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Fragments Of An Improvisation Timeline

40,000+ BCE – Present – Australia – Aboriginal Songlines – Improvised songs used as oral maps and ancestral storytelling, adapting as journeys and listeners change.

Ancient – Present – Americas – Indigenous Storytelling Circles – Stories shaped by teller’s voice, relationship to land, and the moment’s needs; always in motion.

Ancient – Present – Mali – Dogon Dama rituals – Improvised masked dances performed during funerals, continuously evolving with each event.

2nd century BCE – Present – India – Raga – Performance develops as a structured but deeply improvised form in classical Indian music.

1st century CE – Present – Kerala (India) – Kutiyattam – Ancient Sanskrit theatre marked by highly codified gestures (*hasta abhinaya*) and expressive facial play (*neta abhinaya*), allowing actors to improvise within each act and adapt performances to audience interaction in real time.

9th century CE – Present – Middle East – Taqsim – Arabic instrumental improvisation within the maqām system, typically on oud or ney, featuring solo expositions, mini‑cadences, and modal modulation.

10th century CE – Present – Indonesia – Wayang Kulit (shadow puppetry) – Improvised dialogue and narration shaped by audience, event, and spiritual setting.

13th century CE – Present – West Africa – Griot Tradition – Oral historians and musicians (griots or jalis) improvise songs, praise, genealogy, and stories—transmitting history through performance and responding dynamically to their audience.

13th century CE – Present – Turkey – Mevlevi Sema Ceremony – Improvised spiritual movement (whirling) and music expressing surrender and divine connection.

14th century CE – Present – Japan – Noh Theatre – Highly codified yet includes improvisation in chanting and musical phrasing.

16th century CE – Present – Brazil – Capoeira – Improvised martial art combining music, movement, and play, born of resistance and disguised ritual.

Post-WWII, 1960s – Present – Japan – Butoh – Improvisational dance reacting to trauma, silence, and sensation. Movement arises from inner impulse rather than choreography.

1897 – Paris (France) – Andre Antoine's naturalistic theatre: the rise of the fourth wall.

1898 – Moscow (Russia) – Art Theatre founded by Constantin Stanislavski on the principle of realistic theatre.

1910s – Moscow (Russia) – Film Director Lev Kuleshov demonstrates the Kuleshov effect.

1920 – Paris (France) – Jacques Copeau introduces mask improvisation at the Ecole du Vieux-Colombier.

1921 – Vienna (Austria) – J.L. Moreno directs the "Theatre of Spontaneity" and develops Psychodrama.

1935 – New York (US) – Sanford Meisner joins the Neighborhood Playhouse.

1936 – Germany – Berthold Brecht introduces the Distancing Effect.

1939 – Chicago (US) – Viola Spolin begins developing Theatre Games.

1944 – Northampton (US) – Psychologists Fritz Heider and Marianne Simmel create a silent animation of geometric shapes to study narrative attribution—showing how viewers instinctively impose stories on abstract motion. Watch the original animation

1945 – England – Joan Littlewood founds the Theatre Workshop.

1951 – Milan (Italy) – Jacques Lecoq opens his theatre school.

1955 – Chicago (US) – Compass Players founded by David Shepherd and Paul Sills.

1958 – London (England) – Keith Johnstone starts using improvisation at the Royal Court Theatre.

1959 – Opole (Poland) – Jerzy Grotowski founds the Laboratory Theatre.

1963 – (US) – Viola Spolin's book Improvisation for the Theater is published.

Late 1960s – San Francisco (US) – Del Close develops the Harold long form.

1968 – Scandinavia – Towards a Poor Theatre by Grotowski is published.

1970s – (US) – Action Theater is created by Ruth Zaporah, Contact Improvisation by Steve Paxton, and Viewpoints by Mary Overlie.

1973 – Latin America – Augusto Boal develops Invisible Theatre and later Forum Theatre.

1975 – New York State (US) – Playback Theatre is developed by Jonathan Fox.

1977 – Quebec (Canada) – Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation by Robert Gravel stages the first public performance mixing improvisation with sport.

1977 – London (England) – Mike Leigh directs Abigail's Party.

1978 – Calgary (Canada) – TheatreSports by Keith Johnstone holds its first public match.

1978 – Ottawa (Canada) – Improv Olympics is founded at Carleton High School.

1979 – (Canada) – Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone is published.

Source (with many additions outside the world of improv comedy): The Novelty of Improvisation: Towards a Genre of Embodied Spontaneity (open access) by David Alfred Charles - PhD Dissertation - Department of Theatre - Louisiana State University, August 2003. All rights reserved.



 
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Photo credit: Daniel Anderson, Joze Far, Sophie Bess, Remy Bertrand