Interactive Acting
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Description
This is an encyclopedia entry.
Interactive Acting
Jeff Wirth
Fall Creek Press - 14.95 USD
This is not a book about Improv, but rather about other forms of theater which involve audience interaction.
Wirth describes 4 kinds of Interactive Theater:
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Environmental theater, in which the audience become characters in a semi-scripted role-play, together with actors
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Playback theater, in which actors 'replay' scenes from the audience's experience
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Forum Theater, or Theater of the Oppressed
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Theatrical Freestyle, developed by Wirth himself, in which audience members join actors on stage to play full-length performances.
About half of the book is an introduction in improvisation and Improv techniques. This is basically an excellent introduction to Improv in general, albeit a bit brief.
The other half of the book describes audience interaction in general. Although this is not Improv-specific, the tips and techniques Wirth describes are invaluable for any improviser or host to an improv performance.
On the whole an interesting book, and a bit of an eye opener for those who are familiar with Improv-only. It is interesting to see how basic Improv techniques apply more widely than strictly to Improv-as-we-know-it.