From Improvisation to Performance

Abstract
Different performance arts like theatre, music and dance can use improvisation in various ways. In
theatre, improvisation can be used for training students, staging text plays and especially in recent
years as an element to provoke creativity and spontaneity of actors and audience simultaneously. A
theatre group can reach to performance thorough improvisation. Having just an idea and rehearsal
place, the group can achieve a structured performance. So, each of the performers should reinforce
his/her personal and collaborative capabilities. There are six skills that every improviser should acquire
them:
1. Trust: Trust is the foundation for all of the creative and collaborative endeavors. Improvisers demand
that they colleagues that they can trust and they have developed exercises (and tests) to build it.
2. Spontaneity: Although spontaneity is risky but it may act as the heart of creativity. Improvisers
practice getting out of their own way so that they can recognize and utilize their innovative ideas.
Socialization kills spontaneity.
3. Accepting the offers: Everyone offers and accepts. An ‘offer’ can be anything. Say ‘yes’ and accept
offers. Each member of a team is responsible for both contributing to and supporting the group’s
activity.
4. Listening and awareness: Before accepting an offer it must be recognized. Listening is more complex
than it seems. By enhancing the listening and observation skills, teams and individuals can
harvest significantly more ideas, increase their understanding of each other, and communicate more
effectively.
5. Storytelling: Storytelling is a historic as well as current and profound learning too. Stories are the
heart of theatre and the heart of communication too. Audiences are constantly looking for stories to
help them understand the information being presented to them, and to keep them interested.
6. Non-verbal communication: non-verbal behavior often carries more weight than the verbal communication.
Our subconscious is evident in our dreams; it reveals itself in our bodies.
Applying these skills has a vital role in all kinds of theatres which are using improvisation. These
skills can lead to creative and attractive performance. Especially for modernist artists, improvisation
can be a qualified technique. In this article, the authors have studied the improvisation in general, as
well as the theatrical form of it, and mentioned that it needs to 6 main skills. This study is completely
practical and theoretical debates are relinquished. This article is useful for theatre groups, theatre
students and even theatre teachers.