Keith Johnstone July 2017 - photo credits Erik van der Liet

Keith Johnstone (born February 21, 1933) is a British and Canadian pioneer of

improvisational theatre Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

, best known for inventing the ''Impro System'', part of which are the

Theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

. He is also an

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Life

Born in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Johnstone grew up hating school, finding that it blunted his imagination and made him feel self-conscious and shy. After teaching at a working-class school in Battersea, London in the early 1950s, Johnstone was commissioned to write a play by the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

in 1956. He subsequently became a play-reader,

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and drama teacher there, where he chose to reverse all that his teachers had told him in an attempt to create more spontaneous actors. In the 1970s, Johnstone moved to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

to teach at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

. He is featured in the book '' Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking'' by

Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born 3 September 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1996. He has published seven books: '' The Tipping Point: How Little ...

Work

Johnstone co-founded the

Loose Moose Theatre The Loose Moose Theatre Company (LMTC), is a theater company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was co-founded in 1977, by Keith Johnstone and Mel Tonken. LMTC has an international reputation for developing the theatrical style of improvisati ...

, and invented his system of training that has been influencing practice within and beyond the traditional theatre for over 50 years. His system include formats such as "Gorilla Theatre", "Micetro" or "Maestro", and "Life Game". The latter has been seen at the National Theatre courtesy o
Improbable Theatre
and on U.S. cable television. Johnstone's work with performers comprises a vast collection of training games, exercises and

lazzi Lazzi (; from the Italian ''lazzo'', a joke or witticism) are stock comedic routines that are associated with '' Commedia dell'arte''. Performers, especially those playing the masked Arlecchino, had many examples of this in their repertoire, and wou ...

. He has written two books about his system; the 1979 ''Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre'', and the 1999 ''Impro For Storytellers''. Much of Johnstone's method was developed by reversing the teaching he received as a child in postwar Britain. Whereas his teachers told him to think more, he'll tell his students to think less. He is known for

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...

s that encapsulate his philosophy of improvisation, and include: * "You can't learn anything without failing" * "Please don't do your best. Trying to do your best is trying to be better than you are" * "Go onto stage to make relationships. At least you won't be alone." * "It's not the offer, but what you do with it." * "Allow yourself to see the audience as interesting and attractive."Described in this TEDx by one of his students: "What If Everybody Was Interesting And Attractive?" https://flintoff.org/everybody-is

Selected publications

* 1979 '' Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre'', * 1999 ''Impro For Storytellers'',

Notes

References

External links

Keith Johnstone
Keith's web page.
Improvisation and Storytelling Workshops
Workshops based on Keith's works
Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia entry

"Unscripted"
Chris Wiebe, ''

Alberta Views ''Alberta Views'' (also ''AlbertaViews'') is a Calgary, Alberta regional magazine, established in 1997, that covers political, social and cultural issues in the province of Alberta. It is published 10 times annually and its monthly print run ...

'' magazine, September 2005. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, Keith 1933 births Living people Improvisational theatre in Canada British expatriates in Canada Anglo-Scots People from Devon People from Calgary Canadian theatre managers and producers British theatre managers and producers Canadian theatre directors British theatre directors Acting theorists University of Calgary faculty Date of birth missing (living people)