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{{Short description|Theatrical genre featuring unscripted performance}}
[[File:Teatersport -4.jpg|thumb|Swedish actors performing in [[theatresports]], a competitive form of improv]]
'''Improvisational theatre''', often called '''improvisation''' or '''improv''', is the form of [[theatre]], often [[comedy]], in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted
Improvisational theatre exists in performance as a range of styles of improvisational comedy as well as some non-comedic theatrical performances. It is sometimes used in film and television, both to develop characters and scripts and occasionally as part of the final product.
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===Modern===
[[File:Dario Fo in Venice Film Festival 02.jpg|thumb|Italian Nobel-winner [[Dario Fo]] received international acclaim for his highly improvisational style]]
Modern theatrical improvisation games began as drama exercises for children, which were a staple of drama education in the early 20th century thanks in part to the [[progressive education]] movement initiated by [[John Dewey]] in 1916.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.interactiveimprov.com/tspwb1hist.html|title=TheatreSports History|work=interactiveimprov.com}}</ref> Some people credit American [[Dudley Riggs]] as the first [[vaudeville|vaudevillian]] to use audience suggestions to create improvised sketches on stage. Improvisation exercises were developed further by [[Viola Spolin]] in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, and codified in her book ''Improvisation For The Theater'',<ref name="Spolin">{{cite book|title=Improvisation for the Theater Third Edition|author=Viola Spolin|year=1999|publisher=Northwestern University Press |isbn=978-0-8101-4008-0}}</ref> the first book that gave specific techniques for learning to do and teach improvisational theater. In 1977, [[Clive Barker (editor)|Clive Barker]]'s book ''Theatre Games'' (several translations and editions) spread the ideas of improv internationally. British playwright and director [[Keith Johnstone]] wrote ''[[Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre]]'', a book outlining his ideas on improvisation, and invented [[Theatresports]], which has become a staple of modern improvisational comedy and is the inspiration for the popular television show ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]''
Viola Spolin influenced the first generation of modern American improvisers at [[The Compass Players]] in [[Chicago]], which led to [[The Second City]]. Her son, [[Paul Sills]], along with [[David Shepherd (producer)|David Shepherd]], started The Compass Players. Following the demise of the Compass Players, Paul Sills began The Second City. They were the first organized improv troupes in Chicago, and the modern Chicago improvisational comedy movement grew from their success.<ref name=Wonderful>The story of the Compass Players and its development into The Second City is told by first-hand interviews in Jeffrey Sweet's book "Something Wonderful Right Away" (Limelight Editions, 2004)</ref><ref name=Compass>Janet Coleman's "The Compass: The Improvisational Theatre that Revolutionized American Comedy" (Centennial Publications of The University of Chicago Press, 1991).</ref>
Many of the current "rules" of comedic improv were first formalized in Chicago in the late 1950s and early 1960s, initially among The Compass Players troupe, which was directed by Paul Sills. From most accounts, David Shepherd provided the philosophical vision of the Compass Players, while [[Elaine May]] was central to the development of the premises for its improvisations. [[Mike Nichols]], Ted Flicker, and [[Del Close]] were her most frequent collaborators in this regard. When The Second City opened its doors on December 16, 1959, directed by Paul Sills, his mother Viola Spolin began training new improvisers through a series of classes and exercises which became the cornerstone of modern improv training. By the mid-1960s, Viola Spolin's classes were handed over to her protégé, [[Josephine Forsberg|Jo Forsberg]], who further developed Spolin's methods into a one-year course, which eventually became [[The Players Workshop]], the first official school of improvisation in the United States. During this time, Forsberg trained many of the performers who went on to star on The Second City stage.<ref name=Wonderful /><ref name=Compass />
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[[Joan Littlewood]], an English actress and director who was active from the 1950s to 1960s, made extensive use of improv in developing plays for performance. However, she was successfully prosecuted twice for allowing her actors to improvise in performance. Until 1968, British law required scripts to be approved by the [[Lord Chamberlain's Office]]. The department also sent inspectors to some performances to check that the approved script was performed exactly as approved.
In 1987, [[Annoyance Theatre]] began as a club in Chicago that emphasizes longform improvisation. The Annoyance Theatre has grown into multiple locations in Chicago and New York City. It is the home of the longest running musical improv show in history at 11 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theannoyance.com/about-the-annoyance/history-of-the-annoyance/|title=History of the Annoyance {{!}} The Annoyance Theatre & Bar|website=theannoyance.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-28|archive-date=2018-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029032215/https://theannoyance.com/about-the-annoyance/history-of-the-annoyance/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2012, Lebanese writer and director [[Lucien Bourjeily]] used improvisational theater techniques to create a multi-sensory play entitled ''66 Minutes in Damascus''. This play premiered at the London International Festival of Theater, and is considered one of the most extreme kinds of interactive improvised theater put on stage. The audience play the part of kidnapped tourists in today's Syria in a hyperreal sensory environment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/66-minutes-in-damascus/|title=Review of 66 Minutes in Damascus at Shoreditch Town Hall - Exeunt Magazine|author=Lois Jeary|work=exeuntmagazine.com}}</ref>
Rob Wittig and Mark C. Marino have developed a form of improv for online theatrical improvisation called [[netprov]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dichtung-digital.de/en/journal/aktuelle-nummer/?postID=577|title=Current Issue - Dichtung Digital|work=dichtung-digital.de|access-date=2014-11-03|archive-date=2021-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224133241/http://www.dichtung-digital.de/en/journal/aktuelle-nummer/?postID=577|url-status=dead}}</ref> The form relies on [[social media]] to engage audiences in the creation of dynamic fictional scenarios that evolve in real-time.
==Comedy==
[[File:Improvisers in Chicago.jpeg|thumb|Three improvisers performing longform improv comedy at the Gorilla Tango Theatre in Chicago.]]
Modern improvisational comedy, as it is practiced in the West, falls generally into two categories: shortform and longform.
Shortform improv consists of short scenes usually constructed from a predetermined [[Theater game|game]], structure, or idea and driven by an audience suggestion. Many
Longform improv performers create shows in which short scenes are often interrelated by story, characters, or themes. Longform shows may take the form of an existing type of theatre, for example a full-length play or [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]-style [[musical theater|musical]] such as [[Spontaneous Broadway]]. One of the better-known longform structures is [[Harold (improvisation)|the Harold]], developed by [[IO Theater|ImprovOlympic]] co-founder [[Del Close]]. Many such longform structures now exist. Actors such as Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, and Steve Carrell found their start in longform improv.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holloway |first=Dan |date=March 5, 2013 |title=The Difference Between Long- and Short-Form Improv |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/difference-long-short-form-improv-48935/ |access-date=March 29, 2023 |website=Backstage}}</ref>
Longform improvisation is especially performed in Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles
==Non-comedic, experimental, and dramatic, narrative-based improvisational theater==
Other forms of improvisational theatre training and performance techniques are [[Experimental theatre|experimental]] and avant-garde<ref>Experimental Theatre from Stanislavsky to Peter Brook by James Roose Evans</ref> in nature and not necessarily intended to be [[comedy|comedic]]. These include [[Playback Theatre]] and [[Theatre of the Oppressed]], the [[Jerzy Grotowski|Poor Theatre]], [[the Open Theatre]], to name only a few.
[[The Open Theatre]] was founded in New York City by a group of former students of acting teacher [[Nola Chilton]], and joined shortly thereafter by director [[Joseph Chaikin]], formerly of [[The Living Theatre]], and Peter Feldman. This avant-garde theatre group explored political, artistic, and social issues. The company, developing work through an improvisational process drawn from Chilton and [[Viola Spolin]], created well-known exercises, such as "sound and movement" and "transformations", and originated radical forms and techniques that anticipated or were contemporaneous with [[Jerzy Grotowski]]'s "[[poor theater]]" in Poland.{{
On the west coast, [[Action Theatre (Ruth Zaporah)|Ruth Zaporah]] developed [[Action Theatre (Ruth Zaporah)|Action
==Applying improv principles in life==
Many people who have studied improv have noted that the guiding principles of improv are useful, not just on stage, but in everyday life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/embracing-the-dark-side/200908/everything-i-need-know-i-learned-improv|title=Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Improv|work=Psychology Today}}</ref> For example, [[Stephen Colbert]] in a commencement address said,<ref>Stephen Colbert 2006 Commencement Address at Knox College [http://departments.knox.edu/newsarchive/news_events/2006/x12547.html Transcript] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204204531/https://departments.knox.edu/newsarchive/news_events/2006/x12547.html |date=2020-12-04 }}</ref>
{{
[[Tina Fey]], in her book ''[[Bossypants]]'', lists several rules of improv that apply in the workplace.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.women2.org/tina-feys-rules-for-improv-and-your-career/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109232959/http://www.women2.org/tina-feys-rules-for-improv-and-your-career/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-01-09 |title=Tina Fey's Rules For Improv… And Your Career |work=Women 2.0}}</ref> There has been much interest in bringing lessons from improv into the corporate world. In a ''New York Times'' article titled [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/business/02unbox.html "Can Executives Learn to Ignore the Script?"], Stanford professor and author, [[Patricia Ryan Madson]] notes, "executives and engineers and people in transition are looking for support in saying yes to their own voice. Often, the systems we put in place to keep us secure are keeping us from our more creative selves."
Applying improv principles is also commonly used to enhance ideation in teams and groups.<ref>{{Cite web |last=NathanMinns |date=2022-10-24 |title=How Improvisers Effectively Ideate In High-Stakes Situations |url=https://greenlightimprov.com/how-improvisers-effectively-ideate-in-high-stakes-situations/ |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=Green Light Improv |language=en-US}}</ref>
==In film and television==
Many directors have made use of improvisation in the creation of both mainstream and experimental films. Many [[silent film]]makers such as [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Buster Keaton]] used improvisation in the making of their films, developing their gags while filming and altering the [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] to fit. The [[Marx Brothers]] were notorious for deviating from the script they were given, their [[ad lib]]s often becoming part of the standard routine and making their way into their films. Many people, however, make a distinction between ad-libbing and improvising.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 22, 2012 |title=improvise v. ad-lib |url=https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/improvise-v-ad-lib.2495051/ |
▲Many directors have made use of improvisation in the creation of both mainstream and experimental films. Many [[silent film]]makers such as [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Buster Keaton]] used improvisation in the making of their films, developing their gags while filming and altering the [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] to fit. The [[Marx Brothers]] were notorious for deviating from the script they were given, their [[ad lib]]s often becoming part of the standard routine and making their way into their films. Many people, however, make a distinction between ad-libbing and improvising.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/improvise-v-ad-lib.2495051/|title=improvise v. ad-lib}}</ref>
The British director [[Mike Leigh]] makes extensive use of improvisation in the creation of his films, including improvising important moments in the characters' lives that will not even appear in the film. ''[[This Is Spinal Tap]]'' and other [[mockumentary]] films of director [[Christopher Guest]] were created with a mix of scripted and unscripted material. ''[[Blue in the Face]]'' is a 1995 comedy directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster created in part by the improvisations during the filming of ''[[Smoke (film)|Smoke]]''.
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Some of the best known American film directors who used improvisation in their work with actors are [[John Cassavetes]], [[Robert Altman]], Christopher Guest, and [[Rob Reiner]].
Improv comedy techniques have also been used in hit television shows such as [[HBO|HBO's]] ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'' created by [[Larry David]], the UK Channel 4 and ABC television series ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway]]'' (and its spinoffs ''[[Drew Carey's Green Screen Show]]'' and ''[[Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza]]''), Nick Cannon's improv comedy show ''[[Wild 'N Out]]'', and ''[[Thank God You're Here]]''. A very early American improv television program was the weekly half-hour ''What Happens Now?''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archive.org/details/radiodailyoctdec49unse/page/n134|title=Tele Topics|work=Television Daily|year=1949}}</ref> which premiered on New York's [[WWOR-TV|WOR-TV]] on October 15, 1949, and ran for 22 episodes. "The Improvisers" were six actors (including [[Larry Blyden]], [[Ross Martin]], and Jean Alexander – Jean Pugsley at the time) who improvised skits based on situations suggested by viewers. In Canada, the series ''[[Train 48]]'' was improvised from scripts which contained a minimal outline of each scene, and the comedy series ''[[This Sitcom Is...Not to Be Repeated]]'' incorporated dialogue drawn from a hat during the course of an episode. The American show ''Reno 911!'' also contained improvised dialogue based on a plot outline. ''[[Fast and Loose (TV series)|Fast and Loose]]'' is an improvisational game show, much like ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''
==Psychology==
In the field of the psychology of [[consciousness]], Eberhard Scheiffele explored the altered state of consciousness experienced by actors and improvisers in his scholarly paper ''Acting: an altered state of consciousness''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scheiffele |first1=Eberhard |journal=Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance |title=an altered state of consciousness |date=2001 |volume= 6 |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/13569780120070722 |pages=179–191|s2cid=145796956 }}</ref> According to G. William Farthing in ''The Psychology of Consciousness'' comparative study, actors routinely enter into an altered state of consciousness (ASC).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sci-con.org/2004/12/levels-of-consciousness/ |title=Levels of Consciousness |work=sci-con.org }}</ref> Acting is seen as altering most of the 14 dimensions of changed subjective experience which characterize ASCs according to Farthing, namely: attention, perception, imagery and fantasy, inner speech, memory, higher-level thought processes, meaning or significance of experiences, time experience, emotional feeling and expression, level of arousal, self-control, suggestibility, body image, and sense of personal identity.
In the growing field of [[Drama Therapy]], [[psychodrama]]tic improvisation, along with other techniques developed for [[Drama Therapy]], are used extensively. The ''[[Yes, and...|"Yes, and"]]'' rule has been compared to [[Milton Erickson]]'s ''utilization'' process and to a variety of acceptance-based psychotherapies. Improv training has been recommended for [[couples therapy]] and therapist training, and it has been speculated that improv training may be helpful in some cases of [[social anxiety disorder]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfxmachine.com/docs/yes,_and.pdf|title=Yes, and: Acceptance, Resistance, and Change in Improv, Aikido, and Psychotherapy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05xcvc2|title=BBC World Service - People Fixing The World, Improvising Your Way Out of Anxiety|website=[[BBC]]|date=13 February 2018 |language=en-GB|access-date=2018-11-12}}</ref>
==Structure and process==
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==Notable contributors to the field==
[[Image:Brave New Workshop-20071217.jpg|thumb|Two theater members in front of the former building on [[Hennepin Avenue]] in [[Minneapolis]].]]
[[Brave New Workshop|The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theater]] (BNW), is a sketch and improvisational comedy theater based in [[Minneapolis]],
Some key figures in the development of improvisational theatre are [[Viola Spolin]] and her son [[Paul Sills]], founder of Chicago's famed [[The Second City|Second City]] troupe and originator of [[Theater Games]], and [[Del Close]], founder of [[ImprovOlympic]] (along with [[Charna Halpern]]) and creator of a popular longform improv format known as [[Harold (improvisation)|The Harold]]. Others include [[Keith Johnstone]], the British teacher and writer–author of ''[[Impro]]'', who founded the Theatre Machine and whose teachings form the foundation of the popular shortform [[Theatresports]] format, [[Dick Chudnow]], founder of [[ComedySportz]] which evolved its family-friendly show format from Johnstone's Theatersports, and Bill Johnson, creator/director of The Magic Meathands,<ref>{{cite web | last=Thompson | first=Mike | title=The Magic Meathands | website=magicmeathands.com | date=2007-11-15 | url=http://magicmeathands.com/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115124528/http://magicmeathands.com/ | archive-date=2007-11-15 | url-status=dead | access-date=2021-02-12}}</ref> who pioneered the concept of "Commun-edy Outreach" by tailoring performances to non-traditional audiences, such as the homeless and foster children.
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In 1975 Jonathan Fox founded [[Playback Theatre]], a form of improvised community theatre which is often not comedic and replays stories as shared by members of the audience.
[[The Groundlings]] is a popular and influential improv theatre and training center in [[Los Angeles]], California. The late [[Gary Austin]], founder of The Groundlings, taught improvisation around the country, focusing especially in Los Angeles. He was widely acclaimed as one of the greatest acting teachers in America. His work was grounded in the lessons he learned as an improviser at The Committee with Del Close, as well as in his experiences as founding director of The Groundlings. The Groundlings is often seen as the Los Angeles training ground for the "second generation" of improv performers and troupes. Stan Wells developed the "Clap-In" style of longform improvisation here, later using this as the basis for his own theatre, The Empty Stage, which in turn bred multiple troupes utilizing this style.
In the late 1990s, [[Matt Besser]], [[Amy Poehler]], [[Ian Roberts (American actor)|Ian Roberts]], and [[Matt Walsh (comedian)|Matt Walsh]] founded the [[Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre]] in New York and later they founded one in Los Angeles, each with an accompanying improv/sketch comedy school. In September 2011 the UCB opened a third theatre in New York City's East Village, known as UCBeast.
[[Hoopla Impro]] are the founders of the UK and London's first improv theatre.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Paskett |first1=Zoe |title=London's Best Improv Comedy Clubs and Nights |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/londons-best-improv-comedy-clubs-and-nights-a3834651.html |publisher=[[Evening Standard]] |date=10 May 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Improv Comedy Club |url=https://www.hooplaimpro.com/improv-comedy-club-london-bridge.html |website=hooplaimpro.com}}</ref> They also run an annual UK improv festival<ref>{{cite web |title=Improv has got big! |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/features/improv_has_got_big/ |publisher=[[British Comedy Guide]] |date=25 April 2019}}</ref> and improv marathon.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Holmes |first1=Paul |title=Hoopla Improv Marathon |url=https://thevelvetonion.com/2017/10/17/hoopla-improv-marathon/amp/ |work=The Velvet Onion |date=17 October 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Hoopla Improv Marathon |url=https://www.hooplaimpro.com/the-hoopla-improv-marathon}}</ref>
In 2015, [[The Free Association]] opened in London as a counterpart to American improv schools.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/culture/improvised-comedy-the-free-association-1103011.html|title=The Rise Of Improvised Comedy By Sarah Powell|date=October 31, 2017|website=www.femalefirst.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-03-07}}</ref>
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Gunter Lösel compared the existing improvisational theater theories (including Moreno, Spolin, Johnstone, and Close), structured them and wrote a general theory of improvisational theater.<ref>''Das Spiel mit dem Chaos - Zur Performativität des Improvisationstheaters''. Gunter Lösel. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 2013.</ref>
[[Alan Alda]]'s book ''If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?''<ref>{{Cite book|isbn = 978-0812989144|title = If I Understood You, Would I Have this Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating|last1 = Alda|first1 = Alan|year = 2017| publisher=Random House }}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}} investigates the way in which improvisation improves communication in the sciences. The book is based on his work at [[Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science]] at [[Stony Brook University]]. The book has many examples of how improvisational theater games can increase communication skills and develop empathy.
==See also==
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==Further reading==
{{ref begin}}
* Abbott, John. 2007. ''The Improvisation Book''. London: Nick Hern Books. {{ISBN|978-1-85459-961-2}}.
* Besser, Matt; Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh. 2013. ''The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual'', Comedy Council of Nicea, {{ISBN|978-0989387804}}
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* Ryan Madson, Patricia. 2005. "Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up" New York: Bell Tower. {{ISBN|1-4000-8188-2}}
* [[Viola Spolin|Spolin, Viola]]. 1967. ''Improvisation for the Theater''. Third rev. ed. Evanston, Il.: Northwestern University Press, 1999. {{ISBN|0-8101-4008-X}}.
* {{cite book |last1=Wasson |first1=Sam |title=Improv Nation: How We Made a Great American Art |date=2017 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |isbn=9780544557208}}
{{ref end}}
==External links==
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* [http://www.jesterzimprov.com/fundamental-improv-principles/ Fundamental Improv Principles.]
* [https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/comedy-improv-anxiety/403933/ Improv Comedy for Anxiety.]
* [http://theschooloflaughter.com/improv-the-group-mind-intuition-esp/ Group Mind and Intuition with Improv.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227163839/http://theschooloflaughter.com/improv-the-group-mind-intuition-esp/ |date=2021-02-27 }}
*[http://www.ainconference.org/ Applied Improv Network - annual global conference on using improv off-stage, in business, education, and life]
*[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293010327_So_much_theory_so_little_practice_a_literature_review_of_workplace_improvisation_training/ Academic Literature Review of Theatrical Improvisation Training in the Workplace]
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