Editing Improvisational theatre (section)

==History==
The earliest well-documented use of improvisational theatre in Western history is found in the [[Atellan Farce]] of 391 BC. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, ''[[commedia dell'arte]]'' performers 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.<ref>''Twentieth Century Acting Training''. ed. Alison Hodge. New York: Routledge, 2012.</ref>

===Modern===
[[File:Dario Fo in Venice Film Festival 02.jpg|thumb|Italian Nobel-winner [[Dario Fo]] received international acclaim for his highly improvisational style]]
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 education]] movement initiated by [[John Dewey]] in 1916.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.interactiveimprov.com/tspwb1hist.html|title=TheatreSports History|work=interactiveimprov.com}}</ref> Some people credit American [[Dudley Riggs]] as the first [[vaudeville|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'',<ref name="Spolin">{{cite book|title=Improvisation for the Theater Third Edition|author=Viola Spolin|year=1999|publisher=Northwestern University Press |isbn=978-0-8101-4008-0}}</ref> the first book that gave specific techniques for learning to do and teach improvisational theater. In 1977, [[Clive Barker (editor)|Clive Barker]]'s book ''Theatre Games'' (several translations and editions) spread the ideas of improv internationally. British 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? (U.S. TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]''

Viola Spolin influenced the first generation of modern American improvisers at [[The Compass Players]] in [[Chicago]], which led to [[The Second City]]. Her son, [[Paul Sills]], along with [[David Shepherd (producer)|David Shepherd]], started The Compass Players. Following the demise of the Compass Players, Paul Sills began The Second City. They were the first organized improv troupes in Chicago, and the modern Chicago improvisational comedy movement grew from their success.<ref name=Wonderful>The story of the Compass Players and its development into The Second City is told by first-hand interviews in Jeffrey Sweet's book "Something Wonderful Right Away" (Limelight Editions, 2004)</ref><ref name=Compass>Janet Coleman's "The Compass: The Improvisational Theatre that Revolutionized American Comedy" (Centennial Publications of The University of Chicago Press, 1991).</ref>

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 collaborators 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, [[Josephine Forsberg|Jo Forsberg]], who further developed Spolin's methods into a one-year course, which eventually became [[The Players Workshop]], the first official school of improvisation in the United States. During this time, Forsberg trained many of the performers who went on to star on The Second City stage.<ref name=Wonderful /><ref name=Compass />

Many of the original cast of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' came from The Second City, and the franchise has produced such comedy stars as [[Mike Myers (actor)|Mike Myers]], [[Tina Fey]], [[Bob Odenkirk]], [[Amy Sedaris]], [[Stephen Colbert]], [[Eugene Levy]], [[Jack McBrayer]], [[Steve Carell]], [[Chris Farley]], [[Dan Aykroyd]], and [[John Belushi]].
[[File:Ligue d'improvisation montréalaise (LIM) 20110306.jpg|thumb|left|Members of the Montreal Improvisation League]]
Simultaneously, Keith Johnstone's group The Theatre Machine, which originated in [[London]], was touring Europe. This work gave birth to [[Theatresports]], at first secretly in Johnstone's workshops, and eventually in public when he moved to Canada. [[Toronto]] has been home to a rich improv tradition.

In 1984, [[Dick Chudnow]] (Kentucky Fried Theater) founded [[ComedySportz]] in [[Milwaukee]], WI. Expansion began with the addition of ComedySportz-Madison (WI), in 1985. The first Comedy League of America National Tournament was held in 1988, with 10 teams participating. The league is now known as CSz Worldwide and boasts a roster of 29 international cities.

In San Francisco, [[The Committee (improv group)|The Committee]] theater was active in North Beach during the 1960s. It was founded by alumni of Chicago's Second City, [[Alan Myerson]] and his wife Jessica. When The Committee disbanded in 1972, three major companies were formed: The Pitchell Players, The Wing, and Improvisation Inc. The only company that continued to perform Close's [[Harold (improvisation)|Harold]] was the latter one. Its two former members, Michael Bossier and John Elk, formed Spaghetti Jam in San Francisco's [[Old Spaghetti Factory]] in 1976, where shortform improv and Harolds were performed through 1983. Stand-up comedians performing down the street at the [[Intersection for the Arts]] would drop by and sit in. In 1979, Elk brought shortform to England, teaching workshops at [[Jacksons Lane]] Theatre, and he was the first American to perform at [[The Comedy Store, London]], above a Soho strip club.

Modern political improvisation's roots include [[Jerzy Grotowski]]'s work in Poland during the late 1950s and early 1960s, [[Peter Brook]]'s "happenings" in England during the late 1960s, [[Augusto Boal]]'s "Forum Theatre" in South America in the early 1970s, and San Francisco's [[Diggers (theater)|The Diggers]]' work in the 1960s. Some of this work led to pure improvisational performance styles, while others simply added to the theatrical vocabulary and were, on the whole, [[avant-garde]] experiments.

[[Joan Littlewood]], an English actress and director who was active from the 1950s to 1960s, made extensive use of improv in developing plays for performance. However, she was successfully prosecuted twice for allowing her actors to improvise in performance. Until 1968, British law required scripts to be approved by the [[Lord Chamberlain's Office]]. The department also sent inspectors to some performances to check that the approved script was performed exactly as approved.

In 1987, [[Annoyance Theatre]] began as a club in Chicago that emphasizes longform improvisation. The Annoyance Theatre has grown into multiple locations in Chicago and New York City. It is the home of the longest running musical improv show in history at 11 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theannoyance.com/about-the-annoyance/history-of-the-annoyance/|title=History of the Annoyance {{!}} The Annoyance Theatre & Bar|website=theannoyance.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-28|archive-date=2018-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029032215/https://theannoyance.com/about-the-annoyance/history-of-the-annoyance/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2012, Lebanese writer and director [[Lucien Bourjeily]] used improvisational theater techniques to create a multi-sensory play entitled ''66 Minutes in Damascus''. This play premiered at the London International Festival of Theater, and is considered one of the most extreme kinds of interactive improvised theater put on stage. The audience play the part of kidnapped tourists in today's Syria in a hyperreal sensory environment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/66-minutes-in-damascus/|title=Review of 66 Minutes in Damascus at Shoreditch Town Hall - Exeunt Magazine|author=Lois Jeary|work=exeuntmagazine.com}}</ref>

Rob Wittig and Mark C. Marino have developed a form of improv for online theatrical improvisation called [[netprov]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dichtung-digital.de/en/journal/aktuelle-nummer/?postID=577|title=Current Issue - Dichtung Digital|work=dichtung-digital.de|access-date=2014-11-03|archive-date=2021-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224133241/http://www.dichtung-digital.de/en/journal/aktuelle-nummer/?postID=577|url-status=dead}}</ref> The form relies on [[social media]] to engage audiences in the creation of dynamic fictional scenarios that evolve in real-time.