Theatresports is a form 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 ...

, 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 director

Keith Johnstone Keith Johnstone (born February 21, 1933) is a British and Canadian pioneer of improvisational theatre, best known for inventing the ''Impro System'', part of which are the Theatresports. He is also an educator, playwright, actor and theatre dir ...

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, maki ...

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 T ...

, in 1977, the concept of Theatresports originated in Johnstone's observations of techniques used in

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

to generate

heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

, or audience reaction.

Derivatives

ComedySportz, started in 1984 in Milwaukee, WI, tends to emphasise the sports competition format more than Theatresports, for example by having a referee who awards points and administers fouls. The Australian shows '' Thank God You're Here'' and ''TheatreGames LIVE'' follow a similar format to these shows. New York City's

Face Off Unlimited Face Off Unlimited is an improvisational comedy production company based in New York City. In 2003, Jay Painter and Eric Robinson founded Friday Night Face Off, a weekly improvised comedy show in Port Jefferson, New York featuring two teams of com ...

has also adapted the concept to numerous productions. Two similar formats,

Ligue nationale d'improvisation The Ligue nationale d'improvisation (LNI) (French for "National Improvisation League") is an improvisational comedy theatre company created in Quebec. Most of the participants are thespians, comedians or humorists. The Improvisation League format ha ...

and

Canadian Improv Games The Canadian Improv Games (CIG) is an education based format of improvisational theatre for Canadian high schools. To participate in the games, high school students form teams of up to 8 players and are required to pay a registration fee (if ...

both also officially debuted in 1977 in Quebec and Ontario, respectively. The Canadian Improv Games had been doing competitive improv at various events as early as 1974.

References

Sources

*Johnstone, Keith (1987). ''Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre''. Taylor & Francis. . *Johnstone, Keith (1999). ''Impro For Storytellers''. Faber UK. (paperback). *Keith Johnstone o
the origins of Theatresports and how a typical show runs

"Theatre, English-Language"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

''. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2006. *Clark, Andrew (1999). "Comedians Without a Net". ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian pers ...

'', 1999-09-08, Vol. 112, Issue 32. *Sillars, Les. "The Global Moose". ''

Alberta Report The ''Alberta Report'' was a conservative weekly newsmagazine based in Edmonton. It was founded and edited by Ted Byfield, and later run by his son, Link Byfield. It ceased publication in 2003. Promoting his own successor publication in 2004, ...

'', 1995-08-28, Vol. 22 Issue 37, pp36–37.
"Unscripted"
Chris Wiebe, ''Alberta Views'' magazine, September 2005.

External links

{{Commons category
International Theatre sports InstituteKeith Johnstone's official website
Improvisational theatre in Canada Theatre in Calgary Canadian inventions 1977 introductions

Derivatives

References

Sources

Further reading

External links