Improvisation (or as some people call it, Improv) is a wonderful thing.
There's so much to learn about it. It's one subject of many that we cover here at the Senior Theatre Guild.
What is improv? Simply put, it's defined as doing something artistically without any preparation. Some people consider it being 'impromptu', where you're shooting from the hip, just saying and doing things on the fly, feeding off other people. To improvise something, you create something artistically without preparing anything. Everything is unscripted. Many actors are scared of this, because they have to use their brain and think about what they say and do. They don't have a script to go off of. That's the fun of improvisation. You don't try to think. A person just does and says what comes naturally. It's fun. Theatre is supposed to be fun. That's why we do it.
Think on your feet. That's what improv is for. Just imagine how it can help in the workplace!
When things are not scripted, they can be a lot of fun. When you just react to what's done and said, it becomes more natural. People like that.
There's a lot of improv games out there. Actually, they're called theatre games. Those were invented by Viola Spolin.
Viola is considered the Mother of improv. Her son, Paul Sills, is the Founder of Second City, an improv comedy school in Chicago that is home to many of the greats from Saturday Night Live. Remember John Belushi, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and the other original actors? They all came from Second City. Comedians use this as a major tool.
There's a lot of information out there about Viola. She wrote a great book that is considered the Bible of Improvisation. Also, she believed that drama was a form of therapy, which is true. Viola believed anyone could act. She took her improv classes and theatre games to prisons, and taught improv as a form of therapy to the prisoners. This is a wonderful thing. She believed everyone could act. When you think about it, we all act. We all perform differently based on who we are around. A person acts differently at school, or at home with family, or church, or a job...you can think of so many different situations of environment. We act differently based on who we are around. A person can use this to help them with communication.
In improv, it's always important to agree with what's being said and done. You don't want to create conflict. 'Yes, and' is a very fun game that people play. Research it!
Theatre is very therapeutic. Improv can be a form of therapy for anyone.
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