Yes And Have You Checked Our Catalogue?
The Art of Improv and How it Enhances Library Services
Martha Stortz
What is improv?
Improvisation, or improv, is a form of live theatre in which the plot,
characters and dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up in
the moment.
Often improvisers will take a suggestion from the audience, or draw
on some other source of inspiration to get started and the show goes
on from there.
Improv is unique in that every show is unique.
Even shows that start with the same exact audience suggestion will
be different. Improv comedy shows are never rehearsed, and never
the same.
Source: Laugh Masters Academy, www.laugh-masters.com.au
Improv Terms
Improviser: a person who does or is doing improv
An offer: a choice someone makes in a scene that provides context or adds to the
scene.
Scene parter- often, a basic scene will consist of two people, both of whom are
scene partners to one another.
[Chicago, Toronto, Hollywood]
[Los Angeles]
[New York City, Los Angeles]
Yes And
If this is true,
what else
is true?
Groupmind
Volunteers?
Yes And Exercise: Word At A Time Story
Players will come up to the front of the room and we are going
to tell a story..
one
word
at
a
time.
How did that feel?
How did it feel to affirm someone else’s ideas?
How did it feel to explore the idea?
What skills did this exercise require of you?
If This is True Exercise: I Am A...
Players will come up to the front of the room.
One person starts the scene on stage saying “I am a tree.”
Another person joins them, choosing something or someone to interact with the
tree. They might say “I am the blue jay calling from the tree branch”. Or
maybe they say “I am the water running beneath the roots of the tree”.
A third person then joins the first two, choosing their own related identity and
action: “I am the lovers’ carving in the bark on the tree”.
At that point, the person who started the scene—here, the tree—chooses one of
the others remain in the scene and start a new round: “I’ll keep the blue jay”.
The remaining person repeats their choice “I am the blue jay calling from the
How did that feel?
Did you need or want to start thinking of
connections in different ways?
How did it feel to tell a story from incomplete
information (ie the first offer)?
What skills did this exercise require of you?
Groupmind Exercise: Dr. Know-it-All
Players will come up to the front of the room.
Two players act as one expert, speaking in one voice (same words at the same
time) while being interviewed by the moderator.
How did that feel?
How did you listen to your partner?
What cues did you use to stay in touch with them?
What skills did this exercise require of you?
That’s great... but how does
this help me specifically
within library services?
Yes And
(as seen in One Word story)
Yes And
= agreement and exploration
If this is true,
what else is true?
(as seen in I Am A)
If this is true,
what else is true?
= extrapolation
Groupmind
(as seen in Dr. Know-It-All)
Groupmind
= listening, communication,
and cooperation
How are these skills useful
within library services?
Yes And/Agreement and Exploration
Yes And during reference interviews.
Come to an agreement on what the library user needs.
Take the time to really explore each concept the user is
looking for information on.
Build upon the information the user has offered you and
add your own.
If this is true.../Extrapolation
If this is true... during research requests.
Telling a story and extrapolating from incomplete
information (e.g. if this is true in this jurisdiction, what
could possibly be true in another jurisdiction?)
Thinking outside the box for where and how to find
information
Groupmind/Listening, communication, cooperation
Listening to what library users are saying and what they’re
asking for
Communicating effectively with users and coworkers
Cooperating and collaborating on research and library tasks
Questions/Comments?
Martha Stortz
@marthamks
[email protected]