ListenAdaptKeith Johnstone
Spontaneity, status, accepting offers and reducing the fear of being wrong. Johnstone’s status work is particularly relevant to interaction, power and nonverbal behaviour.
APPLIED IMPROVISATION
Practice for situations without a script.
Improvisation is the art of responding to what is happening here and now. Applied improvisation takes principles, exercises and techniques from improvisational theatre and acting, and uses them as practical learning tools for leadership, collaboration and professional development.
Improvisational theatreActor trainingResearch-informed practice
DESIGNED FOR PEOPLE, NOT PERFORMERS
“Marius made every exercise feel safe and approachable.”
Stine · SustEvo AS
“Thank you for a different and playful experience. It exceeded all expectations.”
Vegard · HRP
“You get to know colleagues differently and step outside your comfort zone. A team-building activity with lots of laughter that I would recommend.”
Aleksander · Meta
WHAT IS IMPROVISATION?
Creating with what is available
In improvisational theatre, performers work without a predetermined script. They listen, notice, make offers, respond to one another and build something together in real time.
That requires more than quick thinking. Good improvisation depends on attention, acceptance, flexibility, presence and the ability to respond to changing information. Applied improvisation takes these practical principles beyond the theatre.
SIX VOICES THAT SHAPE THE WORK
From actor training to contemporary Applied Improvisation
Sanford Meisner
Attention, listening and truthful response. Meisner’s outward focus directs attention towards the partner, the relationship and what is changing in the moment.
Konstantin Stanislavski
Action, intention and embodied behaviour. His work connects circumstances and objectives with what performers actually do with voice, movement and attention.
Robert Poynton
A contemporary bridge from improvisation into everyday work: pausing, noticing, responding to circumstances and working productively with uncertainty.
Theresa Robbins Dudeck
A major voice in articulating Applied Improvisation as a field of practice beyond performance, connecting improvisational methods with organisations, education and development.
Caitlin McClure
Co-editor with Dudeck of Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre, documenting applications across professional contexts.
FROM THEATRE TO PRACTICE
The exercise stays. The purpose changes.
In theatre, an exercise might help performers create a scene, become more spontaneous or connect more closely with a partner. In Applied Improvisation, the same exercise can become a way to explore listening, collaboration, uncertainty, presence and adaptability.
01 ListenDirect attention towards what is actually happening, rather than preparing the next response.
02 AcceptWork with what another person contributes instead of blocking or evaluating it too quickly.
03 RespondMake a choice with the information available and notice how the interaction changes.
04 ReflectReflect instantly, and turn the experience into shared language and insight.
05 TransferConnect useful choices to leadership, teamwork and professional situations.
ACTING TECHNIQUES BEYOND IMPROVISATION
Applied Improvisation is part of a wider practical tradition
Not every exercise used by ListenAdapt comes from improvisational theatre alone. Some move into actor training, including work with observation, repetition, physical behaviour, character, status, intention and relational response.
Actor training
Marius’ background includes improvisation, Method Acting and Chubbuck-based training. These traditions offer practical ways to work with presence, attention, intention and embodied behaviour.
The objective is not to teach acting technique for its own sake, but to borrow useful training methods from environments where people have spent generations studying human interaction.
Experience first
Participants enter practical situations before analysing them. Behaviour becomes observable because something is actually happening between people.
The objective is transfer
Participants do not need to become good improvisers. The exercises are tools: their value lies in what people notice and what they can transfer into meetings, leadership, collaboration and communication.
WHAT CAN APPLIED IMPROVISATION DEVELOP?
Practice capabilities that matter when the answer is not obvious
Many of these capabilities are often described as 21st Century Skills or soft skills: communication, collaboration, creativity, adaptability and social awareness. Applied improvisation turns these broad concepts into practical situations where they can be experienced, noticed and rehearsed.
Listening & presence
Stay with what is happening, notice other people and respond with greater attention.
Psychological Safety →Collaboration & safety
Build on contributions, work with mistakes and create more room for participation and constructive risk-taking.
Innovation & Creativity →Adaptability & creativity
Generate possibilities, tolerate uncertainty and adjust when information or circumstances change.
Body Language →Explore how these capabilities connect to ListenAdapt’s workshops in psychological safety, innovation & creativity and body language.
RESEARCH, PRACTICE & A LIVING TRADITION
Research-informed. Practice-informed.
ListenAdapt draws on longstanding traditions in actor training and improvisational theatre, a contemporary international field of Applied Improvisation, and research into embodied learning, nonverbal behaviour and professional development.
Marius’ own research examines Applied Improvisation, embodied learning, nonverbal behaviour, power dynamics and how experiential learning can transfer into professional contexts.
View Marius’ research profile →FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Applied Improvisation FAQs
Is Applied Improvisation the same as improvisational theatre?
No. Applied Improvisation borrows exercises and principles from improvisational theatre but uses them for learning and development outside performance.
Do participants have to perform?
Usually not in the theatrical sense. Exercises are designed around learning, interaction and experimentation rather than entertainment.
Do participants need improvisation or acting experience?
No. The work is designed for people without performance experience, and exercises are introduced gradually.
Why use acting techniques in leadership and team development?
Actor training offers practical methods for working with attention, listening, presence, behaviour and response—capabilities that also matter in professional interaction.
Is there research behind Applied Improvisation?
Yes. Applied Improvisation is studied in areas including education, professional learning, creativity and interpersonal development. ListenAdapt also connects this field with research on embodied learning and nonverbal behaviour.
FROM STAGE PRACTICE TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
What would your team benefit from practising?
ListenAdapt adapts exercises from improvisation, actor training and experiential learning to the situations your people actually face.
Discuss your challenge