Take a peak at the thesis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

Page

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………..     iii

 

 

I.          Introduction……………………………………………………………………..      1

                        The Setting and Subjects………………………………………………      6

                        Methods……………………………………………………………….     10

                        Summary………………………………………………………………    14

II.        History of the Art and Research of Improvised Theater………………….    17

                        History and Background of Improvisational Theater…………………….    17

                        Studies of Chicago Improvisation and Useful Social Theories.………    21

III.       Performers: The Background of Performing Improv………………………   29

                        Training: Learning a New Social and Cultural System………………..   29

The Path to Communitas………………………………………………    33

                        Shared Lives and References………………………………………….    50

                        Threats to Communitas: Rule Breaking and Poor Listening Skills……   54

IV.       Performance………………………………………..……………………..…..   65

                        Liminality and Joking in Performance…………………………………    65

                        Uniting the Viewer and the Viewed……………………………………    69

Sensing Connection and Understanding the Audience…………………..    74

V.        The Audience………………………………………………..………………..    87

                        From ‘Macro’ to ‘Micro’ Joking Cultures…………………………….    87

                        The Demographics of Rochester’s Long-form Audiences……………    92

                        The Audience’s Engagement: Establishing a ‘Micro’ Joking Culture..    94

VI.       Conclusions: Shared Myths, Shared Lives and Community……………… 100

                        Agreement and Heightening with Further Research…………………..  103

 

APPENDICES

            Appendix A Questions for Performers and Audiences………………………..  105

            Appendix B Audience Paper Survey………………………………………….. 107

            Appendix C Online Performer Survey…………………………………………  109

 

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….. 112