The roots of American improvisation: Play, process, and pedagogy
Item
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Title
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The roots of American improvisation: Play, process, and pedagogy
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:a4b872ac768c:11009
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identifier
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11427
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Creator
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Duffy, Margaret M.,
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Contributor
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Jane Bowers
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Date
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2011
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Theater | Theater history | Performing arts | Boyd | Forsberg | Improvisation | performance | Spolin | theatre
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Abstract
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This dissertation examines the ways in which the art of American improvisation, as it developed in Chicago, operates as a catalyst for liberating creativity in the individual. I have traced its historical roots to the work and theories of three first-generation American women: Neva Boyd, Viola Spolin, and Josephine Raciti Forsberg. Boyd was a kindergarten teacher at the beginning of the twentieth century who championed the significant role that "directed play," particularly in the form of games, takes in the personal and social development of the individual. Viola Spolin, also known as "the high priestess" of improvisation, was trained as a social group worker by Boyd. Spolin built on Boyd's theories and created games, known as the "Spolin Games," for teaching improvisation. In 1963, she published Improvisation for the Theater, a foundational text for acting and improvisation teachers. Josephine Raciti Forsberg, who was trained by Spolin, is a theatre practitioner and teacher, whose contributions to the art of American improvisation have been greatly overlooked. Forsberg also established the first, and for many years the only school, dedicated to teaching the art of American improvisation, The Players Workshop of The Second City.;In this dissertation, I have particularly focused on Forsberg's influences, curriculum, and exercises. In creating this narrative, I have used personal interviews with Forsberg and her unpublished notes, Something from Nothing. Forsberg's notes do not provide a theoretical perspective, so I have supplied a framework, making the connections between her exercises and the theories and individuals who influenced her and her work. Lastly, in extending the discussion of the transformative nature of improvisation, I explore the link between creativity and improvisation from a cognitive process perspective.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Theatre
