For other people named Keith Johnstone, see Keith Johnstone (disambiguation). Keith Johnstone, 2008 Keith Johnstone (born February 1933) is a British and Canadian pioneer of improvisational theatre, best known for inventing the Impro System,[i] part of which are the Theatresports. He is also an educator, playwright, actor and theatre director.[2] Contents 1 Life 2 Work 3 Selected publications 4 Further reading 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links Life[edit] Born in Devon, England, Johnstone grew up hating school, finding that it blunted his imagination and made him feel self-conscious and shy. After teaching at a working-class school in Battersea, London in the early 1950s, Johnstone was commissioned to write a play by the Royal Court Theatre in 1956.[3] He subsequently became a play-reader, director and drama teacher there, where 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. He is featured in the book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. Work[edit] 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. Johnstone 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.
KEITH JOHNSTONE is one of the few internationally recognized authorities in the field of improvisation, great chunks of which he created, including improvisation forms that include Theatresports™, Maestro Impro© (or Micetro© Impro Gorilla Theatre™, and The Life Game©. Keith has written two best selling books about his Theatre and Improvisation theories and practices, in addition to several plays and short stories. Theatresports™ is known worldwide. The Life Game© was produced by London’s Improbable Theatre Co. (directed by Phelim Mc Dermott). It toured Great Britain and the USA to great reviews. His books Impro, and Impro For Storytellers, have been translated into many languages. His plays are produced world wide. Keith’s ideas about improvisation, behaviour and performance appeal to a wide variety of groups. From Actors to Psychotherapists, Improvisation companies to Theatre Schools and Companies, Business and Management training specialists and Humanities Research Institutes, Universities and Film Production Companies have invited him to come to teach them about his ideas, and how they might apply them. He founded the Theatre Machine Improvisation group in England in the 1960’s, touring Europe and North America, was the Co-founder and Artistic Director of The Loose Moose Theatre Company in Calgary, Canada in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s. He founded The International Theatresports™ Institute in 1998. If you are looking for Workshops to attend, go to the Workshops Page.
This is the definitive manual for theatre-sports training and games. Although light on theory or philosophy, Johnstone has already covered these subjects at length in his earlier work, Impro. Where that book suffered from being too little a guide and too much a story, Impro for Storytellers suffers from the opposite: it is an effective guide but doesn't create the story of the games' development in a chronological way. To compensate, Keith has thoughtfully provided a detailed index, appendices, This is the definitive manual for theatre-sports training and games. Although light on theory or philosophy, Johnstone has already covered these subjects at length in his earlier work, Impro. Where that book suffered from being too little a guide and too much a story, Impro for Storytellers suffers from the opposite: it is an effective guide but doesn't create the story of the games' development in a chronological way. To compensate, Keith has thoughtfully provided a detailed index, appendices, and footnotes that make If S far more user friendly than Impro.more.
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