Acting improvisation

The Ed Mulligan Homepage

Improvisation is more that just a set of acting techniques: it is a philosophy. It's based on the idea of accepting offers made by others rather than blocking them. Obviously there are situations in the real world (as opposed to improv world where you always accept an offer) where this won't work, but you'd be surprised how often saying yes can get you somewhere.

Everyone improvises all the time in their everyday life and learning to improvise is really only learing to harness your innate ability. So don't believe anyone who says they can't improvise.

Top grade improvisation, on the other hand, is a highly skilled business and learning the techniques is a lifetime's study. There are several groups in London who teach and/or perform improvisation. Two that I have seen and learned with are London Theatre Sports and Sprout. Both have regular shows, but the dates do keep changing so check their web sites for the latest details.

I have completed an improvisation foundation course (F1) with London Theatre Sports and eagerly await their continuation F2 class. The F1 lasts 6 weeks and each week consists of a 3 hour session in the evening, although they may change the format from time to time. LTS also run "drop-in" sessions where anyone with basic improv knowlege (F1 or it's equivalent) can turn up and practice improvising.

Finally, since one of the best ways of learining improvisation is teaching, I occasionally run improv workshops for Imperial College Union Dramatic Society. You should contact them directly if you want to take part in the next one.