Improvisation

Improvisation is a form of theatre performance that is unplanned, unscripted and forces the actors to “go with the flow” while they deal with the unexpected twists and turns within the dialogue and story that they are acting out without the use of a written script.

 

Improvisation was first used professionally in the 16th century in Italy by Commedia Dell’Arte where the actors improvised stories and scenes using the Commedia Dell’Arte characters.

 

There are also records that can be found on ancient vases that show improvisation having been used as early as the 4th century BC in the Attelan Farces in Ancient Rome which remained popular for more than 500 years.

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Improvisation became popular in the 20th century within the vaudeville routines where the actors would often ask the audience for suggestions to improvise.

 

Improvisation exercises were developed further throughout the 40s, 50s and 60s by Viola Spolin an important american theatre academic and educator. During this time  Viola developed specific techniques to be able to do and teach improvisation.

 

As well as theatre, the film industry has embraced the principles and techniques of improvisation to enable to “Capture Reality”.