Theatresports

Theatresports is a form of competitive improvisational theatre and is a trademark of the International Theatresports Institute (ITI). It was originally developed by improvisational theatre pioneer Keith Johnstone who licensed the term to the ITI.

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 merely emphasizing the purely comedic. 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. This platform is sometimes abbreviated as CROW: Character, Relationship, Objective, and Where. Only once that platform was established, should some wrinkle or conflict be introduced; he called this the tilt. 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 possiblities 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 book Impro.

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.

Another recent variation has been the introduction of "long form"; a slower, less frantic form of improvisation, played out over the course of anywhere up to an hour. This form removes the games and gimmicks and focuses more on story telling and cohesive scenes. Often merely a few initial suggestions are taken and used to form the entire show. Whilst often performed under the name Theatresports, long form essentially abandons the Theatresports form, instead reverting to the original principles of improvisational theatre.

The Theatresports Commandments

The ten Theatresports Commandments, originating from Vancouver Theatresports and collated in Theatresports Down Under by Lyn Pierse, form the basis of Theatresports principles. They are:

• 1. Thou shalt not block.
• 2. Thou shalt always retain focus.
• 3. Thou shalt not shine above thy team-mates.
• 4. To gag is to commit a sin that will be paid for.
• 5. Thou shalt always be changed by what is said to you.
• 6. Thou shalt not waffle.
• 7. When in doubt, break the routine.
• 8. To wimp is to show thy true self.
• 9. S/he that tries to be clever, is not; while s/he that is clever, doesn't try.
• 10. When thy faith is low, thy spirit weak, thy good fortune strained, and thy team losing, be comforted and smile, because it just doesn't matter!

External links

• International Theatresports Institute
• Improv Encyclopedia