ImPrOvisAtioN

Basic Drama Projects

Chapter 4
p. 32

ImPrOv
One of the most demanding things an actor
can be called upon to do is to
IMPROVISE
TO

MAKE UP THE WORDS IN THE DIALOGUE

AND THE ACTION WHILE PLAYING OUT A SCENE.
NO LINES TO LEARN, NO PLANNED MOVEMENT,
JUST YOU (AND YOUR FELLOW ACTORS)
GOING WHEREVER YOUR IMAGINATION LEADS
YOU.

Theatre Terms
Collaboration Working with others toward a common goal
Dialogue Conversation among characters
Ensemble A group of actors working together to create an
artistic whole rather than stressing individual
players.

Etiquette Appropriate conduct

Improvise To make up the dialogue and action of a scene
as you go along

Set

1)establish definite movements and lines

2)scenery used onstage

Project specs
Project Description: You and a partner (or
partners) will perform a three to five minute
improvisation
Purpose: to learn introductory improvisation
skills in order to develop concentration and
focus
Materials: a 50-100 word sentence outline of
your group improvisation or the Improvisation
Activity Sheet

ON YOUR FEET
To practice working with a partner, play
a round of What am I? with your
classmates as the audience.
Your partner will decide what kind of
person he or she wants to play without
telling you.
For example:

Improv examples
A police officer giving a speeding ticket
A babysitter taking care of a child

Preview
Yes, and
Improvisation

means acting without a script.

It means you and your fellow actors the
ensemble compose together.
Improvisation requires a great deal of
collaboration and trust.
You must share ideas, believe that your partners
will support you , and work together to create
something all your own.

Most of our actions in daily life are

improvised, since real life rarely offers a
script.
Sometimes we have expectations about
whats going to happen next, but no one
ever knows for sure.

In real life.
Those who want to make the best of
things enjoy their good fortune and
learn from ill luck. They embrace lifes
surprises.

They say yes to life.

Successful improvisers
Say yes, and
They embrace
a

situation
or comment presented to them and
react to it,
add to it, and
make it into a character or scene.

Results
They exercise their creativity
Their mental and emotional flexibility
Their trust for one another
Their capacity for concentrating on the
task at hand
When faced with a problem onstage
they use their wits to solve it.

Backstage Gossip:
its for you
Improvisation skills can come in handy
even during a performance of
Shakespeare. During a production of
Julius Caesar, actors had pulled out
their daggers and were just about to kill
Caesar when the stage managers
phone rang.

Its for you cont

The ringing phone could be heard on
stage and into the house. Aware that
the audience had heard the phone, one
of the actors turned to the other and
asked, What shall we do if its for
Caesar? The audience roared.
ONLY USE IN SCRIPTED PLAY WHEN
NECESSARY.

When adept at
improvising
Know how to embrace the script
Make the imaginary world their own
How to work with and respond to their
fellow actors
AN EFFECTIVE IMPROVISER IS
ALSO AN EFFECTIVE ACTOR.

Basic Rules of Improv

Some improv scenes begin with a plot
Others begin with an idea for a character
Rules:
Always remain open to partner(s), plot, your ideas
Listen carefully and respond to your partner(s)
Show, rather than tell how you feel
Take chances! Dont be afraid to fail.
Trust yourself and your partners.

Prepare
Respond naturally and immediately to
any suggestion that pops into your mind
or the mind of your partner(s).
Commit to the reality of an imaginary
circumstance no mater how silly or
impossible it seems.

Suppose. Example
You and your partner or team are building a
fire. One says Im getting freezer burn from
this fire! Dont argue about whether freezer
burn is possible, it already has happened.
Your partner said it so its true.
Instead of denying the idea, put yourself in a
world where it is possible
Respond to your partners predicament

YOU MUST BUY INTO

YOUR PARTNERS REALITY.
NO MATTER WHAT, YOU MUST REMAIN
IN THE SCENE.

This does not mean you cant ever argue in

an improvisation.
You can blame your partner for getting
freezer burn.
You can berate your partner for bringing you
to Jupiter in the first place.
You can claim that your injury or problem is
even worse than your partners.

Easing into it
Theres no such thing.
Have to jump in with both feet.
Tips to help orient you:
Remember

that trust in the team is essential.

Partners enter any reality you propose. Believe
each others characters are real. Build on plot you
imagine.

You can develop a character from a gesture, a voice,

an expression, a piece of clothing, and so on.

You can develop an activity and spark a plot

idea by finding a new use for an everyday
object, such as turning a pot into a helmet or
an umbrella into a baseball bat.
Activity: pass any object and each student
makes it something new and demonstrates its
use.

You can open dialogue by repeating a

clich, a line from a poem, or a bit of
slang.
After you have developed a scene, you
can retain or set, the parts of the scene
that were effective. Then you can do the
scene again letting new ideas come.
Again, set the material that works.

Eventually the material that is set gives

you a framework in which to perform.
Your scene, once you set it, will have
the familiarity of a memorized script.
But refrain from setting in stone. Go
ahead and improvise words, phrases,
and new moments in any scene even
one that is finished.

Career Focus
If you are an aspiring actor,
improvisation can hone your skills. If
you want to be a doctor, lawyer,
teacher, executive, sales rep, or any
person who deals with the public,
improv can help you relax, be selfconfident, and have a sense of humor
about yourself.

Some improv groups will accept

students with little or no experience.
Students and professionals alike may
improvise together in workshops.
Those who develop their skills may be
invited onstage in a showcase, or as
part of the improv cast.

Audience Etiquette
The real-time immediacy of live theatre
makes it a special event. When you are
in the audience, your behavior affects
the enjoyment of those around you. To
be a courteous audience member,
follow the rules of etiquette.

Show respect for the actors and other

audience members by dressing appropriate
Arrive early to be seated and to read your
program. After the curtain is up, most
theatres will not seat people until a scene
break, so latecomers miss part of the show.
If you are allowed to enter late, you
inconvenience those already seated.
ALWAYS turn off your cell phone and the
beeper on your watch or pager. Alarms not
only disturb those around you but distract the
actors as well.

Remove your hat so that those seated behind

you can see.
NEVER put your feet on the back of the seat
in front of you.
Do not talk during the performance not
even a whisper. Save it until intermission.
Do not take food or drink into the theatre.
NEVER unwrap candy or gum during a
performance.
Dont leave during the play except in an
emergency, and dont leave at the end until
the house lights are turned on. It is bad
manners to slip out early.

Applaud the performers at the end of

the play as they take their bows, but
reserve a standing ovation for the truly
outstanding performance.

Projects
Form a discussion panel with four or more
classmates. Have each participant represent
the line of clothes of a particular designer, a
magazine in a publishing houses stable, or a
piece of furniture in a house wares store.
Each improviser should adopt the personality
of the item represented. The teacher or a
classmate can serve as the moderator,
asking various panel members questions,
which they must answer in character.

Project
Host a party for strange and unusual
superheroes, such as Yapping-Dog Man,
Backwards Girl, or Bionic Bellower. The host
should be a superhero, too. Have each
superhero guest arrive at the party
individually and reveal who he or she is.
Once all the players have arrived. The host
should announce that he or she needs them
to solve a world problem. Have the group find
a way the superheroes can collaborate to
solve the problem.

Project
Bring to the front of the class an everyday
object, such as a tennis racket, a paper bag,
or a broom. Take turns with your
classmates, one by one, finding a new use
for the object. Then display that use for the
class. Remember that you should not be
limited by the actual name or function of the
object. Your imagination can make it
anything you want it to be.

Project
Read the scene between Argan and
Louison in The Imaginary Invalid by
Moliere. With a partner, improvise
another scene in which Argan tries to
extract information from Louison.
P. 459 Basic Drama Projects