Performing Arts, Improvisation, and Resistance:
The Political-Pedagogical Proposal of Improvisational Theater
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33871/21750769.2026.22.1.10870Keywords:
Improvisational theater, Impro system, Critical pedagogy, Performance, ImprovisationAbstract
This theoretical essay was guided by the objective of analyzing Keith Johnstone's systematized improvisational theater as a performance oriented toward resistance against oppression, a concept initially conceived by its founder, but apparently unknown to its contemporary practitioners. From a decolonial perspective, the original proposal of the Impro System is historically contextualized and reinvigorated as an innovative aesthetic, an epistemological guideline, a pedagogical practice, and a political action. The argumentative outline of the essay covers performance theories, critical pedagogy, storytelling, and spontaneous dramaturgy, themes that align with a reflective and critical perspective on theatrical improvisation.
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