improv
Making it up
Improv is unscripted performance, especially comedy, created spontaneously without a script or rehearsal.
Short for improvisation.
Improv comedy became a distinct art form in the mid-twentieth century, with performers building scenes from audience suggestions: We're taking an improv class together.
The word also works as an adjective: an improv troupe, improv night at the club.
Unified group or outfit
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
- stageRaised performance platform
- performanceCarrying out a task
- audienceGathered viewers collectively
troupe · backstage · games · suggestion · blackout · edit · warmup · showcase
Unscripted speech or remark
- extemporaneousDone without advance preparation
- unrehearsedNot practiced beforehand
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- offhandCasually unrehearsed
freestyle · unscripted · off-the-cuff · spur-of-the-moment · instinct · intuitive · serendipity · whimsical
Hasty informal drawing
- stand-upSolo comedic performance
- punchlineHumor's final delivery
- gagMouth restraint or jest
- satireMockery exposing vice
parody · slapstick · farce · banter · shtick · clowning · zany · hilarity
Improvisational American music genre
freeform · session · noodling · vamping · groove · fusion · bebop · freestyle
Playful, teasing exchange
- quipBrief, clever remark
- wordplayVerbal wit techniques
- wisecrackFlippant clever remark
- reparteeQuick, clever conversation
jest · witticism · cleverness · sharpness · snappy · comeback · one-liner · zingers
Proposals for acceptance
- agreementShared position between parties
- listeningAttending to sound
- acceptanceConsent to receive
- endowmentPermanent donated fund
justification · specificity · mirroring · pattern · gifting · blocking · wimping · denial
ensemble
Unified group or outfit
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
- stageRaised performance platform
- performanceCarrying out a task
audience · troupe · backstage · games · suggestion · blackout · edit · warmup · showcase · longform
ad-lib
Unscripted speech or remark
- extemporaneousDone without advance preparation
- unrehearsedNot practiced beforehand
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
offhand · freestyle · unscripted · off-the-cuff · spur-of-the-moment · instinct · intuitive · serendipity · whimsical · effortless
sketch
Hasty informal drawing
satire · parody · slapstick · farce · banter · shtick · clowning · zany · hilarity · jest
jazz
Improvisational American music genre
scat · freeform · session · noodling · vamping · groove · fusion · bebop · freestyle · call-and-response
banter
Playful, teasing exchange
repartee · jest · witticism · cleverness · sharpness · snappy · comeback · one-liner · zingers · quick-witted
offers
Proposals for acceptance
- agreementShared position between parties
- listeningAttending to sound
- acceptanceConsent to receive
endowment · justification · specificity · mirroring · pattern · gifting · blocking · wimping · denial
- humorjoke, jokes, joking, comedy, comic
- storytellingstorytelling, story, tale, narrative, narrator
- dramaTV drama, acting, television drama, drama school, playwright
- theatreBroadway, acting, theatre, stage, actor
- comedy skitscomedy skit, sketch, comedy sketch, spoof, parody
- comedy typesclown, satire, parody, farce, slapstick
improvscripted
Written out beforehand
rehearsed · prepared · choreographed · memorized · prewritten
improvbit
Small amount or portion
formulaic · by-the-book · rote · mechanical · paint-by-numbers
improvsketch comedy
Short comic performances
stand-up · theatrical play · book musical · sitcom · screenplay
- improv comedyUnscripted comedic theater
- home improvementUpgrading one's residence
- new and improvedRecently updated and enhanced
- improve onMake superior to before
- needs improvementBelow acceptable quality
- improve uponExceed previous quality
improve, improvement, improved, improving, improvise, improves, improvements, improvisation, unimproved