A Short History of Improvisational Theatre
Improvisational theatre is as old as time.
It pre-dates the invention of writing, since long before
we started writing scripts we were telling stories by acting
them out.
The Commedia Dell'Arte
Over the centuries, there have been many different improvisational styles.
The most direct ancestor of modern improv is probably
the Commedia Dell'Arte, which was popular throughout
europe for almost 200 starting in the mid-1500's. Troupes of
performers would travel from town to town, presenting shows
in the public squares and on makeshift stages. They
would improvise all their own dialog, within a framework provided
by a set "scenario".
After the Commedia died off, improv theatre faded into obscurity until
it was separately and spontaneously re-invented by two people who have shaped
the craft as it exists today -- Keith Johnstone and Viola Spolin.
Keith Johnstone and Theatresports
Keith Johnstone started formulating his theories about creativity
and spontaneity while growing up in England, and later brought
them into his teaching at the University of Calgary. He felt
that theatre had become pretentious, which is why the average
man in the street didn't even consider attending it.
Johnstone wanted to bring theatre to the people who went to
sporting and boxing matches, the same audience that Shakespeare had written
for in his day.
Johnstone decided that one approach would be to combine elements
of both theatre and sports, to form a hybrid called Theatresports.
The trappings of team sports were adapted to the improvisational
theatre context; teams would compete for points awarded by judges,
and audiences would be encouraged to cheer for good scenes and
jeer the judges ("kill the umpire!").
Through Theatresports, Johnstone's ideas have gone on to influence
(directly or indirectly) almost every major improv group.
Viola Spolin and Theatre Games
Back in the 1920's and 1930's, a woman named
Viola Spolin
began to develop a new approach to the teaching of
acting.
It was based on the simple and powerful idea that children
would enjoy learning the craft of acting if it were presented as
a series of games.
Spolin's son, Paul Sills, built on his mother's work and was one of the
driving forces of improvisational theatre centered around the
University of Chicago in the mid-1950's. Along with people like
Del Close and David Shepherd, Sills created an ensemble of actors who
developed a kind of "modern Commedia" which would appeal to the average
man in the street. As with Theatresports and the original Commedia,
the goal was to create theatre that was accessible to everyone.
The group that sprang from the work of Sills, Shepherd and Close, called
The Compass, was extremely successful. It brought
people to the theatre who in many cases had never gone before, and eventually
led to the development of a company called Second City.
Through The Compass and Second City, Spolin's Theatre Games have gone
on to influence an entire generation of improvisational performers.
For more information...
Check out the books
Impro by Keith Johnstone (Methuen)
and
Something Wonderful Right Away by Jeffrey Sweet (Limelight).
Also check out the
improv book list.