OK, OK so let’s narrow this definition down and talk about Improv Comedy Theatre.

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Improvisational Theater, sometimes called just improv, is a form of theater where most or all of what is performed is created at the moment it is performed, with little or no pre-planning. In it's purest form, the dialogue, the action, the story and the characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds. In some forms, one or more of those attributes might be decided on beforehand while the others are created in the moment.

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Improvisational Theater exists in performance as a range of styles of improvisational comedy as well as some non-comedic theatrical performances. It is sometimes used in film and television, both to develop characters and scripts and occasionally as part of the final product.

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The skills and processes of improvisation are used extensively in drama programs to train actors for stage, film and television and can be an important part of the rehearsal process. It is used in classrooms and businesses as an educational tool and as a way to develop communication and brain-storming skills. It is sometimes used in psychotherapy as a tool to gain insight into a person's thoughts, feelings and relationships. 

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Now that’s scary, some of the things I’ve seen improvised must have come from some dark places.

 

Improvised performance is as old as performance itself. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, Commedia dell'arte performers improvised based on a broad outline in the streets of Italy and in the 1890s theatrical theorists and directors such as Russian, Konstantin Stanislavski and the French, Jacques Copeau, founders of two major streams of acting theory, both heavily utilized improvisation in acting training and rehearsal.

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 Modern theatrical improvisation in the United States is generally accepted to have taken form in the improvisational acting exercises developed by Viola Spolin in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, now known as Theater Games, which she codified in her book Improvisation For The Theater. Some people credit American Dudley Riggs as the first vaudevillian to use audience suggestions to create improvised sketches. In the 1970s in Canada, British playwright and director Keith Johnstone wrote Impro, a book outlining his ideas on improvisation, and invented Theatresports which has become a staple of modern improvisational comedy and is the inspiration for the popular television show Who's Line Is It, Anyway.

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Spolin can probably be considered the American Grandmother of Improv. She influenced the first generation of Improv at The Compass Players in Chicago, which led to The Second City. Her son, Paul Sills, along with David Shepherd, started The Compass Players. Following the demise of the Compass Players, Paul Sills began The Second City. They were the first organized troupes in Chicago, Illinois, and the modern Chicago improvisational comedy movement grew from their success.[​

 

Many of the current "rules" of comedic improv were first formalized in Chicago in the late 1950s and early 1960s, initially among The Compass Players troupe, which was directed by Paul Sills. From most accounts David Shepherd provided the philosophical vision of the Compass Players, while Elaine May was central to the development of the premises for its improvisations. Mike Nichols, Ted Flicker, and Del Close were her most frequent collaborators in this regard. When The Second City opened its doors on December 16, 1959, directed by Paul Sill, his mother Viola Spolin began training new improvisers through a series of classes and exercises which became the cornerstone of modern improv training. By the mid 1960s, Viola Spolin's classes were handed over to her protégé, Jo Forsberg, who further developed Spolin's methods into a one-year course, which eventually became The Players Workshop, the first official school of improvisation in the USA. During this time Jo Forsberg trained many of the performers who went on to star on The Second City stage.

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Many of the original cast of Saturday Night Live came from The Second City and the franchise has produced such comedy stars as Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Bob Odenkirk, Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Eugene Levy, Steve Carell, Chris Farley, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

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Simultaneously, Keith Johnstone's group The Theatre Machine, which originated in London, was touring Europe. This work gave birth to Theatresports, at first secretly in Johnstone's workshops, and eventually in public when he moved to Canada. Toronto has been home to a rich improv tradition.

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In 1984 Dick Chudnow (Kentucky Fried Theater) founded ComedySportz in Milwaukee, WI. Expansion began with the addition of ComedySportz-Madison (WI), in 1985. The first Comedy League of America National Tournament was held in 1988, with 10 teams participating. The league is now known as World Comedy League and boasts a roster of 21 international cities.

 

In San Francisco, The Committee theater was active in North Beach during the 1960s. It was founded by alumni of Chicago's Second City, Alan Myerson and his wife Jessica.

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When The Committee disbanded in 1972, Three major companies were formed: The Pitchell Players, The Wing, and Improvisation Inc, Improv, Inc. being the only company continuing to perform Del’s “Original” Harold. In 1976, two former Improv-Inc members, Michael Bossier and John Elk, formed Spaghetti Jam, performing Short-Form improv and Harolds in San Francisco’s famous Old Spaghetti Factory. Stand-Up comedians performing down the street at the Intersection for the Arts would drop by and sit in. "Improv Comedy" was born.

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