Product Description

Keith Johnstone's involvement with the theatre began when George Devine and Tony Richardson, artistic directors of the Royal Court Theatre, commissioned a play from him. This was the year of Look Back in Anger in 1956. A few years later he was himself Associate Artistic Director, in particular helping to run the writers' group. The techniques and exercises evolved there to foster spontaneity and narrative skills were developed further in the actors' studio, then in demonstrations to schools and colleges and ultimately in the founding of a company of performers called The Theatre Machine. Divided into four sections, "Status", "Spontaneity", "Narrative Skills" and "Masks and Trance", arranged more or less in the order a group might approach them, the book sets out the specific techniques and exercises which Johnstone has himself found most useful and most stimulating. The result is a fascinating exploration of the nature of spontaneous creativity." If teachers were honoured in the British theatre along-side directors, designers and playwrights, Keith Johnstone would be as familiar a name as are those of Jocelyn Herbert, Edward Bond and other young talents who were drawn to the great lodestone of the Royal Court Theatre in the late 1950s. As head of the script department, Johnstone played a crucial part in the development of the 'writers' theatre '" (Irving Wardle)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #104504 in Books
• Published on: 1981-01-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Review
'A hundred practical techniques for encouraging spontaneity and originality by catching the subconscious unawares here is an inexhaustible supply of zany suggestions for unfreezing the petrified imagination.' Daily Telegraph 'If you don't have this book - get it quick Johnstone's insights are as powerfully clear as ever It's a treasure trove of ideas and methods; it will ease and enrich work and studies An invigorating read.' Reviews Gate (August 2007)

Reviews Gate (August 2007)
'If you don't have this book - get it quick... Johnstone's insights are as powerfully clear as ever... It's a treasure trove of ideas and methods; it will ease and enrich work and studies... An invigorating read.'

Customer Reviews

a brilliant guide for actors and teachers
one of those very few books that can change how you work in fundamental ways... Brilliantly funny, thoughtful and perceptive about the ways that teachers deal with their students and the games they unintentionally or unconsciously play with each other in classrooms; highly practical in its sections on mask, narratives, spontaneity, and improvisation; subversive and constructive at the same time. Sadly, very much better than his follow-up 'Impro in storytelling 'which recycles many of the ideas from this. As it says above - buy it, share it...

Unleash your imagination...
not a very creative summary, but it's true. I've owned this book for a number of years and have kept going back to it for creative impetus. I'm in no way associated with theatre (though I did go once), in fact my career is very humdrum and involves maths, computers and finance! The point is that I've used the books techniques in each of these areas to help boost my creativity. It contains some great techniques and I found the writing very clear, precise and (of course)original. Most books on creativity tend to be very 'uncreative' and keep repeating the same ideas. I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone looking to kick start their imagination in any area.

Human interaction masterclass for everyone, not just improvisers
Keith Johnstone is a visionary in the field of improvisation theatre. His concepts of status hierarchies are ground-breaking. They show that humans, like animals, are at ease with each other when the underlying status hierarchy is understood and undisputed.

However, all kinds of interesting tensions are created when the status hierarchy IS disputed. For actors, this concept from Keith's book is golden:
1) If you want to be seen as a natural performer, you need to know your status in relation to the other humans, and even things around you.
2) If you want to create interesting drama, you and your co-actors need to manipulate your statuses in interesting ways. These dynamic movements and challenges are interesting and funny for the audience.

Keith describes this and much, much more in his fascinating book. The generous use of actual improvisation situations makes the book very hands-on, funny and analytical.

Impro also expands from improvisation acting to such areas as creative writing, teaching and mask and trance work. Even the bits one does not agree with are superbly constructed and offer an insightful view on the sometimes weird and wonderful world of creative minds at work.

The improvisation actors in such shows as "Whose line is it anyway?" or London's Comedy Store borrow many of their techniques from Keith.

This book is one to read, whether you are an actor, spectator or just plain interested in smooth, congruent human interactions. Pure genius.