Improvisational theatre, also know as "Improv" by many, is a comedy art form that is created "in the moment" and on the spot by the performers. Improv was first introduced to the theatre world through Commedia Dell' Arte, which is the oldest European performance tradition. Improv really started to develop in the 1920's when a woman named Viola Spolin wanted to get immigrant children in Chicago into theatre. She had the children play "games" where she gave them a minimal amount of structure/plot and had them act out any ideas they had based on these "plots". It wasn't until the 1950's that Improv really started to become popular. Along with Viola's son, Paul Sills, a man named David Shephard formed a group who would get together and play the Improv "games" that Sills' mother had introduced in the twenties. Eventually, the two men formed the popular group Second City. From this point on, the popularity of Improv skyrocketed and numerous theatre groups similar to Second City were being formed all over. Today, we see Improv theatre everywhere. Any major city you go to will have at least one Improv comedy club in it. We also see Improv theatre in popular TV shows like "Saturday Night Live", "Who's Line is it Anyway?", MTV's "Wild N' Out", and "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Audience members attending an Improv show should definitely expect to have a few laughs throughout the course of the show, as a main component of Improv theatre is comedy. The audience should also expect to be surprised a few times by what the performers say or do because most of what goes on in Improv is thought up in the moment and comedians or actors who perform Improv usually will possess the skills of wit and the ability to deliver a shock to the audience.
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| The Picture (above) shows an improv performance taking place outside, the perfermance clearly shows elements of comedy, with people in the audience laughing at what the performers are doing. |
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| The Image (above) shows members of the the cast of the TV show "Who's Line is is Anyway?" performing a skit on the show. The Image depicts an element of surprise (two men kissing who normally wouldn't) that Improv has. |
The Video above shows a performance by the Improv Group, Second City. They
ask the audience to throw out some ideas, and the performers create
skits by improvising based on these ideas.
Interesting Facts about Improv
- One form of Improv theatre is called theatresports. In theatre sports, there are teams of performers who have to act out skits based on audience suggestions. The audience then rates each of the teams based on their performances and a 'winner' of the skit is chosen.
- A lot of times, Improv exercises are used when an actor is training for a new role or just starting out as an actor. This form helps them to be more comfortable on the stage and with the other actors.
Sources
Kristen,
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of great information and you have completed the assignment. There are some spelling errors in your work though. Next time, go through your work and check for typos.