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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, created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script.
Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself, is in the Latin 'improvisus', which literally means un-foreseen. But it is also related to both the old French word 'emprouer' and the English 'improve', to improve. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of improvisation can apply to many different faculties, across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines; see Applied improvisation.
Viola Spolin was an American theatre academic, educator and acting coach. She is considered an important innovator in 20th century American theater for creating directorial techniques to help actors to be focused in the present moment and to find choices improvisationally, as if in real life. These acting exercises she later called Theater Games and formed the first body of work that enabled other directors and actors to create improvisational theater. Her book Improvisation for the Theater, which published these techniques, includes her philosophy and her teaching and coaching methods, and is considered the "bible of improvisational theater". Spolin's contributions were seminal to the improvisational theater movement in the U.S. She is considered to be the mother of Improvisational theater. Her work has influenced American theater, television and film by providing new tools and techniques that are now used by actors, directors and writers.
Kenneth Victor Campbell was an English actor, writer and director known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre".
Donald Keith Johnstone was a British-Canadian educator and theatre director. A pioneer of improvisational theatre, he was best known for inventing the Impro System, part of which are the Theatresports. He was also an educator, playwright, actor and theatre director.
The Magnet Theater is an improvisational comedy theatre and improv school in New York City.
Die-Nasty is a live improvised soap opera, running weekly in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada since 1991. Die-Nasty's improv comedy format features a continuing storyline and recurring characters, live music, and a director who sets up scenes for the audience in voiceover.
Alan Marriott is a Canadian voice actor, voice teacher and dialect coach.
Dana Andersen is a Canadian actor, improvisor, filmmaker, writer and director. He has served as director of the live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, and has been a core member of the troupe since its founding in 1991. From 1995-1999, he co-hosted The Johnny and Poki Variety Hour at Edmonton's Varscona Theatre. His theatre credits include shows with Teatro la Quindicina, Panties Productions, and Rapid Fire Theatre. Film credits for Andersen include Purple Gas, Turnbuckle!, and Stray Dogs. He has written, directed and produced a number of independent films, including Rio Loco, Subplot, Subplot II and Hearts of Plastic.
Dan Fishbach is an American theater director and producer. He was the Executive Director of The Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles from 2006 to 2008.
Pippa Evans is a British comedian, known for her work in character and improvisational comedy.
The word Improvathon is a portmanteau of the words improvisation and marathon and is used to describe and extended performance by a team of improvising performers. The format establishes a group of characters early on, who become part of a continuous plotline. Commonly, as well as scenes which progress the story, performers may participate in musical numbers and other challenges or games. The action is directed for both performers and audience by writers who develop the plot in response. Whilst some performers may take a break at some point during the event, traditionally some core cast members will participate for the entire duration, going one or two nights without sleep. The sleep deprivation reduces performers to their "lizard brain" state, where they become too tired to censor themselves, resulting in a unique and euphoric form of theatre. Many audience members stay for the full duration, sharing the sleeplessness with the actors. In Edmonton, Canada, where the concept was originally devised, it is known as a Soap-A-Thon.
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical is an improvised comedy, musical theatre show founded in London in 2008. It has toured the UK extensively, usually sells out at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every year, had its own BBC Radio 4 series in 2011 and performed a 10-week run in London's West End in 2015, for which it won an Olivier Award.
Ruth Bratt is an English actress and comedian. Bratt has appeared in the BAFTA award winning BBC2 series People Just Do Nothing. In 2022 she was at the Edinburgh Festival in "Starship Improvise" with the Mischief Theatre.
Mischief Theatre is a British theatre company that was founded in 2008 by a group of students from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in West London, and directed by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields. The group originally began by doing improvised comedy shows, but by 2012 they expanded into comedic theatrical performances that includes choreographed routines, jokes, and stunts.
Rachel Sarah Parris is an English comedian, musician, actress and presenter. She hosts the satirical news show Late Night Mash.
The Free Association, or The FA, is an improvised comedy theatre and school, based in London. It is currently the largest provider of improvisation training in the UK.
Austentatious is a long-form improvised comedy show, in the style of a Jane Austen novel, where each show is improvised by a six-strong cast, based on a title suggested by a member of the audience. Begun in 2011 in London, the original cast members took the show to the Edinburgh Festival Free Fringe in the summer of 2012. Following their initial success, they began performing a monthly show in London, transferring to the West End in 2017, and have since performed on BBC Radio 4, on tour, and at the Edinburgh Fringe.
References
- ↑ "Adam Meggido: Credits, Bio, News & More | Broadway World". www.broadwayworld.com.
- ↑ Hemming, Sarah (October 4, 2015). "Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, Apollo Theatre, London — review".
- ↑ "Showstopper! The hit musical that's made up every night". the Guardian. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- ↑ Hemming, Sarah (2015-10-04). "Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, Apollo Theatre, London — review". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- ↑ Adam Meggido’s personal website.
- ↑ Guardian feature about Adam Meggido, 9 June 2022.
- ↑ Wiegand, Chris, ed. (June 9, 2022). "Boris the Third: new play tells story of clown who became king". The Guardian. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- ↑ "Improv Beyond Rules: a practical guide to Narrative Improvisation by Adam Meggido". Drama And Theatre. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- ↑ Meggido, Adam (2020-10-27). Improv Beyond Rules. Nick Hern Books, Limited. ISBN 978-1-84842-731-0.
- ↑ Review at Drama & Theatre, retrieved 11 October 2022.
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