IMPROVISATION

Improvisation

Improvisation is making up things as you go along. Kids use improvisation to make up dramas about what they’re reading or studying in school. It is fun to improvise. We’re all good at coming up with new ideas.

We’re always surprised at the good ideas we come up with for dialogue. We also find that doing improvisation helps us understand our characters better.
Often if we have an idea for how a scene begins, we can find out things that might happen next or how the story ends if we improvise it.
Improvisation is fun.

It helps actors learn
• to listen to the other characters
• to think on their feet
• to use props and move on stage
• to use an “outside voice” with enough volume to be heard
• to stay in character, to concentrate on the scene
• to discover the meaning of the scene they are doing

It helps playwrights figure out
• how their characters get along with the other characters
• what dialogue their characters might use
• if the ideas for the story make sense
• if the meaning of their drama is clear to the audience


Each person is different. See the pictures of all the different people. Some are old; some are young. Some are with their family; some are at work. Each person talks differently. They also talk differently in different places. At home, people may not talk the same way they do at work or at school.
In drama, you'll be characters that are different from you

Starters for Improvisations

Here are some ideas that can start you and a partner doing an improvisation.
• Decide who will be which character. You can play either a boy or a girl, or you can change the names of the characters.
• The first line for one of the characters is given. Start there.
• Listen carefully to what your partner says.
• Watch what he or she does.
• Use your imagination to answer your partner's character and to respond to what they do.
• Stay in character and make up dialogue until the problem is solved
• After you’ve finished your improvisation, be certain to discuss what you’ve done – your performance and the meaning of the drama.


Remember to keep the improvisation going until the problem is solved. Be certain to listen to one another and to respond realistically to what your partner says.