Improvisational Theatre - in Film and Television

In Film and Television

Many directors have made use of improvisation in the creation of both main-stream and experimental films. Many silent filmmakers such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton used improvisation in the making of their films, developing their gags while filming and altering the plot to fit. The Marx Brothers were notorious for deviating from the script they were given, their ad libs often becoming part of the standard routine and making their way into their films. Many people, however, make a distinction between ad libbing and improvising.

The British director Mike Leigh makes extensive use of improvisation in the creation of his films, including improvising important moments in the characters lives that will not even appear in the film. This Is Spinal Tap and other mockumentary films of director Christopher Guest are created with a mix of scripted and unscripted material and Blue in the Face is a 1995 comedy directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster created in part by the improvisations filmed during the production of their movie Smoke.

Improv comedy techniques have also been used in television and stand-up comedy, in hit shows such as the recent HBO television show Curb Your Enthusiasm created by Larry David, the UK Channel 4 and ABC television series Whose Line Is It Anyway (and its spinoffs Drew Carey's Green Screen Show and Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza), Nick Cannon's improv comedy show Wild 'N Out, and Thank God You're Here. In Canada, the long-running series Train 48 was improvised from scripts which contained a minimal outline of each scene. The American show Reno 911! also contained improvised dialogue based on a plot outline. Fast and Loose is an improvisational game show, much like Whose Line Is It Anyway?. The BBC Sitcoms Outnumbered and The Thick Of It also had some improvised elements in them.