stage event occurs (a death, an affair, a job loss). The second wave revisits the same pairs, revealing how the event transformed each relationship. This variant makes the format's central revelation explicit: the same person behaves differently depending on who they're with.
What it teaches: Character consistency across contexts — how a single person shifts depending on their relationship. Relationship as engine — each scene is defined by the dynamic between two specific people, not by plot. Community portraiture — the daisy-chain builds a picture of an interconnected world through overlapping relationships.
Typical ensemble: 4-6 performers. More than 7-8 makes the circle too long for audiences to track.