Interactive Acting

Interactive Acting
Jeff Wirth
Fall Creek Press - 14.95 USD

This is not a book about Improv, but rather about other forms of theater which involve audience interaction.

Wirth describes 4 kinds of Interactive Theater:

• Environmental theater, in which the audience become characters in a semi-scripted role-play, together with actors
• Playback theater, in which actors `replay` scenes from the audience`s experience
• Forum Theater, or Theater of the Oppressed
• Theatrical Freestyle, developed by Wirth himself, in which audience members join actors on stage to play full-length performances.

About half of the book is an introduction in improvisation and Improv techniques. This is basically an excellent introduction to Improv in general, albeit a bit brief.

The other half of the book describes audience interaction in general. Although this is not Improv-specific, the tips and techniques Wirth describes are invaluable for any improviser or host to an improv performance.

On the whole an interesting book, and a bit of an eye opener for those who are familiar with Improv-only. It is interesting to see how basic Improv techniques apply more widely than strictly to Improv-as-we-know-it.