Keith Johnstone

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Keith Johnstone is a drama instructor whose teachings and books have focused on improvisational theatre and have had a major influence on the art of improvisation.

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Education [edit]

Born February, 1933, in Devon, England, Johnstone grew up hating school, finding that it blunted his imagination and made him feel self-conscious and shy. In the late 1950s, as a play-reader, director and drama teacher at the Royal Court Theatre in London, he chose to reverse all that his teachers had told him in an attempt to create more spontaneous actors.

Teaching and writing career [edit]

In the 1970s, Johnstone moved to Calgary, Alberta to teach at the University of Calgary. There, he co-founded the Loose Moose Theatre, and invented Theatresports, that has become a staple of modern, improvisational comedy. Johnstone has subsequently invented further improvisation formats including "Gorilla Theatre", "Micetro" or "Maestro", and "Life Game" that has been seen at the National Theatre courtesy of Improbable Theatre, and on U.S. cable television.

He has written two books about his work, Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre and Impro For Storytellers.

Bibliography [edit]

References [edit]

External links [edit]