Theatrical Games. Awareness raising, improvisation, character construction. Acting techniques This book collects the pedagogical work of the author, who for 16 years has combined her experience as an actress and teacher to systematize, specify and propose coherent material for teachers, students and theater directors, on useful and simple dynamics to design a theater program. The first part is based on different games and exercises that are used to prepare the actor, compiled from the experience of the author and from the teachers Clive Barker and Viola Spolin. The second part is focused on the work of the teacher based on acting techniques such as The Comedy of Art, the Stanislavski technique, the Michael Chekhov technique and the Neutral Circle technique.

Have you ever seen a HAROLD in your life? Improv theater, called Impro, Improv or Improv Comedy, is usually known for improvisation games. Television shows like Who’s Line is you anyway? popularized improvisation games on the Internet. The entire Improv methodology was developed through improvised games. All improvisers learn to improvise through them. Improvised games are the ABC of improvisation but… what about the rest of the alphabet? In 1955, in California, members of the group The Committee decided to put on a different improvisational show that night. Instead of a theatrical show made up of improvisation games as they normally did, they decided to try a new way of improvising: with just one word from the audience as an initial suggestion, they would improvise the entire show straight without stopping until the end. After the performance, in the car, returning home, the group’s director, called Del Close, asked what they would name that different type of improvisation and one of the members simply replied: “Harold!”. Long form improvisation, also called slow comedy, was born there. Claudio Amado is from Teatro do Nada, one of the precursor groups of Improv in Brazil, founded in 2004. In 2009, Claudio Amado debuted…

Performing Commedia dell’Arte, 1570-1630 explores the performance techniques employed in commedia dell’arte and the ways in which they served to rapidly spread the ideas that were to form the basis of modern theatre throughout Europe. Chapters include one on why, what, and how actors improvised, one on acting styles, including dialects, voice and gesture; and one on masks and their uses and importance. These chapters on historical performance are followed by a coda on commedia dell’arte today. Together they offer readers a look at both past and present iterations of these performances. Suitable for both scholars and performers, Performing Commedia dell’Arte, 1570-1630 bears on essential questions about the techniques of performance and their utility for this important theatrical form. Winner of Ennio Flaiano Award in Italianistica, 2020.

What makes a theater company successful? Lisa Mulcahy poses the question to leaders from nineteen of the country’s most diverse and vital theater companies from the recent past and present, and offers answers in Building the Successful Theater Company. Producers, stage managers, directors—anyone dreaming of running a theater troupe—will benefit from the practical guidance, amusing anecdotes, and sincere advice in this peek behind the curtains of the often difficult, always seductive, profession of theater. With five additional companies profiled in this fully revised third edition.

As Frantic Assembly move into their twentieth year of producing innovative and adventurous theatre, this new edition of their well-loved book demystifies the process of devising theatre in an unusually candid way. Artistic directors Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett offer an intimate and invaluable insight into their evolution and success, in the hope that sharing their experiences of devising theatre will encourage and inspire students and fellow practitioners. The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre is a uniquely personal account of the history and practice of this remarkable company, and includes: · practical exercises · essays on devising, writing and choreography · suggestions for scene development · a 16-page colour section, and illustrations throughout · a companion website featuring clips of rehearsals and performances. This is an accessible, educational and indispensable introduction to the working processes of Frantic Assembly, whose playful, intelligent and dynamic productions continue to be acclaimed by audiences and critics alike.

The Theatre Of Truth: Psychodrama, Spontaneity And Improvisation: The Theatrical Theories And Influences Of Jacob Moreno Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1995 ABSTRACT: Jacob Moreno, MD (1889-1974) is known today as the founder of psychodrama, which he defined as “the science which explores the ‘truth’ by dramatic methods.” This dissertation investigates Moreno primarily as a theatre artist. It starts with a philosophical analysis of the concepts of acting, improvisation and spontaneity and then consolidates the elements of Moreno’s theory of the nature and function of theatre, which are dispersed throughout his writings and have never been thoroughly collected in one place. It also examines how Moreno discovered the healing power of drama while he directed his Theatre of Spontaneity in Vienna 1920s and in New York 1930s. The appendix contains Moreno’s earliest theatrical text, The Godhead as Comedian, translated for the first time in its entirety from the 1919 German edition.

Two Worlds at the Same Time Full Spectrum Improvisation for the Theatre and Life Full Spectrum Improvisation is mindfulness in action. It is unscripted theatre embracing the full range of emotional and physical life. It is deep play. It can be funny, serious, and everything in between. It can be profoundly therapeutic. Two Worlds at the Same Time reveals what Full Spectrum Improvisation is, how to do it, and how it can transform your life. Through engaging vignettes, 130 practical exercises, and clarifying wisdom, Joya Cory, the lifelong actor-director-improviser-educator who developed Full Spectrum Improvisation, brings the reader to the source. Whether you are a professional performer, a serious amateur or student, a reluctant public speaker, or anyone longing to develop greater freedom of expression, you will find a wealth of resources within these pages.

Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook Devising Theatre is a practical handbook that combines a critical analysis of contemporary devised theatre practice with descriptions of selected companies, and suggestions for any group devising theatre from scratch. It is the first book to propose a general theory of devised theatre. After identifying the unique nature of this type of performance, the author examines how devised theatre is perceived by professional practitioners, and provides an historical overview illustrating how it has evolved since the 1960s. Alison Oddey examines the particular working practices and products of a number of professional companies, including a Reminiscence theatre for the elderly and a theatre-in-education group, and offers ideas and exercises for exploration and experimentation.

Making connections between drama and drawing, Drawing as Performance introduces visual artists and designers to rehearsal techniques, theory, and games as ways of developing image-making and visual communication skills. Drawing from the fields of theatre and anthropology, this book is full of practical exercises that encourage experimentation and play as methods of making expressive, communicative, and meaningful images. Ideas are adapted from the rehearsal room to the drawing studio, offering artists a fresh approach to translating experiences into visual images. Games and exercises are accompanied by demonstrations and responses from professional practitioners and visual communication students. This one-of-a-kind book guides students and professionals alike to improvisation, self-expression, and reflective visual communication techniques in order to narrow the gap between the handmade image and inner experience from which artists draw their inspiration.

Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics This introductory textbook establishes theatrical improvisation as a model for Christian ethics, helping Christians embody their faith in the practices of discipleship. Clearly, accessibly, and creatively written, it has been well received as a text for courses in Christian ethics. The repackaged edition has updated language and recent relevant resources, and it includes a new afterword by Wesley Vander Lugt and Benjamin D. Wayman that explores the reception and ongoing significance of the text.