Keith Johnstone

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Keith Johnstone is a British and Canadian pioneer of improvisational theatre, best known for inventing the Impro System[lower-roman 1], part of which are the Theatresports. He is also an educator, playwright, actor and theatre director.[2]

Life

Born February, 1933, in Devon, England, Johnstone grew up hating school, finding that it blunted his imagination and made him feel self-conscious and shy. In the late 1950s, as a play-reader, director and drama teacher at the Royal Court Theatre in London, 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, Alberta to teach at the University of Calgary.

Work

Johnstone co-founded the Loose Moose Theatre, and invented his system of training that has been influencing practice within and beyond the traditional theatre for over 50 years.[1][2] His system include formats such as "Gorilla Theatre", "Micetro" or "Maestro", and "Life Game". The latter has been seen at the National Theatre courtesy of Improbable Theatre, and on U.S. cable television.

Johnston has written two books about his system; the 1979 Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre, and the 1999 Impro For Storytellers. He is known for slogans that encapsulate his philosophy of improvisation, and include:[2]

  • "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."

Selected publications

Further reading

  • Berney, K.A. (ed.) (1994). Johnstone, Keith, Contemporary British Dramatists, St. James Press, London, ISBN 1558622136
  • Keith Johnstone, in Contemporary Dramatists, 6th ed. St. James Press, 1999.
  • Robbins Dudeck, Theresa (October 10, 2013). Keith Johnstone: A Critical Biography. Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. ISBN 978-1408183274. 
  • Reddick, Grant (2006). Keith Johnstone, Theatre 100. Calgary: Alberta Playwrights Network

Notes

  1. ↑ The term Impro System was coined by Dudeck in the 2013 biography to identify Keith Johnstone’s theories, techniques, exercises, games, terminology, and pedagogy.[1][2]

    References

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Theatre Professor and Her Newly Released Book at the Big Orange Book Festival, 2 October 2003 News, College of Performing Arts, Chapman University.
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Dudeck, Theresa R. (2013). Keith Johnstone: A Critical Biography, Bloomsbury, Methuen Drama, London.

    External links

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