Where did improvisation come from, and who are the main and most influential practitioners today?即興創(chuàng)作是從哪里來的？當(dāng)今主要和最有影響力的從業(yè)者是誰？
ANTIQUITY:古代
Almost any book on improvisation will tell you that improvised theatre began with the Commedia Dell’Arte—and for once, “any book” is right,although possibly not for the reasons supposed.A moment’s thought about how theatre came to be will reveal that the notion of re-enacting events for an audience almost certainly came before the notion of writing a script to be memorized, but it is fair enough to not describe this kind of prototheatre as “improvised,” despite the fact that it was necessarily re-created fresh at each performance.
幾乎所有關(guān)于即興創(chuàng)作的書都會(huì)告訴您，即興戲劇是從Commedia Dell'Arte開始的；而且，“任何一本書”都是對(duì)的，盡管可能并非出于假定的原因。為觀眾重新表演事件的觀念幾乎肯定早于編寫要記憶的劇本的觀念，但公平的是不將這種原型劇場(chǎng)描述為“即興的”，盡管事實(shí)是每次表演都重新制作。
As the writer, very swiftly, assumed dominance of the theatre, the? script became of paramount importance. The reason for this is also clear to see, and applies not just to theatre, but to all “temporal” art forms.Mozart was thought to be an astonishing improviser, but it is only his “premeditated” music which remains, since—by defifi nition—his improvisations were not recorded for posterity (although they may have inspired music which he later recorded). Scripts, books and music manuscripts can travel and endure in the way that a brief moment of inspiration cannot.
隨著作家迅速地占據(jù)了劇院的主導(dǎo)地位，劇本變得極為重要。原因很明顯，不僅適用于劇院，而且適用于所有“時(shí)間”藝術(shù)形式。莫扎特被認(rèn)為是令人驚訝的即興創(chuàng)作者，但僅保留了他的“有預(yù)謀”音樂，因?yàn)槎x-他的即興演奏沒有為后代錄制（盡管它們可能啟發(fā)了他后來錄制的音樂）。腳本，書籍和音樂手稿可以短暫的靈感瞬間傳播和忍受。
The Commedia Dell’Arte arose in Italy in the fifteenth century and? specialized in bawdy comedies built around stock situations and populated by stock characters, often played by actors who had played them for many years, or even decades. In contrast to almost all the theatre which preceded it—at least from the ancient Greeks on—there was no definite script. Instead, Commedia Dell’Arte performers were free to improvise around the familiar situations, creating extemporized comic set-pieces,dialogue exchanges and even plot details as the fancy took them. No doubt this was a highly successful methodology, as it endured well into the eighteenth century and its influence is still felt today. It surely can be described as the first improvised theatre, since the term is meaningless unless there is scripted theatre to compare it to!
Commedia Dell'Arte誕生于十五世紀(jì)的意大利，專門研究根據(jù)喜劇情節(jié)制作的滑稽喜劇，喜劇喜劇演員經(jīng)常扮演角色扮演了很多年，甚至數(shù)十年。與之前的幾乎所有劇院相反（至少從古希臘人起），沒有明確的劇本。取而代之的是，Commedia Dell'Arte的表演者可以隨意在熟悉的情況下即興創(chuàng)作，創(chuàng)作臨時(shí)化的漫畫作品，進(jìn)行對(duì)話交流，甚至在幻想中繪制細(xì)節(jié)。毫無疑問，這是一種非常成功的方法，因?yàn)樗恢背掷m(xù)到18世紀(jì)，并且在今天仍然可以感受到它的影響。它肯定可以說是第一個(gè)即興劇院，因?yàn)槌怯心_本劇場(chǎng)可以與之比擬，否則該詞就毫無意義！
VIOLA SPOLIN
The next major innovation in improvisation had to wait almost five hundred years. Viola Spolin began her theatre work in the late 1930s.Like Augusto Boal after her, she was working in community theatre,and in trying to stimulate the children she was working with and make the process of theatre easy for them to grasp, she invented dozens of what now seem like fundamental improvisation games and exercises.
即興創(chuàng)作的下一個(gè)重大創(chuàng)新要等待近五百年。維奧拉·斯波林（Viola Spolin）于1930年代后期開始戲劇工作。像奧古斯托·鮑爾（Augusto Boal）一樣，她在社區(qū)劇院工作，并試圖激發(fā)與之一起工作的孩子并使他們易于掌握戲劇過程，她發(fā)明了數(shù)十種現(xiàn)在看來基本的即興游戲和練習(xí)。
Despite—like Stanislavski and later Lee Strasberg—viewing improvisation as essentially a rehearsal tool, rather than a performance piece, in one public demonstration of her methods, she asked for a suggestion from her audience, and a brand new technique was born. To many, the process of getting audience suggestions is the bedrock of improvisation,and many groups use a description of that process to encapsulate their whole show (“All based on your suggestions”). It is, however, easy to overuse and easy to abuse.
盡管像斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基（Stanislavski）和后來的李斯特拉斯堡（Lee Strasberg）一樣，在即席表演的公開演示中，她認(rèn)為即興演奏實(shí)際上是一種排練工具，而不是表演作品，但她向聽眾提出了建議，并且誕生了一種全新的技術(shù)。對(duì)許多人來說，獲得觀眾建議的過程是即興創(chuàng)作的基礎(chǔ)，許多團(tuán)體使用對(duì)該過程的描述來封裝整個(gè)節(jié)目（“全部基于您的建議”）。但是，它容易過度使用和容易濫用。
In the 1950s, Spolin’s son Paul Sills fell in with an exciting young group of actors in Chicago, headed by David Shepherd, which became the Compass Players. Sills and Spolin taught the Spolin games to this daring ensemble, and Shepherd hit upon the idea of creating a loose structure for a play, the dialogue of which could be improvised each night—essentially re-creating the modus of the Commedia Dell’Arte. Quickly, however, they discovered that the form of improvisation was better suited to comedy in a cabaret setting, using the audience suggestion method to create jumping off points for a series of impromptu comedy sketches.
在1950年代，斯波林的兒子保羅·西爾斯（Paul Sills）與一群令人振奮的年輕演員一起在芝加哥以大衛(wèi)·謝潑德（David Shepherd）為首，后來成為羅盤演奏者。Sills和Spolin在這個(gè)大膽的合奏中教授了Spolin游戲，而Shepherd想到了為戲劇創(chuàng)建一個(gè)松散結(jié)構(gòu)的想法，這種對(duì)話可以在每個(gè)晚上進(jìn)行即興創(chuàng)作-本質(zhì)上是重新創(chuàng)造了Commedia Dell'Arte的方法。但是很快，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)即興表演的形式更適合于歌舞表演中的喜劇，它使用觀眾建議方法為一系列即興喜劇草圖創(chuàng)建跳點(diǎn)。
A schism develops right here, which we will return to again and again in this book, between content and process. The problem which this creates is sometimes known as the skateboarding duck. For the Commedia Dell’Arte players, extemporization was simply the most effective method of channeling their inspiration, of creating the kind of comic energy which their scenarios demanded. Likewise, Shepherd and the Compass Players were initially seeking a fresher, more truthful acting style within a predetermined plot structure. As soon as the audience is made aware of the process, however, then a second point of interest emerges.
分裂在這里發(fā)展，在內(nèi)容和過程之間，我們將在本書中一次又一次地返回。由此產(chǎn)生的問題有時(shí)被稱為滑板鴨。對(duì)于Commedia Dell'Arte播放器來說，即興創(chuàng)作是傳達(dá)靈感，創(chuàng)造情景所要求的喜劇能量的最有效方法。同樣，Shepherd和Compass Player最初是在預(yù)定的劇情結(jié)構(gòu)中尋求更新鮮，更真實(shí)的表演風(fēng)格。但是，一旦讓觀眾意識(shí)到了這一過程，就會(huì)出現(xiàn)第二個(gè)興趣點(diǎn)。
There is something daring about beginning with a random suggestion from the audience, which makes much of public improvisation about taking a risk. The potential problem with this approach is that the audience may be encouraged to admire the process rather than being engaged in the story. Like a duck riding a skateboard, they are astonished that such a thing is possible, and are thus distracted from whether or not it is done well. Taken too far, this is a recipe for both mediocrity and a thirst for novelty—problems which often bedevil the form to this day.
從聽眾的隨機(jī)建議開始就有些大膽的事情，這使得公眾在冒險(xiǎn)方面即興創(chuàng)作。這種方法的潛在問題在于，可能會(huì)鼓勵(lì)觀眾欣賞過程而不是參與故事。就像鴨子騎在滑板上一樣，他們驚訝于這種事情是可能的，因此從做得好不好轉(zhuǎn)移了注意力。太過分了，這既是平庸又是對(duì)新奇的渴望的秘訣，這些問題通常使今天的形式不受歡迎。
That isn’t to say that process should be ignored, or even de-emphasized.We don’t regard an acknowledgement of process as evil—in fact, we regard it as essential—but we want to be aware of the dangers and drawbacks as well as the advantages.The Compass ran from 1955 to 1958 and counted among its alumni Alan Alda, Jerry Stiller, Mike Nicholls, Elaine May, and—of course—Del Close. In 1959, some of its members founded Second City, about which more in a moment.
但這并不是說應(yīng)該忽略或什至不強(qiáng)調(diào)流程。我們不認(rèn)為承認(rèn)流程是邪惡的，實(shí)際上，我們認(rèn)為流程是必不可少的，但我們要意識(shí)到危險(xiǎn)和弊端.指南針運(yùn)行于1955年至1958年，其校友Alan Alda，Jerry Stiller，Mike Nicholls，Elaine May和-當(dāng)然是Del Close。1959年，它的一些成員創(chuàng)立了Second City，此后不久，便有了更多機(jī)會(huì)。
KEITH JOHNSTONE
At around the same time, in London, Keith Johnstone, a one-time high school teacher now working at the Royal Court Theatre in London, was beginning to direct plays for the fifi rst time. Despairing of the “theatre of taxidermy” which he saw in the West End and remembering how his own teachers had (seemingly) done their best to stiflfl e his creativity and selfexpression, he pinned up a list of things his teachers had told him not to do and used it as a syllabus. Not having had any drama training himself,he found himself constantly questioning his actors’ preconceptions and the prevailing wisdom of the day—notably Stanislavski.
大約在同一時(shí)間，在倫敦的基思·約翰斯通（Keith Johnstone）曾經(jīng)是一名高中教師，現(xiàn)在在倫敦皇家法院劇院（Royal Court Theatre）工作，這是他第一次開始導(dǎo)演戲劇。他對(duì)在西區(qū)看到的“動(dòng)物標(biāo)本劇院”感到絕望，并回想起自己的老師（貌似）如何盡力激發(fā)自己的創(chuàng)造力和自我表達(dá)，他列出了老師告訴他不要做的事情并用作課程提綱。沒有接受任何戲劇訓(xùn)練，他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己一直在質(zhì)疑演員的成見和當(dāng)今流行的智慧，尤其是斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基。
As he developed more and more exercises intended to keep his actors? in the “present” and aware of each other, and to wreck their concentration,he found that he and the rest of the group were laughing prodigiously.Their improvised performances seemed much more alive, fresh, real and inspired than the play they were supposed to be rehearsing. Was this some vast untapped reservoir of comic inspiration, or were they fooling themselves with colossal self-indulgence? The only way to fifi nd out was to go public, and pretty soon, Keith’s “Theatre Machine” was touring all around Europe, with Keith himself acting as a sort of ringmaster, setting tasks for the actors and trying to keep order (ideally without quite succeeding).Keith, too, used audience suggestions, although sparingly.
隨著他進(jìn)行越來越多的演習(xí)，目的是使演員們保持在“現(xiàn)場(chǎng)”并相互了解，并破壞他們的注意力，他發(fā)現(xiàn)他和團(tuán)隊(duì)中的其他成員都在大笑。他們的即興表演似乎更加生動(dòng)活潑。 ，新鮮，真實(shí)和鼓舞人心的效果。這是未開發(fā)的大量漫畫靈感來源，還是他們以巨大的自我放縱來欺騙自己？唯一的出路是公開發(fā)行，不久，基思的“劇院機(jī)器”就在歐洲各地巡回演出，基思本人是一名表演指導(dǎo)，為演員們?cè)O(shè)定任務(wù)并設(shè)法保持秩序（理想情況下，凱斯（Keith）也很少聽取觀眾的建議。
In the 1970s, Keith moved to Calgary and developed Theatresports, one of the most popular ways of “packaging” improvisation for public performance yet devised. He founded the Loose Moose Theatre, which was an ideal home for the energetic young Canadian improvisers he was teaching, and although Keith has now stepped down from the Moose it still presents his formats and runs an annual summer school which attracts improvisation practitioners from all over the world.
1970年代，基思（Keith）搬到卡爾加里（Calgary）并開發(fā)了劇院劇院（Theatresports），這是迄今為止為公眾表演而設(shè)計(jì)的“打包”即興演奏的最流行方式之一。他成立了Loose Moose劇院，這是他所教的充滿活力的年輕加拿大即興演奏家的理想住所，盡管Keith現(xiàn)在已從Moose辭職，但他仍然展示自己的形式，并開設(shè)了一個(gè)年度暑期學(xué)校，吸引了來自世界各地的即興創(chuàng)作者。
Keith published the book Impro in 1979, a collection of his thoughts and ideas about improvisation. Continuously in print ever since, it is now regarded as a classic. This was followed by Impro for Storytellers in 1999.
基思（Keith）在1979年出版了《 Impro》一書，收集了他關(guān)于即興創(chuàng)作的思想和觀念。此后一直印刷，現(xiàn)在被視為經(jīng)典。隨后是1999年的Impro for Storytellers。
IMPROVOLYMPIC
At Second City, the schism previously mentioned was dividing the company. Some practitioners held that using improvisation to develop terrific cabaret was certainly possible, provided it was understood that improvisation, whether in public or in private, was fundamentally a writing tool: excellent at developing inspiration and finding new ideas,lousy at delivering those ideas with economy and focus. Others, including Del Close, held that improvisation was a uniquely exciting process which thrilled audiences.
在第二城市，先前提到的分裂正在分裂公司。一些從業(yè)者認(rèn)為，使用即興創(chuàng)作特制的歌舞表演肯定是可能的，前提是應(yīng)理解，即興創(chuàng)作無論是在公開場(chǎng)合還是私下都是從根本上來說都是一種書寫工具：擅長發(fā)掘靈感和發(fā)現(xiàn)新想法，但樂于傳達(dá)這些想法經(jīng)濟(jì)和重點(diǎn)。包括Del Close在內(nèi)的其他人則認(rèn)為，即興演奏是一個(gè)令人興奮的獨(dú)特過程，它使觀眾感到激動(dòng)。
In the 1980s, Del and his partner Charna Halpern left Second City to found ImprovOlympic, now generally known simply as IO. Today, IO is a major force in improvisation, especially in Chicago, whereas almost all of Second City’s performances are of scripted sketch material. Both institutions teach improvisation, and each has become a training ground for many familiar faces from American TV and movies, including Bill Murray, Chris Farley, John Belushi and countless others. Today, Chicago is home to dozens of improvisation companies and annually hosts the Chicago Improv Festival, probably the largest improv festival in the world. The Spontaneity Shop was very happy to be invited to take part in 2005, and artistic director Jonathan Pitts was a most generous and engaging host.
在1980年代，Del和他的搭檔Charna Halpern離開Second City成立了ImprovOlympic，現(xiàn)在通常簡(jiǎn)稱為IO。如今，IO已成為即興創(chuàng)作的主要力量，尤其是在芝加哥，而Second City的幾乎所有表演都是使用腳本草擬的材料。兩家機(jī)構(gòu)都教授即興演奏，并且已經(jīng)成為美國電視和電影中許多熟悉的面孔的訓(xùn)練場(chǎng)，其中包括比爾·默里，克里斯·法利，約翰·貝魯什和無數(shù)其他人。如今，芝加哥擁有數(shù)十家即興創(chuàng)作公司，每年都會(huì)舉辦芝加哥即興音樂節(jié)，這可能是世界上最大的即興音樂節(jié)。自發(fā)商店很高興被邀請(qǐng)參加2005年，藝術(shù)總監(jiān)喬納森·皮茨（Jonathan Pitts）是最慷慨和最吸引人的主持人。
TODAY當(dāng)今
Because neither Spolin nor Boal endorsed improvisation as anything more than a process, and because although Second City does perform improvisation, they do not charge for these performances which are tacked on to the end of their (usually excellent) satirical revue shows, we are left with just two leaders in the fifi eld of performance improvisation: Del and Keith. The tension between their points of view, and the reasons for our broad allegiance to Keith Johnstone, are threads which have been woven throughout this book.
因?yàn)镾polin和Boal都沒有將即興創(chuàng)作視為一個(gè)過程，而且雖然Second City確實(shí)進(jìn)行了即興創(chuàng)作，但他們不為這些（通常是非常出色的）諷刺劇集演出結(jié)束后的演出收取任何費(fèi)用，績效即興表演領(lǐng)域只有兩名領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人：Del和Keith。他們觀點(diǎn)之間的張力以及我們廣泛擁護(hù)基思·約翰斯通的原因，都是貫穿本書的主題。
關(guān)于基思·約翰斯通
1956年，基思·約翰斯通（Keith Johnstone）作為一名新手劇作家進(jìn)入皇家宮廷劇院，十年后，他成為一名開創(chuàng)性的導(dǎo)演和即興創(chuàng)作教師。他的決定性著作《即興表演》（Impro）描述了約翰斯通獨(dú)特的訓(xùn)練體系：利用演員的直覺和想象力，將理論和技術(shù)結(jié)合在一起，鼓勵(lì)自發(fā)的、協(xié)作的創(chuàng)作。約翰斯通從此成為世界知名的、鼓舞人心的戲劇大師；他的作品繼續(xù)影響著傳統(tǒng)戲劇內(nèi)外的實(shí)踐。
“基思·約翰斯通比我所遇到的任何人都更能發(fā)掘出人類創(chuàng)造力的潛力。他的思想對(duì)什么是教和學(xué)提出了挑戰(zhàn)。因此，終于有了一本書來闡述基思的觀點(diǎn)，并將其置于他的生活和時(shí)代背景中，這是很好的。這本書對(duì)藝術(shù)家、教師或任何想要更充分地活著的人來說，都是必不可少的讀物?！?/p>
----馬克哈文黑爾（Mark Ravenhill），劇作家
“基思·約翰斯通的原創(chuàng)和創(chuàng)意都很另類，難以表達(dá)。他教給我的更多的是關(guān)于秘密的人類行為、地位交易以及如何在我的工作中更好地應(yīng)用它們，其結(jié)果令人吃驚.....”
----彼得?科約特（Peter Coyote），演員/作家
