Improvisation in contemporary Lithuanian theatre

Abstract

Improvisation in a theatrical context is usually perceived as an actor using acting technique to create and perform spontaneously, here and now during the play. There is much academic literature in foreign countries which considers how to improvise in theatre and what improvisation techniques are utilised, however this topic is not analyzed consistently in the Lithuanian context. Most often theatrical improvisation, as a method, is mentioned in the context of educational science. Otherwise there is a lack of critical texts analyzing improvisation in the contemporary Lithuanian theatre. The aim of this work is to structure and analyze how and in what ways improvisation filters into the Lithuania theatre performances. The object of the article is to interrogate improvisation in the creative process and the different forms of the theatre. To achieve this aim, the following tasks have to be completed: to discuss the role of improvisation in Lithuanian theatre; analyze and reflect on selected Lithuanian performances and characterize what type of improvisation techniques are generally applicable in the contemporary Lithuanian theatre. The conclusion aims to address how improvisation may be used in a variety of ways – both as a learning tool and as a way to be on the stage (to go deeper and analyze a variety of human existences and social order cross-sections). Performances based on open structure and the same concept of the actor’s role is fundamental and the best conditions for the emergence of a planned external actor’s improvisation. The currently available analyses of performances indicated that improvisation in the contemporary Lithuanian theatre usually occurs in the following ways: improvisation as a strategy of the play‘s structure; as theatre sport; improvisation as a cameo performance element in the overall structure of the play; and as the internal improvisation in traditional performances.