Theatresports
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Theatresports™, or Theatre Sports™, is a form of competitive improvisational theatre and is a trademark and copyright of Keith Johnstone and is managed by the International Theatresports™ Institute (ITI). It was originally developed by improvisational theatre pioneer Keith Johnstone who created the ITI to manage the licensing of the term.
Theatresports™ incorporates various short scenes and theatre "games" (scenes with specific rules or gimmicks that limit the actors), which are performed by two opposing teams, and usually scored by a panel of opposing judges. The "competition" is friendly and not taken particularly seriously; players often freely participate in an opposing team's scene if more characters are needed. Various "games" are popular, such as moving people around while they deliver dialogue, or commenting on slow motion actors portraying an everyday situation. Most scenes, and in particular the games, tend to be comedic, but, unlike some improvisational troupes, Theatresports™ places greater emphasis on the theatrical elements of improvisational theatre rather than the pure comedy. Thus an attempt is often made to respect the theatrical conventions of character and plot, and such activities as "gagging" (stepping out of character in a scene for purely comedic effect) are frowned upon.
Johnstone emphasized certain principles in plot development during an improvisational scene. He believed that the opening moments of a scene should establish a framework, or platform, generally free of conflict, which defines the characters and background for the unfolding scene. Only once that platform was established, should some wrinkle or conflict be introduced; he called this the break in the routine. For Johnstone, a scene involves an ever-shrinking "circle of possibilities", which defines what sorts of offers the improviser might reasonably make in the scene. At the start of a scene, anything is possible; but, as more offers are established, and the reality of the scene is more clearly defined, then circle of possibilities shrinks, and improvisors should not step outside that circle of possibilities by making offers that seem inconsistent with what was previously established.
Johnstone expressed many of his ideas on improvisational theatre in his books Impro and Impro for Storytellers.
Recently, a variation on this sport has been made popular by the television show Whose Line is it Anyway? (which has both a British and an American incarnation). Unlike live theatre, the television show has the luxury of taping many hours of scenes and only selecting those deemed to be the best. Some would argue that Theatresports requires a certain amount of training to be really enjoyable. However, Keith Johnstone was first inspired to implement a competitive format as a way of applying to the theatre the sort of mass-appeal found in such sports as professional wrestling.
Licensing
The International Theatresports™ Institute is the exclusive world-wide licensor of Theatresports™ and Keith Johnstones three other improvisation formats: Micetro Impro™, Gorilla Theatre™ and the Life Game™. There are approximately fifty licensed groups on six continents in twenty countries around the world. To find Theatresports™ in your area, you can look on the ITI's website. If you are interested in performing or teaching any of Keith's formats, you should contact the ITI.
External links
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