RetroDag

On improvisational theatre, the joy of acting and the Torrance Experiment

Bogdan Dumitrescu

I graduated from drama school 25 years ago. For 25 years, I have been an actor with a degree. And for those same 25 years, I have trained actors—or young people who want to become actors. I have led workshops for professionals and non-professionals alike. I have worked with young people, but also with older adults.

In 2004, I first encountered improvisational theatre when I joined Romania’s first improv troupe. For the first five years, I trained by performing every week, trying to understand through doing and absorbing principles, techniques, approaches and protocols. After those five years, I began applying what I had learned to classical acting—the kind where the text is known in advance.

Although I had wonderful acting teachers at university—the first was Professor Ion Cojar, Romania’s greatest acting teacher—the catalyst that made the art of acting fully click for me was improvisational theatre. By working and doing, making mistakes and understanding, I began to gain independence as an actor and to enjoy the process. In my case, freedom and relaxation were achieved through improvisational theatre.

That was my path, although it certainly does not have to be everyone’s. For me, improvisational theatre was the universal key that began to unlock every door of every classical role. I rediscovered the joy of acting; I finally “knew what to do with my hands”, to borrow Nina’s words from Chekhov’s The Seagull. I began to function solely from within the situation, and everything became simple and measurable.

After all these years, I believe that the most important measure of whether you are on the right path is the joy of being at rehearsals and performances. In my opinion, this joy is the one essential thing that allows you to continue on your journey towards becoming an actor. When that joy disappears, it is a sign that something in the protocol you are using is returning an error.

In 2017, as part of my doctoral research, I led a workshop with a group of second-year acting students at the I. L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest. I wrote about it in the chapter entitled “The Torrance Experiment”. We worked for three weeks, three hours a day. I used improvisational theatre as a tool to help the students regain their self-confidence, the joy of acting and the courage to try—and to make mistakes.

After completing the module, I asked them to answer several questions honestly and anonymously. Ever since then, whenever I feel down as an acting teacher, I reread these answers from almost ten years ago and rediscover my own enthusiasm for training actors.

I am including them here as they appear in my doctoral thesis, Techniques for Training Creativity Specific to the Art of Acting.

APPENDIX I

FEEDBACK FROM THE STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE TORRANCE EXPERIMENT

Improvisation training, May–June 2017

QUESTION ONE

Did the improvisation training in May–June 2017 help you as acting students?

13 responses

Yes: 13 out of 13 (100%)

No: 0 out of 13 (0%)

If yes, how?

13 responses

RESPONSE 1 — It taught me to trust that whatever I did, it would be all right. To listen to my partner or partners. To keep my mind active. To keep searching for solutions.

RESPONSE 2 — I gained courage, confidence, relaxation on stage and trust in my partner. I also learned both to lead and to allow myself to be led.

RESPONSE 3 — The exercises helped me enormously in overcoming my anxiety and accepting mistakes in my work without becoming angry with myself. I gained more courage. The improvisations brought our group much closer together. Even now, we remember all sorts of funny incidents, and we would very much like to play again—without fear, courageously, freely and creatively.

RESPONSE 4 — They helped me gain confidence in myself.

RESPONSE 5 — They made me feel freer and more intuitive on stage.

RESPONSE 6 — Disinhibition, courage and confidence in my own ideas.

RESPONSE 7 — They taught me to trust my ideas, to apply them more freely, and they developed my ability to think and react much faster.

RESPONSE 8 — They gave me back my naturalness and enjoyment.

RESPONSE 9 — They developed my spontaneity and, even more importantly, my confidence in my own spontaneity.

RESPONSE 10 — I gained freedom of expression—or, rather, I gave it a clearer shape—and strengthened my ability to interact spontaneously and genuinely.

RESPONSE 11 — They reminded me always to begin with something simple, to enjoy what I am doing and to recognise the importance of concentration.

RESPONSE 12 — They helped me relax on stage and gave me a kind of flexibility in my thinking.

RESPONSE 13 — They gave us back the freedom to be creative and the confidence to act.

QUESTION TWO

What were the most important things you learned during the improvisation sessions?

13 responses

RESPONSE 1 — First of all, I found the concept of not saying “no” to your partner extremely important and interesting—the fact that “no” is not used in improvisation. Through various games, we learned once again to listen to our partner until the end and to hear what they had to say before giving our own response. One of the games was called “Irish Song”, and although its apparent purpose is to produce good rhymes, I believe that listening to your partner is even more important.

RESPONSE 2 — I relearned how to enjoy myself, overcome my fears and make my imagination work at any moment. I genuinely learned to accept my mistakes as something normal and beneficial.

RESPONSE 3 — The important thing is not to be afraid, not to become tense, and to enjoy what the others are doing.

RESPONSE 4 — Pay attention to your partner. Everything comes from your partner and from our own minds.

RESPONSE 5 — Whatever proposal I receive, I should not close the path but carry it forward by adding something.

RESPONSE 6 — There are no mistakes; there are only inattention and fears.

RESPONSE 7 — Nothing is wrong. Try to own your mistake—comedy can grow out of it.

RESPONSE 8 — Adapt quickly to any situation and do not be ashamed of your ideas.

RESPONSE 9 — Something extraordinary can emerge without preparing anything in advance, provided that you have the courage to throw yourself in while respecting a set of rules. You are enough as you are; you are good enough.

RESPONSE 10 — Relaxation, first of all, and genuine interaction—here and now. Plus everything I mentioned in my previous answer.

RESPONSE 11 — This was when I began to understand what “relaxation” on stage actually means. It also taught me to concentrate on the present and leave mistakes behind. It trained my ability to change ideas easily.

RESPONSE 12 — One moment of inattention and you have missed the moment. Always accept a proposal.

RESPONSE 13 — Be present, accept your partner’s proposal, trust your own proposal and follow it through to the end. Do not let your ego interfere, and know how to pass the initiative when you become blocked. There is no “I”; there is “we”.

QUESTION THREE

Would you like another improvisation module?

13 responses

Yes: 13 out of 13 (100%)

No: 0 out of 13 (0%)

If yes, why?

13 responses

RESPONSE 1 — It helps enormously because it relaxes you, gives you confidence and, most importantly, takes away your stage fright.

RESPONSE 2 — Because it helps me loosen up, collect myself and calm down, especially at university, when all the requirements begin to feel like pressure.

RESPONSE 3 — It is special. 🙂

RESPONSE 4 — I feel that I did something genuinely constructive for my future career.

RESPONSE 5 — It is extraordinary training for thinking in extreme situations.

RESPONSE 6 — It is useful pleasure.

RESPONSE 7 — For me, this module is like a shower that washes away everything we do during acting class. Once clean, I can return to the work we do in class.

RESPONSE 8 — My senses, my ideas, my imagination, my confidence and my body—everything develops harmoniously, without my even realising it.

RESPONSE 9 — Because I am convinced that it would help me. I felt its effects even during the relatively short first module.

RESPONSE 10 — It seems like a necessary form of training for an actor’s creative condition—an artistic refresh. 🙂

RESPONSE 11 — Because it keeps my means of expression alive.

RESPONSE 12 — We somehow returned to the playfulness of our first year, and that was wonderful.

RESPONSE 13 — Because it helps us remain fresh and continue to play.

If not, why?

0 responses

No answers were given to this question.

QUESTION FOUR

Which aspects of what you learned during improvisation training do you think could help you when acting from a pre-written text?

13 responses

RESPONSE 1 — When creating a character. Improvisation training demands your imagination and develops it at the same time. When an actor has to play a role, they do not rely only on what is written in the text; they use their imagination to give meaning to the character and bring it closer to themselves. In improvisation, your mind must always remain active. You have to keep finding solutions. The same thing happens when you begin constructing a scene from a play. Together with your partner, you must search for solutions that make the scene work.

RESPONSE 2 — Imagination, certainly. Also, the willingness to try anything, as many times as necessary, and the courage to make mistakes at the beginning.

RESPONSE 3 — If we remember the key words—the most important parts—we will be able to learn the text more easily.

RESPONSE 4 — Paying attention to my partner.

RESPONSE 5 — Being open to my partner and not isolating myself within a plan of my own.

RESPONSE 6 — The importance of spontaneity and accepting my colleagues’ proposals.

RESPONSE 7 — Confidence in my own ideas, and the ability to think and act quickly.

RESPONSE 8 — Everything.

RESPONSE 9 — Naturalness and a playful spirit.

RESPONSE 10 — Interaction, at the risk of repeating myself. You establish a relationship, a balance of power, a journey and an objective—there are many things to establish before you even open your mouth. Essentially, you invest in creating the illusion of a life.

RESPONSE 11 — First of all, the freedom and relaxation to approach different proposals, and the ability to concentrate on my partner rather than necessarily on the words I have to say.

RESPONSE 12 — Speed of reaction.

RESPONSE 13 — Trust in my partner, speed of reaction and knowing how always to say “yes”.

QUESTION FIVE

What did you find most difficult during that month of improvisation training?

13 responses

RESPONSE 1 — At first, it was difficult to allow my ideas to emerge without judging them so harshly beforehand. As time went on, however, I allowed them to come and worked with them as they were.

RESPONSE 2 — Each of us had an exercise in which we could not work at our full potential: some struggled with the exercises involving inventiveness, others with singing, and others with repeating movements.

RESPONSE 3 — I found it more difficult to create stories in groups of four or five people. At the beginning of the course, I genuinely could not do it, but later I relaxed and began concentrating on what I had to do.

RESPONSE 4 — Waking up in the morning.

RESPONSE 5 — I think there is an imaginary threshold that has to be crossed through improvisation. Until I crossed it, I felt constrained by the exercises, and it seemed as though all my good ideas were blocked somewhere far away from me. What is beautiful about improvisation, however, is that it shifts your attention away from yourself and towards a finished result, particularly in group improvisation. At that point, you stop thinking that people are expecting something from you and begin expecting something from your scene partners, so that you can carry the exercise forward. Once I crossed that threshold, every exercise became a pleasure. Things began to emerge, combine and transform by themselves.

RESPONSE 6 — Overcoming my own inhibitions—singing in rhyme, for example.

RESPONSE 7 — Taking responsibility for my mistakes and becoming friends with them.

RESPONSE 8 — The environment was so relaxed and pleasant that nothing seemed difficult to me.

RESPONSE 9 — Some improvisation exercises seemed more difficult than others.

RESPONSE 10 — I cannot find a stronger way of putting it: acquiring the “creative state”, which includes relaxation, spontaneity, joy, playfulness and so on.

RESPONSE 11 — The rhyming games.

RESPONSE 12 — Finding rhymes.

RESPONSE 13 — Being permanently present, here and now, ready for action and with all my senses active.

QUESTION SIX

What did you enjoy most?

13 responses

RESPONSE 1 — Everything.

RESPONSE 2 — We felt very good and became more cohesive as a group.

RESPONSE 3 — I enjoyed singing!

RESPONSE 4 — The energy we left with.

RESPONSE 5 — The relaxed atmosphere.

RESPONSE 6 — The moments of collective freedom.

RESPONSE 7 — I liked being able to play with any proposal, whether it was good or bad.

RESPONSE 8 — The fact that we played seriously.

RESPONSE 9 — The atmosphere and the way we were approached.

RESPONSE 10 — The way the group became more cohesive during the improvisation sessions.

RESPONSE 11 — The games whose rules required frequent changes.

RESPONSE 12 — Finding rhymes.

RESPONSE 13 — The pleasant atmosphere during the classes, where a safe space was created—one that encouraged creativity and allowed us to open up. We trusted one another despite our uncertainties in the work or any blocks that appeared. Most importantly, we remembered how to play and how to work with joy.

QUESTION SEVEN

When do you think an improvisation module would be useful during acting school?

13 responses

First year: 1 response (7.7%)

Second year: 1 response (7.7%)

Third year: 0 responses (0%)

I do not consider it useful during acting school: 0 responses (0%)

Every year: 11 responses (84.6%)

QUESTION EIGHT

Choose one word to describe the experience of one month of improvisation training.

13 responses

RESPONSE 1 — Breathing

RESPONSE 2 — Respite

RESPONSE 3 — Smiles

RESPONSE 4 — Useful

RESPONSE 5 — Play

RESPONSE 6 — Big-up

RESPONSE 7 — Cleansing

RESPONSE 8 — Revitalisation

RESPONSE 9 — Serenity

RESPONSE 10 — Freedom

RESPONSE 11 — Simple

RESPONSE 12 — Training

RESPONSE 13 — Game

QUESTION NINE

Did you apply anything from improvisation when working with a text? If so, what?

12 responses

RESPONSE 1 — Yes. The things I said could be transferred from improvisation games happen on an unconscious level.

RESPONSE 2 — Certainly, although not necessarily consciously: trust in my partner, attentive listening and overcoming the initial blocks.

RESPONSE 3 — The sequence of rules that must be followed.

RESPONSE 4 — I cannot tell.

RESPONSE 5 — Yes: trying things from different points of view and changing the context or situation.

RESPONSE 6 — Yes: confidence in my own proposals.

RESPONSE 7 — Openness towards my partner, acting on instinct, and changing my means of expression more quickly and naturally.

RESPONSE 8 — I cannot tell and cannot give an example. Perhaps.

RESPONSE 9 — I mentioned it in a previous answer: the balance of power, the relationship, the space…

RESPONSE 10 — Relaxation.

RESPONSE 11 — Not yet.

RESPONSE 12 — Accepting a proposal without judging it, saying “yes, and…”, then developing it and following it through to the end with complete commitment.

QUESTION TEN

Which exercise did you enjoy most?

13 responses recorded; 12 written answers appear in the source.

RESPONSE 1 — I genuinely did not have a favourite, but I remember “Forward–Backward”, “Irish Song”, and all the exercises involving rhymes and songs.

RESPONSE 2 — “Inner Monologue”.

RESPONSE 3 — The one involving singing and rhymes.

RESPONSE 4 — “Backwards Interview”.

RESPONSE 5 — All the imagination exercises.

RESPONSE 6 — The poetry rounds.

RESPONSE 7 — Every exercise brought something new and beautiful.

RESPONSE 8 — Generally, the ones with clearly defined themes rather than very broad ones—the exercise in which we performed the scene backwards and then continued it, and “Optimist–Pessimist”.

RESPONSE 9 — “Four-Person Story”.

RESPONSE 10 — “Optimist–Pessimist”.

RESPONSE 11 — “Change!”

RESPONSE 12 — “Four-Person Song”.

QUESTION ELEVEN

Which exercise did you find most difficult?

13 responses

RESPONSE 1 — “Backwards Interview”.

RESPONSE 2 — Usually, the exercises in which you are alone.

RESPONSE 3 — “Four-Person Story” and “Backwards Interview”.

RESPONSE 4 — “Banana”.

RESPONSE 5 — The one in which our colleagues gave us words and we had to create a song and a chorus.

RESPONSE 6 — Solo singing.

RESPONSE 7 — “Irish Song”.

RESPONSE 8 — As I said before, I find it almost impossible to think in terms of difficult and easy.

RESPONSE 9 — “Haidi-ho”; I also always found “Four-Person Story” difficult.

RESPONSE 10 — “Change!”

RESPONSE 11 — The songs and “777”.

RESPONSE 12 — “Backwards Interview”.

RESPONSE 13 — “Change!”

QUESTION TWELVE

Which exercise did you dislike?

12 responses

RESPONSE 1 — None.

RESPONSE 2 — I did not exactly dislike it, but neither my colleagues nor I performed “Banana” very well.

RESPONSE 3 — “Backwards Interview”.

RESPONSE 4 — “Banana”.

RESPONSE 5 — None.

RESPONSE 6 — —

RESPONSE 7 — I do not have one.

RESPONSE 8 — I did not dislike any of them.

RESPONSE 9 — I think it was the one involving “Dan said, and then slapped him”.

RESPONSE 10 — The one involving stage directions: “she/he said while…”

RESPONSE 11 — The rhymes.

RESPONSE 12 — “Four-Person Story”.

QUESTION THIRTEEN

Which exercise—or group of exercises—do you think was most useful to you, and why?

13 responses

RESPONSE 1 — I think the most useful exercise for me was “Irish Drinking Song”. It forces you to pay attention on several levels: first, to what your partner is saying; second, to finding a good rhyme for what your partner has said; third, to your place in the sequence—if you are the first person and a verse ends, you move to the back; fourth, to the instrumental accompaniment, so that you enter at the right moment; and fifth, to singing in tune, if you want the result to be flawless.

RESPONSE 2 — I would choose the group exercises involving stories or songs created on the spot. They require attention and concentration, as well as trust in your partner and readiness to help whenever your partner needs you. This is simply my opinion and reflects the way they helped me.

RESPONSE 3 — “Forward–Backward” helps you become aware of your movements on stage.

RESPONSE 4 — The exercise involving rhymes.

RESPONSE 5 — The exercises involving movement and improvisation through movement. I think they are useful because they resemble working with a written text.

RESPONSE 6 — All of them were useful.

RESPONSE 7 — “Change!”, because I had no time to plan what I was going to do in advance.

RESPONSE 8 — I think all of them, because I was discovering myself and learning how to draw ideas from the present moment.

RESPONSE 9 — The exercises involving rhymes and stories, because they force my imagination to work under pressure.

RESPONSE 10 — The exercises involving interaction between two people. They helped me to play, to lead and to allow myself to be led while interacting naturally.

RESPONSE 11 — I think every exercise helped me. In the ones where I felt relaxed, things probably settled within me more naturally. The ones I disliked made me draw many conclusions—rather theoretical ones, admittedly—but at least they can serve as starting points in the future.

RESPONSE 12 — “Four-Person Song”, because I had to be 102% concentrated.

RESPONSE 13 — The singing exercises, because you have to remain attentive to all your colleagues, be creative and follow the rhythm. “Change!” was also useful because you must remain active and be able to turn a situation around and examine it from every possible angle, quickly. When the changes stop, you must develop whatever situation you have reached.

QUESTION FOURTEEN

Complete the following sentence: Compared with working with a text, improvisation is…

12 responses

RESPONSE 1 — A way for an actor to create without limits.

RESPONSE 2 — More entertaining and creative.

RESPONSE 3 — Much freer in terms of “expression”.

RESPONSE 4 — A boundless space for creation.

RESPONSE 5 — More alive.

RESPONSE 6 — Playful.

RESPONSE 7 — Closer to throwing yourself into an abyss at any moment—but it comes with a parachute that is easier to use.

RESPONSE 8 — Like walking backwards, with no footprints to follow.

RESPONSE 9 — The first stage.

RESPONSE 10 — Frightening if you do not know its rules.

RESPONSE 11 — Like a bird that has escaped from its cage.

RESPONSE 12 — Difficult to fake.