Keith Johnstone

Theresa Robbins Dudeck, Ph.D., is an experienced teacher/practitioner of Keith Johnstone's Impro System and of acting, voice, and applied theatre techniques. She directs, teaches, and performs in both professional and academic settings. As Johnstone’s Literary Executor, she continues to organize, document, and preserve his archive for future scholarship. Theresa lives in Los Angeles.

• 1 Introducing Keith Johnstone and his Impro System2 The formative yearsFirst forays in teachingWaiting for GodotThe Royal Court Theatre – A 'School' for playwrightsSamuel Beckett – An arranged meetingSunday Night productions without décorThe Writers’ GroupEleven Men Dead at Hola Camp – An improvised dramatic protestJohnstone as a Royal Court Theatre directorCourt politicsThe Knack3 All the world is a classroomThe Royal Court Theatre StudioClowningJohnstone’s last season at the Royal CourtThe Performing GiantThe Royal Academy of Dramatic ArtsThe Theatre MachineJohnstone teaches beyond BritainTheatre Machine back at the Court and Johnstone’s courtshipJohnstone and Eugenio BarbaThe Last Bird in CopenhagenEmigration4 The master teacher in the university classroomO Canada! Johnstone’s new homJohnstone’s first staging of GodotThe University of CalgaryDrama 200 and Drama 300Vakhtangov and ZenTeacher-student interactionProduction work at the University of CalgaryLive Snakes and LaddersJohnstone’s legacy at the University of Calgary5 From classroom to world stage: The Loose Moose Theatre CompanyThe Loose Moose Theatre CompanyBeginning of TheatresportsWaiting for Godot and The Last Bird againTheatresports Tournaments and The Loose Moose HamletLoose Moose finds a homeA Pinteresque seasonBustling and brokeUnsportsmanlike conductLoose Moose moves forwardImpro and Theatresports in SwedenFestival of Fools in New York and treated like fools in QuebecBack homeBeginning of Life Game and other formatsOut of debt but no recognition(Re)Teaching TheatresportsConflict and closure – Beyond and within; TransitionsThe Loose Moose today6 What now? What comes next? What classrooms still remain?Johnstone – The reluctant guruJohnstone’s international workshops – Ideal for who?What may (or may not) happen in a Johnstone workshopImprobable’s Life Game and Rebecca Northan’s Blind DateImpro hot on stages and in classrooms of Latin AmericaImpro beyond the theatre classroomWhat comes next? What classrooms still remain?BibliographyIndex

The book succeeds as an illuminating companion to Johnstone's writing and for anyone who wants to add to their understanding of how to improvise ... This is a living history and one which is required reading for anyone who has ever improvised and wants to know the pedagogical philosophy and principles ... An invaluable and inspiring insight into the influences and experiences that have shaped an unsung genius of twentieth-century theatre