Improvisation

Recipe Book
The following recipes, or games, are intended to be used as reference and study for the
college course: Improvisation. This format has been set up to help with ease of quick
learning and immediate application. Bon Appétit ! - Dan Stone

The Ligue d'improvisation montréalaise (LIM) is a league of improvisational theater based in Montreal,
Quebec, Canada.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
IMPROV RECIPES

First Course
History

Rules

Vocabulary

Short Form VS Long Form

Videos

Appetizer
1: Tap Out 5: Point and Cross

2: My Day 6: Twizzle

3: Fruit Salad 7: Fairytale Relay

4: Add On 8: Three Framed Fairytale

Entrée
1: ABC’s 7: Phrases 13: “So, I’m dumping you….”

2: Changing Realities 8: Sentence Smash 14: “So, we’re firing you…”

3: Countdown 9: Expert Panel 15: Survivor

4: Dub Movie 10: Remote Control 16: Interpreter

5: Lines from a Play 11:For Whom the Bell Tolls 17: Action Movie

6: Remote Control 12: Poet’s Corner

Dessert
Application

How to Start your own group

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 FIRST COURSE
READY - SET - GO

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 HISTORY
A BRIEF HISTORY OF IMPROV

The earliest well documented use of improvisational theatre in Eastern history is found in the
Atellan Farce of Africa 391 BC. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, commedia dell'arte per-
formers improvised based on a broad outline in the streets of Italy. In the 1890s, theatrical
theorists and directors such as the Russian Konstantin Stanislavski and the French Jacques
Copeau, founders of two major streams of acting theory, both heavily utilized improvisation
in acting training and rehearsal.

Modern
Modern theatrical improvisation games began as drama exercises for children, which were a
staple of drama education in the early 20th century thanks in part to the progressive educa-
tion movement initiated by John Dewey in 1916. Some people credit American Dudley Riggs
as the first vaudevillian to use audience suggestions to create improvised sketches on stage.
Improvisation exercises were developed further by Viola Spolin in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s,
and codified in her book Improvisation For The Theater, the first book that gave specific
techniques for learning to do and teach improvisational theater. In the 1970s in Canada, Brit-
ish playwright and director Keith Johnstone wrote Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre, a
book outlining his ideas on improvisation, and invented Theatresports, which has become a
staple of modern improvisational comedy and is the inspiration for the popular television
show Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Spolin influenced the first generation of modern American improvisers at The Compass Play-
ers in Chicago, which led to The Second City. Her son, Paul Sills, along with David Shep-
herd, started The Compass Players. Following the demise of the Compass Players, Paul
Sills began The Second City. They were the first organized troupes in Chicago, and the
modern Chicago improvisational comedy movement grew from their success.

Many of the current "rules" of comedic improv were first formalized in Chicago in the late
1950s and early 1960s, initially among The Compass Players troupe, which was directed by
Paul Sills. From most accounts, David Shepherd provided the philosophical vision of the
Compass Players, while Elaine May was central to the development of the premises for its
improvisations. Mike Nichols, Ted Flicker, and Del Close were her most frequent collabora-
tors in this regard. When The Second City opened its doors on December 16, 1959, directed
by Paul Sills, his mother Viola Spolin began training new improvisers through a series of
classes and exercises which became the cornerstone of modern improv training. By the mid-
1960s, Viola Spolin's classes were handed over to her protégé, Jo Forsberg, who further de-
veloped Spolin's methods into a one-year course, which eventually became The Players
Workshop, the first official school of improvisation in the USA. During this time, Forsberg
trained many of the performers who went on to star on The Second City stage.

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 IMPROV RULES

There are no absolute rules in improv but here are some commonly
suggested principles:

 Listen: easier said than done, and that's exactly the point

 Agreement: say yes and add something, don't reject ideas

 Team Work: have a group mind, think of others

 Don't Block: stealing jokes / not listening / changing topic

 Relationship: focus on connection between characters, not just sub-

ject of scene

 Initiation: who, what, when to set the scene

 Point of View, Opinion and Intention: have them, these help express
and build your character

 Be in Character: maintain character throughout the scene

 Don't Ask Questions: too many questions can make your partner do
all the work

 Make Active Choices: Do something. Don't be talking heads

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 VOCABULARY
THEATRE TERMS

A brief list of terms that relate to Improvisation Course work:

Ad-lib: When a performer improvises line on-stage. Derived from ad libitum (Latin).[1]

Amphitheater: an open-air theater, with seats rising in curved rows.[3]

Apron: The front area of the stage, nearest the audience; the portion of the stage in front of pro-
scenium arch.[2]

Ask For: Question asked of the audience seeking information that is incorporated into any particu-
lar ‘handle’. Example: ‘Give me something that you do in your backyard’.

Aside: A line spoken by an actor/actress directly to the audience, unheard by the other perform-
ers on-stage.[2]

Auditorium: The portion of a theater which contains the audience seating. [2]

Avante Garde: Experimental or innovative works or people, derived from the French. [2]

Balcony: An elevated portion of seating in the back of the auditorium. [1]

Curtain Call: At the end of a live performance the cast will come out and do a bow while the au-
dience applauds.[6]

Doubling: When an actor plays more than one character in a production. Most times this is done
for economical reasons but it can be that because an actor would like to take on more than one
role in the performance.

Handle: Another word for ‘improv game’, term used for an improv game played in front of an au-
dience.

1. "Glossary of Theatre Terms" (PDF). Laguna Playhouse. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2013. Retrieved
February 23, 2015. 2. “Search results starting with A". theatrecrafts. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015.
6. Wise Geek. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014

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 IMPROV STYLE
LONG FORM VS SHORT FORM IMPROV

The Difference Between Long– Form and Short-Form Improv

Back before Upright Citizens Brigade racked up $1 million in debt on a shiny new Lower East Side theater and improv
training became de rigueur for any actor’s résumé, “Whose Line Is it Anyway?” was what many Americans thought of
when they thought of improv comedy. The show aired on ABC from 1998 to 2007 and featured comedians performing
quick theater games assigned by the host, Drew Carey. Last week the CW confirmed that it is reviving “Whose Line” with
several of the original performers in tow and Aisha Tyler slated to host.

The move makes sense given that improv is the vogue in comedy. Training in it is almost a must for actors hoping to do
commercial work, and as The New York Times recently pointed out, theaters such as UCB—which have proliferated
wildly in markets major and small—often draw audiences that theater producers would kill for. But the short-form im-
prov practiced on “Whose Line” is not the same beast as the long-form in fashion on stages and at schools.

“Long form is one suggestion and then you improvise for 25 minutes, and in short form you are constantly coming to the
audience for suggestions throughout the evening and treating each improv game as its own little three- or four-minute
piece,” said Joshua Funk, artistic director at the Second City Training Center in Hollywood. “Another way to think of it is
that long form is to jazz as short form is to pop.”

Second City produces touring shows that travel across the country and on cruise ships—shows that use a mix of sketch
comedy, short-form improv, and long-form improv. Though short form can sometimes become “kind of gimmicky,” ac-
cording to Funk, it also has a broader appeal than long form. “It becomes a little easy, but that also is what makes it bul-
letproof and much more palatable for television and much safer for television networks to produce.”

Joel Jones, a comic who has performed and trained at the Magnet Theater in New York and is co-director of Big Blue
Door, an improv and writing training center in Charlottesville, Va., traces the roots of short-form improv to work done
by Chicago theater stalwarts Viola Spolin and Neva Boyd in the 1920s. He attributes the beginning of long-form improv
to another late Chicago stage icon, Del Close. “It was kind of mechanical, I think, at first,” Jones said. “I think it goes after
Wagner’s ‘Ring’ Cycle.”

Long form is the technique that helped launch the careers of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, and other screen stars.
But it is rarely seen outside the black-box theaters that comprise the front lines of the comedy scenes in New York, Los
Angeles, and other cities. Training in the form can provide valuable skills, but an actor isn’t likely to find herself practic-
ing it on national TV any time soon.

“It’s not like there are a lot of short-form TV shows, but ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ at least is a short-form TV show,”
Jones said. “Even though long form is much more hip and helps you become a much better actor, it doesn’t film very
well.”

*Backstage, By Daniel Holloway

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Videos
Improvisation in Film

TED Talk : The Way of Improvisation

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 APPETIZERS
AKA WARM-UPS

This chapter is formatted to wet your appetite or in other words, warm you up!

1. Tap Out

2. My Day

3. Fruit Salad

5. Point and Cross

6. Twizzle

7. Fairytale Relay

8. Three Framed Fairytale

Tap Out
Serves: 10—15 Players Cook Time: 10 min
Ingredients
10—15 Players

Instructions An Audience ‘Ask For’

 One player makes an ‘ask’ for an object, item,

or scenario
Example object ‘Ask For’:
 At any time plyers may call ‘freeze’ and enter
the scene Trash can
 Every time a player enters the scene, the scene Fire Truck
must change completely, but be connected to
whatever action or position was taking place in Cell Phone
the previous scene.
Toilet
 Only two players may be active at any time.

Notes
In ‘Tap Out’ all players arrange themselves in a ring
or line, with one player to begin the game. This
player makes an ‘ask for’ : object, item, situation,
etc. and begins the scene. At any time one player
may call ‘freeze’ and enter the scene. Once a play-
er has entered the scene they must change it com-
pletely, but have some connection to the position
or actions taking place in the previous scene. The
game works the best when done quickly, typically
no more than 15-30 seconds should lapse before
someone changes the scene. Linking the scenes to
current events or humorous stories in the news
also greatly increases the effectiveness of the
game.

Entrées 10
My Day
Serves: 2 Players Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
10 Players

Instructions Memory

 Players are paired up

 Each player takes a turn telling the other player
they’re activities for the entire day up until the mo-
ment they came to class
 While telling the partner of the activities they use
physical movements to simulate that activity
 Players must continue talking without stopping or
saying ‘um, um’
 After each player does this then partner A repeats
the same story but at one point the Instructor will
yell ‘Freeze’. The Instructor will then offer a
prompt, example: ‘Suddenly, Big Foot shows up
with a bundle of flowers.”
 Once the prompt is heard the player must incorpo-
rate that prompt into their original story.

Notes
Players must maintain eye contact, cannot break eye
contact.

11
Fruit Salad
Serves: 2 Players Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
8 - 20 Players

Instructions Chairs

 Players sit in a chair which are arranged in a circle

facing inwards. One Player is in the middle and
does not have a chair.
 The person in the middle needs to say something
that applies to at least 2 people in the circle, exam-
ple: ‘anyone wearing blue’
 All those ‘wearing blue’ get out of chair and try to
find an empty chair to sit in, including the person in
the middle.
 The person in the middle tries to sit down. There'll
be one person left without a chair- this person will
be the next person in the middle of the circle. The
standing person starts a new round by saying a
different statement.
 Players cannot move to the seat immediately to
their left or right.
 Players avoid being left in the middle of the circle.

Notes
The person in the middle needs to say something that
applies to at least 2 people in the circle. For example,
“Anyone who has a dog”, “Anyone who likes sushi”. If
the person’s statement applies to someone sitting in
the circle, that person has to move from his or her seat
and sit in a different chair. If the person says "Fruit Sal-
ad", then everyone needs to move to a different chair.

12
Point and Cross
Serves: 15 Players Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
15 - 20 Players

Instructions
 Players stand in a circle facing inward.
 One play begins by pointing to some across the cir-
cle.
 The player being point to then nods in recognition
of the ’pointer’.
 Once the ’pointer’ gets a nod they begin crossing
the circle to the spot where the player who nodded
is standing.
 The player who nodded must then point to some-
one else in the circle, receive a nod and then cross
to their position before the first pointer reaches
their spot.
 This continues until the focus is broken.

Notes
This game is intended to help players focus and con-
stantly be in a position of readiness. At no time are
players suppose to be on their toes or walking as they
point. Players should stand in Neutral with a sense of
ease.

13
Twizzle
Serves: 15 Players Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
15 - 20 Players

Instructions
 Players stand in a circle facing clockwise
 Cues are words that the players must execute
throughout game.
 Cues: Go: Walk
 Cue: Turn: pivot and face opposite direction
 Cue: Jump: Jump and land facing in opposite di-
rection
 Cue: Twizzle: Jump while spinning 360 degrees in
air and land in the same direction as started.
 At anytime the Instructor will call out these ‘Cues’
and the players must comply or be asked to sit in
the middle of the circle or Mush Pot.
 This is an elimination game.

Notes
Players must freeze in the position they landed after
executing the ‘cue’. No scratching, adjusting clothing
or talking. If any of this occurs then that player goes to
the middle of circle and sits in the mush pot.

14
Fairytale Relay
Serves: 15 Players Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
10 - 20 Players

Instructions
 Players are broken into groups of 3 to 5
 Instructor stands/sits in middle of room evenly dis-
tant from each group that is stationed in the cor-
ners of the room/space.
 Instructor is holding cards with well known or re-
viewed fairytales.
 One players from each group runs up and looks at
the card and begins ‘acting out’ the fairytale until
their group guesses.
 Once a group guesses the fairytale the player runs
back to the Instructor and grabs the card, returns
to their group and a new player begins the whole
process again.

Notes
Players cannot communicate in any other way other
than physical, no mouthing words. Players must re-
turn to their group before acting out the fairytale, no
stopping half way to group in order to eliminate dis-
tance to retrieve card from Instructor.

15
Three Framed
Fairytale
Serves: 15 Players Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
10 - 20 Players

Instructions
 Players are broken into groups of 3 to 5
 Instructor gives a card to each group with a fair-
ytale on it.
 Groups work to create tableaus or frozen ‘pictures’
of three moments in the story.
 The three tableaus are of all members in the group
and must display the beginning, middle and end of
the fairytale.
 Once a group shows the three tableaus the audi-
ence guesses which story they where telling.

Notes
Players cannot communicate or move in the tableaus,
they must do their best to illustrate the moment in the
story in only a picture.

16
 ENTREES
AKA GAMES OR ‘HANDLES’

1: ABC’s 9: Expert Panel

2: Changing Realities 10: “So, I’m dumping you….”

3: Countdown 11: “So, we’re firing you…”

4: Dub Movie 12: Survivor

5: Lines from a Play 13: Interpreter

6: Action Movie 14: Action Movie

7: Sentence Smash 15: Remote Control

8: For Whom the Bell Tolls 16: Poet’s Corner

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ABC’s
Serves: 8 Cook Time: 5 min
Ingredients
8—10 Players

Instructions Audience ‘Ask For’ suggestions:

 Players partner assigning ‘a’ or ‘b’ ‘Give us a suggestion for a heart-to-heart
 Player ‘A’ must begin the scene with a sentence discussion between family members’
starting with the letter ‘A”
 Player ‘B” then must respond with the next sentence
starting with the letter ‘B’.
 Players alternate letters of the alphabet until they
reach ‘Z’.

Notes
To play this game plyers must create a rapid fire scene
based on changing dialogue. Players must be in sentenc-
es with lets of the alphabet and alternate between each
other with the next letter. Scene or relationships be-
tween the players are to be determined at random by
the audience, or an ‘Ask For’.

Entrées 18
Changing Realities
Serves: 4 Cook Time: 5—10 min
Ingredients
8—10 Players

Instructions
 4 Players line up Example of ‘Ask For’:
 1 Plyers begins with an ‘Ask For’ ‘Give me an object’
 Each player subsequently stops the scene and chest
it with their own introduction
 The 4th player to enter the scene must find a reason
to leave the scene
 After each player leaves the scene it reverts back to
the previous moment
 Players may not use dancing as a means of excusing
themselves from the scene or beginning one.

Notes
This game begins with t a group of 3 to 5 players; though
4 players is ideal. The first player begins the game by
making an ‘Ask For’ be it an item, a situation or a profes-
sion. At any point the remaining players can call out
‘freeze’, the scene then stops and that player changes
the scene to whatever the player(s) appears to look like
they are doing. When the final player enters the scene is
t is their job to change the location, position, or action of
all other players and then find a justifiable reason to
leave the scene. After a player leaves the scene all re-
maining players revert to previous scene but must now
justify their new positions or movements. This is repeat-
ed until the original player is the only one left on stage.

Entrées 19
Count Down
Serves: 4 Cook Time: 5—10 min
Ingredients
4 Players

Instructions Props or items in room

 2 Players are given a family business and a profession

and a sinister or bizarre secret timed to the job.
Ask For’s:
 2 Players are given a relationship between each oth-
er or alternative profession, and a strange quirk “Give me a family run business”
about them.
“Why are the customers come to this
 The first 2 players are given 1 minute to construct a business?”
scene based on their context.
 After 1 minute the remaining 2 players enter the sce-
ne and must interact with the previous 2 players’
scene for one additional minute.
 At the end of the two minutes the entire scene is
done again, but each group of player’ time is cut to
30 seconds each, (1 min. total)
 This is then repeated again to 15 seconds each (30
min. total)
 Continue to only 5 sections per group (j10 sec. total)
 Finally the entire scene is performed one more time
in the span of 1 second.

Notes
This game begins with 4 players, paired up into two
groups. The information for scene is acquired through
an ‘ask for’. The game starts with 1 minute of the first
pair creating a scene based on their environment. After
1 minute the second pair enters and must interact with
their ‘strange event’, while exhibiting their strange quirk,
this too is given 1 minute. After 2m minutes the players
must perform the entire scene again, recreating as much
of the same dialogue and physical interactions that too
place in the previous scene, in half the time. This is done
again in the half then time, then in a total of 10 seconds,
and finally all in 1 second.

Entrées 20
Dub-Movie
Serves: 4 Cook Time: 5—10 min
Ingredients
4 Players

Instructions 2 chairs

 Two players take a seat with their backs to the stage Suggested ‘Ask For’:
 The two seated players act as the voice of the other
players in the center of the stage (they cannot see
the standing actors) “Give us something that would happen in
 The two players who are not seated must act out an action movie”.
everything that is said by the other players and can-
not speak

Notes
This game begins with each of the two players being as-
signed as the voice over of the other two players (they
cannot see on stage). These two must remain seated in
with their backs to the ‘movie’ or other players on stage
and cannot see whe either player is doing. The objective
of these two players are to provide all the dialogue and
actions of the other two players they cannot see. On the
flip side the players acting out the ‘movie’ are not al-
lowed to speak and must act out all of the ‘dubbers’ ac-
tions/story.

Entrées 21
Lines from a Play
Serves: 2 –3 Cook Time: 5—10 min
Ingredients
Players

Instructions 2 –3 Scripts

 Scripts are selected at random from a stack of plays

 Plays are opened to a random page determined by Suggested ‘Ask For’:
the audience.
“Give us something you do on vacation.”
 The starting line of each page is determined by the
audience
 This is repeated for however many players will be
reading lines from the scripts
 Players reading from scripts may only read lines from
that play
 Players can read any lines in the script
 At least one player must not have a script.

Notes
This game starts wit two of three players and all but one
of them receiving a random script from a wide selection
of plays. Each script has its starting page and starting
line decided by the audience who will shout out ‘stop!’,
as the player randomly flips through the script. Players
reading from the script may only read lines from the play
but can read any lines in any order and are not restricted
to lines from any other character. The remaining player
(s) must react to the dialogue t the other players and
create a scene based on the context given by the audi-
ence.

Entrées 22
Action Movie
Serves: 3 Cook Time: 5—10 min
Ingredients
Players

Instructions Audience ‘ask for’

 2 Players are given 2 separate words or phrases.

They can only speak using those phrases.
Suggested ‘Ask For’:
 3rd Player is the leader of the team, he/she is free to
speak. They guide the two other players through the “Give us a situation found in an action
scene. film”
Example:

Disarming a bomb

High speed car chase

Hijacking a plane
Notes
During this game the audience is asked to provide 4
words or phrases which are divided among two of the
players. These players can only speak using the phrases
prescribed to them. The audience is then asked for the
scene from an action movie or a situation in which
something exciting is happening. The player with out
any restrictions is then left to drive the scene and react
to whatever is being said. This game typically works best
when players vary their tone and inflection with their
phrases, and find ways for their phrases to interact with
each other as well as the player with no restrictions.

Entrées 23
Sentence Smash
Serves: 2 Cook Time: 5—10 min
Ingredients
Large selection of random sentences on
slips of paper
Instructions
 Each player takes a handful of slips of paper with
random sentences on written on them. Suggested ‘Ask For’’:
 Throughout the scene the players must pull out the  Give us something you do in the
slips of paper and incorporate the sentence within backyard
the scene.
 Family run business.
 Something that would happen in a
science fiction film

Notes
In tis game plyers are given a large assortment of ran-
dom sentences provided by the audience. The audience
then gives them context for a scene such as an everyday
situation, a profession or an unusual scenario. Players
must improvise from the information provided and peri-
odically pull out the slips of paper and incorporate the
sentence into the scene. This is done to the greatest
effect when the players either pull out their slips white
the other player is speaking, or playing off the fact that
they are reading something. Things such as ‘look at this
sweet love note my honey left this morning’ or ‘look at
what my eviction notice says’ works well.

Entrées 24
When the Bell Tolls
Serves: 3 Cook Time: 5 min
Ingredients
Bell, Buzzer, or noise maker

Instructions
 2 Players are given a situation, profession, or rela- Suggested ‘Ask For’:
tionship
Give us a skilled trade
 At any point the remaining player may ring the bell
or buzzer
 When the bell or buzzer is sounded, whoever spoke
or acted last must immediately change their action
to something else
 The bell or buzzer must be rung at least twice in a
fairly quick succession

Notes
Players must think quickly and be prepared to say or do
almost anything. Two players will be given a profession
or relationship between each other and begin a scene.
At any time another player may ring the bell. When this
occurs the last player to say or do something must im-
mediately say or do the opposite, or change what they
said or did completely. The bell ringer must buzz or ring
at least twice but may do so a long as it is appropriate
and entertaining for the audience.

Entrées 25
Expert Panel
Serves: 4 –6 Cook Time: 5—7 min
Ingredients
Chairs for Players to sit

Instructions
 Each of the players are given a bizarre area of exper- Suggested ‘Ask For’:
tise from the audience.
Give us 3 unusual careers or jobs
 Players are given a topic affecting the world and
must discuss it.
 Players must find a way to incorporate or connect
the subject to their area of expertise.

Notes
4 to 6 players begin with an ‘ask for’ : a bizarre area of
expertise to each of the players to be ‘experts’. The au-
dience is then asked for a problem facing the world for
the ‘experts’ to address. The players must then discuss
how to solve the problem or how the problem is directly
connected to their area of expertise.

Entrées 26
So, I’m Dumping You
Serves: 4 –5 Cook Time: 5—7 min
Ingredients
2 chairs
Instructions
 1 Player is the ‘dumpee’
 1 Player is the ‘dumper’
 Remaining players are various employees or a res-
taurant where the ‘dumping’ or break-up occurs.
 Dumpee leaves the room while the remaining play-
ers ask audience for: 3 reasons why the dumpee is
being dumped,; Where the dumper is moving; and a
new profession for the dumper.
 Dumpee comes back into the room and must begin
scene without knowing the above ‘ask fors’.
 Dumpee must guess why they are being dumped,
where the dumper is going and what their new job
will be.
 Remaining players may help give cues; preferably
through action.

Notes
‘Dumpee’ player leaves room. Meanwhile one of the
other players is designated as the ‘dumper’ who asks the
audience for the necessary info for scene (see above).
When the ‘dumpee’ returns they are greeted by on eof
the remaining players who will play the role of the res-
taurants server/waiter. The dumpee and the dumper
begin with small talk until the dumper says ‘so, I’m
dumping you…..” At this point the dumper and the re-
maining players must give only clues to the dumpee who
then must guess why they are being dumped, where
dumper is moving and what their new job will be.

Entrées 27
So, were firing you….
Serves: 4 –5 Cook Time: 5—7 min
Ingredients
2 chairs

Instructions
 2 players are the ‘boss’s’
 1 player is being fired
 Remaining players are various employees where the
firing occurs.
 Employee to be fired leaves the room while the re-
maining players ask audience for: 3 reasons why the
they are being fired and what the business they actu-
ally are being fired from.
 Remaining players may help give cues; preferably
through action.

Notes
1 Player who is being fired from the a company leaves
the room while the ‘ask fors’ are established (see
above). The player returns to the room greeted by one
of the remaining players wo is their fellow ‘co-worker’.
The player and the two bosses begin a dialogue until
they say ‘so, we’re firing you….’. At this point the bosses
and the remaining players must give clues to the player
being fired who then guesses all the ‘ask for’ infor-
mation.

Entrées 28
Survivor
Serves: 4 –5 Cook Time: 5—7 min
Ingredients

Instructions Suggested ‘Ask For’:

 Players ask the audience for a situation that might “Give us something you would do on a
occur on a deserted island. deserted island”
 Players then act out the scene for approximately 2
minutes.
 At the end of 2 minutes one player is ‘voted off the
island’ by the audience.
 The remaining players then act out the scene again.
 This continues until only one play remains.

Notes
Players ask the audience for a scenario that could hap-
pen on a deserted island. Next the players must act out
the scene, approx. 2 minutes. At the end of 2 minutes
the audience then ‘votes off’ one of the players. The re-
maining players must then act out the scene in its entire-
ty, including moments when the voted off player was
involved. This continues until only one player remains
who will then act out the entire scene by themselves.

Entrées 29
Interpreter
Serves: 2 Cook Time: 5—7 min
Ingredients
Podium or Music Stand

Instructions
 1 Player is a fictional foreign dignitary
 1 Player is the other player’s ‘interpreter’
 The dignitary asks the audience for the name of a
fictional country
 The interpreter asks for a crisis affecting the world
 The dignitary speaks in gibberish about the topic
 The interpreter ‘translates’ whatever the dignitary is
saying

Notes
One player is designated the leader of a fictional country
with its own language (gibberish). The audience is asked
to provide the name of the fictional country and a prob-
lem facing that country. The dignitary then begins to
speak about the problem facing their country. The inter-
preter then translates what they dignitary is saying for
the audience.

Entrées 30
 IMPROV IN BUSINESS
CAREER USES FOR IMPROV

Purpose of the study

This study aims to contribute to the need for sound theory development and empirical research in the field of improvisa-
tion training by providing empirical evidence to support the use of improvisational theatre techniques for enhancing cli-
mate for work group innovation. It also aims to contribute to the development of the existing theory in making explicit the
link between the principles of improvisational theatre and the factors of climate for work group innovation.

Current theoretical perspectives

Improvisational theatre is a form of theatre that does not use a script or predetermined ideas for dialogue, direction or
movement (Nevraumont, Hanson & Smeaton, 2002). The performance is executed spontaneously and without any pre-
conceptions in response to the immediate stimuli of the environment (Frost & Yarrow, 1990). These stimuli include sug-
gestions from the audience about the characters, location, situation and style of the scene and include offers made by
fellow actors on stage (Nevraumont et al., 2002). In order to create successful performances, improvisational actors must
therefore work together as a cooperative team (Frost & Yarrow, 1990). Although improvisational theatre performances
are unpredictable, this does not imply that they are without substantial structure or principles. These principles are trust
and support, acceptance, listening and awareness and narrative skills. It is suggested here that these principles relate to
the factors supportive of an innovative work group climate.

Improvisational training in organizations

Background: Recent research results have shown that creativity and originality are neglected in the formal educational
system (Beard & Wilson, 2002). It has, however, been suggested that individuals can relearn to be creative and spontane-
ous (De Bono, 1982; 1990; Vera & Crossan 2005). Improvisational theatre has shown that the potential to be creative and
spontaneous can be rediscovered and developed through exercises. According to Izzo (1997) and Lowe (2000), creativity
and spontaneity are improvisational skills and can be learned by anyone, as long as learners understand and apply them-
selves to the principles. Learning can take place during experiential training that incorporates theatre games and exercises
(Frost & Yarrow, 1990; Izzo, 1997; Spolin, 1963).

Process of improvisational training: Improvisational training involves the playing of theatre games designed to develop
process skills (e.g. listening and communication), context-specific knowledge (a perspective and a context that enable
team members to leave their comfort zone) as well as techniques that promote acceptance and shared responsibility
(Crossan, 1998). Therefore improvisational theatre exercises provide a context wherein individuals can learn experientially
the principles necessary for innovation. Teams develop through playing, seeing that bonds of communication are created
between the playing members as well as through experiencing shared attitudes and behavioural patterns (Pirola-Marlo et
al., 2002). Can it therefore be argued that a work group which is exposed to an improvisational theatre training pro-
gramme would not only learn skills that would help the individual to be more innovative, but would also create shared
attitudes and behaviours that could benefit the group as a whole? This question deserves note, as this study is concerned
with whether or not climate for work group innovation, (as a shared attitude toward the work environment) would be
influenced by improvisational interventions. Improvisation is a skill that can be learnt by applying oneself to the principles
of improvisational theatre when playing theatre games (Frost & Yarrow, 1990; Izzo, 1997; Spolin, 1963). Furthermore, the
skill of improvisation promotes a group’s capacity to innovate (Vera & Crossan, 2005).

* KIRSTEN, B., DU PREEZ, R.. Improvisational theatre as team development intervention for climate for work group innova-
tion. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 36, nov. 2010. Available at: <http://www.sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/
view/862/952>. Date accessed: 16 Sep. 2016.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.