improvisation, in theatre, the playing of dramatic scenes without written dialogue and with minimal or no predetermined dramatic activity. The method has been used for different purposes in theatrical history.
The theatrical form known as the commedia dell’arte was highly improvisational, although through repeated performances its characters developed stock speeches and stage business and its scenarios gained fairly standard form. Much of Asian dance and theatrical activity comprises improvised arrangements of stock scenes, movements, and speech.
A number of contemporary groups have used improvisation, usually working in intimate cabaret theatres and sometimes performing impromptu scenes based on ideas from the audience. Among the most prominent of these is the Second City company in Chicago, whose origins date to the 1950s. Theatresports, a form originated by Keith Johnstone and now practiced around the world, involves improvisation around various competitive “game” pretexts that are judged by the audience. Other major uses of improvisation are in theatrical rehearsals, to discover new nuances of interpretation, and in acting schools, to allow students to explore and broaden their emotional responsiveness to imaginative situations.