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Improvisational Theatre

Improvisation is a form of theatre in which no script is used. Instead, the actors create the dialog and action themselves, as they perform. The most popular style today is spot improv, in which performers get suggestions from their audience and use them to create short, entertaining scenes.

No matter where or how it's performed, the essential ingredient in any improvisational performance is that the audience and the actors are working together to create theatre.

This page is dedicated to the structures of improvisational theatre with special emphasis on improvisational comedy routines and techniques. These structures are commonly called games or handles. This page explores all manner of improv structures including warm-ups, exercises, long-forms and ask-fors.

These pages are aimed at those who practise the art of improvisational comedy theatre. If you are an audience member and have no need to know the peculiar mechanics of the improv games you might avoid these pages as they could be a real SPOILER. The improv handles page will expose the intricacies, gags and mechanisms of each topic that it covers. Thankfully the art of improv is so varied that only the most mundane of things can be exposed here.

Teachers, workshop instructors, therapists, artistic directors, and players have all found use with these pages. Sending an email to Brian David Phillips, Ph.D., C.H., at phillips@nccu.edu.tw letting me know what you think is appreciated as well. Enjoy.

What is All This?

Here you will find general information about improvisational theatre and related material.

Taipei Eclectic Game Files

Here you will find the local archive of games and improvisational techniques. Many of these have inconsistent formatting. Never fear, I will eventually get the archive back in shape but please don't bother holding your breath - it will take awhile - I am not devoting much time to cleanup right now as my dissertation and teaching currently have higher priority.

  • Taipei Eclectic Warm-ups - Warm-ups get the improvisers loosened up, feel safe about taking risks, develop trust and get the players in synch.
  • Taipei Eclectic Exercises - Exercises focus on particular aspects of the craft of improvisation, and allow for players to focus on the skills of environment, characters, listening, story telling, etc.
  • Taipei Eclectic Handles - Handles or Games are the bread and butter of improvisational theatre troupes. These are the games that require audience participation, and have "built in" comedy.
  • Taipei Eclectic Long forms - Long forms are structures that link multiple improv scenes to create a continuous improvisational story.
  • Taipei Eclectic Ask Fors - Ask Fors, set-ups are how we interact with the audience. Here is a list.
  • Random structure - Going here will take you to the random page. This page will direct you on getting random, warm-ups, exercises, handles, long forms, and ask-fors. You must have a Java browser.
  • Search for a structure - Search these pages for improv structures. You must have a Java browser.
  • Contribute a structure - Here is your chance to add to the improv structures that are listed here.
  • Create a workshop - This is a finicky little page that will eventually generate a typical workshop for you, complete with randomly selected warm-ups, exercises and handles. You will need to have a Java browser when it's finally finished. Right now it just serves as a simple placeholder and outline of what's to come.
  • Create a show - This is a finicky little page that will eventually generate a typical short form show, complete with randomly selected pre-show warm-ups, and handles divided into first and second half. You will need to have a Java browser when it's finally finished. Right now it just serves as a simple placeholder and outline of what's to come.

Other Game Lists

Here you will find lists of improv games from other sites as well as links to other lists. Lists of lists of lists of lists.

  • Improvisation Games for Learners of English as a Foreign Language - Dr. Juergen Kurtz discusses his approach to language teaching using improvisational theatre games.
  • Lists of Improv Games - These are other places you can find improvisational games and activities on the web. You can also check below for some local copies of a few lists floating about the web.
  • Actual Size Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the Actual Size troupe. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Boobonic Comics Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the Boobonic Comics troupe. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Crackers List of Improv Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the Crackers troupe. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Crazy Monkey Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the Crazy Monkey Games troupe. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Crazy Monkey Games Longforms - This is a local copy of a list of longforms used by the Crazy Monkey Games troupe. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Friday Night Improv Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the Friday Night Improv troupe. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Gorilla Theatre Rules - This is a local copy of the rules to Gorilla Theatre used by the Spontaneity Theatre troupe. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Hapenny Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the Hapenny troupe. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • I.T. Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the IT troupe at William and Mary College. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • MSN Comedy Forum Improv Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the online improvisation workshop held on the MSN Comedy Forum. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Spolin Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the troupe at the Spolin Center. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Spontaneous Combustion Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the Spontaneous Combustion troupe. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Theatre Strike Force Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the Theatre Strike Force troupe. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.
  • Whose Line Is It Anyway? Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by the regulars on the Whose Line Is It Anyway? television program. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together. For more detailed information, see the Whose Line Is It Anyway? section next.
  • Zot Games - This is a local copy of a list of games used by Zot and the folks he performs with. Not yet incorporated into the main list, but eventually it will all go together.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Whose Line is it Anyway? is a British game show that tests the wits of four contestants by making them engage in a series of improvisations. The host, Clive Anderson, moderates the improvisations and gets suggestions for characters, situations, emotions, film/theater styles, and song styles from the studio audience. Britcomedy Digest did a nice feature article on the show. Much of the Whose Line is it Anyway? material at this site comes from Mark Longmuir's excellent page at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Lot/8451 which is always kept up to date. I strongly encourage those interested in more to go there.

There's no regulated scoring system; Clive Anderson scores it according to his whim. If he really likes something, he'll award a million (or three million) points. If he doesn't, he'll give it one-half point. Middling improvs are given a middling number of points. He's been known to penalize contestants for making fun of his personal traits (receding hairline, lack of a neck). As the host of Party Quirks, Tony Slattery has often lost all his points by failing to guess all the quirks. The arbitrary scoring system was developed so that rounds which aren't very funny can be edited out without any continuity problems.

The winner (or winners) gets to read out the credits in the manner of Clive Anderson's choosing. The manner has ranged from "in the style of two cheerleaders" to "in the style of Sir Anthony Hopkins."

The Masterson Inheritance

In the words of narrator Lee Simpson, the Masterson Inheritance is "an improvised historical saga of a family at war with itself. No script, no rehearsals, just an audience and a couple of microphones". The show has been running on Radio Four in Britain for 3 series. Each half hour show is improvised,with only the imagination of the performers and some sound effects to tell the story of the Masterson family. They have told the stories of Mastersons from Ancient Rome, the Wild West, Victorian London and the Crimean War, to name but a few.

Other Improv Resources

This is a series of resource files and links to other places on the web you can go for improv related materials.

Improv Sites of Note

Here are some improv groups and related sites I like.

Email Brian David Phillips, Ph.D., C.H., at phillips@nccu.edu.tw.
Other Meiguo Langren Zai Taibei Web Pages

Here you will find other pages which the American Werewolf in Taipei maintains. Some are obviously more serious than others.