Abstract
This chapter examines improv, or the art of skillfully, spontaneously, and collaboratively building a scene in the present moment. Improv as an art form, and its governing principles will be discussed, as well as the application of this craft to business, education, and medical settings, with special focus on the use of improv in therapeutic practice. Exploring improv as a science, the research centering on how it can affect well-being, enhance creativity and divergent thinking, and strengthen social connections will be detailed. Additionally, the connection between improv exercises and psychological principles will be highlighted through the presentation of activities that can be applied to any group setting.
TopIntroduction
A group of people walk confidently onto the stage. One solicits a suggestion for a scene from the audience, and then it begins…the improv show. You may be acquainted with improv from television programs such as Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Leveson & Patterson, 1998) or from visiting a local performance arts center or comedy club in your city or town. Some people put improv in the same category as theater, and others associate it with comedy, however it is in a category of its own.
Improv requires players, or improvisers, to be spontaneous, creative, and present. These skills lead to the creation of a collaborative scene that can delight both the audience and the improvisers themselves. Beyond the enjoyment associated with this art form, improv has also been shown to enhance inter- and intrapersonal skills. As such, it has been used within business, education, and healthcare settings.
This chapter will examine the principles governing the creation and building of an improv scene with others, as well as the psychological principles associated with this art form. Additionally, this chapter will delve into research surrounding the multitude of benefits conferred to those engaging in improv. Finally, the connection between improv and therapeutic practice will be highlighted and a series of group activities will be presented, connecting the theory and research to applied practice.
What Is Improv?
Improv is the art of building a scene around audience suggestions (Poissant, 2018). The characters, story, and narrative are created spontaneously by the players on stage (Schwenke et al., 2021). For the improvisers, it involves getting on stage without fully planning or preparing the specific scene as it is made up in the moment (Halpern et al., 1994). Improv isn’t about telling jokes or even being funny but requires people to create connections among the different characters on stage, the components of story being told, and with the audience (Dohe & Pappas, 2015).
This art form falls under the larger category of creativity and involves the process of generating something new over time. The main distinction between creativity and improv is that improv is spontaneous, and as such, there is no time for preparation or space for correction (Lewis & Lovatt, 2013). As no preplanning is involved, neither the players nor the audience know in advance what will happen. However, this does not mean that improv is completely a free-for-all. Rather, it is has a particular structure in which new components build upon what has already been introduced (Lemons, 2005).
The birth of improv is often attributed to commedia del-arte, a theatrical style made popular in Italy in the 17th century (Cole, 2016). In this form of art, comedic troupes would perform plays that were made up on the spot. Similar to improv there were no scripts, however a carefully curated scenario was practiced before each performance and masked actors would depict a particular character and stay in the character for the duration of the play. These actors would also rehearse to perfect their embodiment of the character they commonly depicted. In the early 1900s Jacob Moreno developed the Theater of Spontaneity which put on the first fully unscripted theater performance (Cole, 2016).
In the United States, Viola Spolin is considered to be the mother of modern-day improv (Cole, 2016). Her work became popular in the 1930s and was aimed at engaging children in community theater. In her influential text, Improvisation for The Theater (Spolin, 1963), she notes that players, or those engaging in improv must eagerly adapt and respond to many simultaneous suggestions and scenarios. Her work has been adapted and referenced in business, education, therapy, as well as other industries.
There are two main forms of improv: short- and long-form. Shows such as Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Leveson & Patterson, 1998), and much of what you see comedy troupes perform is short form (Cole, 2016). This form of improv involves a series of games, each lasting a few minutes (Cole, 2016). These games are often initiated by a suggestion from the audience and there isn’t necessarily a theme tying them together. Long-form improv is cohesive and involves storylines, in which there are call backs to earlier components throughout (Cole, 2016).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Cognitive Flexibility: the ability to adapt one’s thinking in response to the environment.
Bold Choices: the definitive choices an improviser makes, which can include who they are, what their objective is, what their relationship is to the other players in their scene, and what type of environment they are in.
Filtering: a cognitive distortion in which a person focuses on the negative and potentially blocks out the positive aspects of a situation.
Flow: a state of complete engagement with a task, which is often associated with a focus on the task itself and the loss of the sense of space and time.
Labeling: a cognitive distortion in which a person identifies with their shortcomings, such as viewing themselves as lazy.
Improv: the art of skillfully, spontaneously, and collaboratively building a scene in the present moment.
Making Your Partner Look Good: the ability for an improviser to surrender their own plan and follow the scene being created by the group and the audience in a collaborative manner.
“Should” statements: a cognitive distortion in which people tell themselves that things should be the way they imagined them.
Mistakes as Gifts: the view that a mistake is not a failure or shortcoming, but rather an opportunity for a creative course correction.
Actors/Players/Participants/Improvisers: the individuals engaging in improv.
Be Present/Mindfulness/Mindful Awareness: orientation to the present, which enables people to become better acquainted with their emotions and more deeply in touch with their experiences.
Spotlight Effect: a social psychology phenomenon in which people tend to overestimate how much others are aware of their appearance or behaviors.
Divergent Thinking: a thought process related to creativity, in which a person is able to create multiple solutions to a problem.
Personalization: a cognitive distortion in which a person attributes negative occurrences to themselves, such as blaming themselves if a friend didn’t call them back.
Uncertainty Tolerance: the ability to manage/be relatively comfortable with the unknown.
Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR): a therapeutic practice in which the clinician does not discriminate against a client or view them as more or less worthy. The client/patient is valued and accepted, leading to their personal growth and well-being.
Cognitive Distortions: irrational thoughts that often lead to inaccurate perceptions of reality.
Yes, and/Accepting Influence: the guiding principle of improv in which a person accepts (the “yes”) and then adds onto the suggestion of another player (the “and”).
Applied Improv: the application of and use of improv in business, therapeutic, and educational settings.