improvisers
Make-it-up artists
Improvisers are people who create or perform without preparation, making things up as they go.
The term applies across domains: jazz improvisers spontaneously compose music, comedic improvisers generate scenes from audience suggestions, and in everyday contexts, anyone who cobbles together a solution from available materials is improvising.
The improvisers built an entire sketch from a single word shouted by the audience.
Good improvisers share a willingness to respond in the moment rather than follow a script.
Not pre-written
- ad-libUnscripted speech or remark
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- unrehearsedNot practiced beforehand
- on-the-spotOccurring immediately where needed
offhand · freestyle · instinctive · intuitive · unplanned · adaptable · quick-thinking · reactive
Unified group or outfit
- troupeTraveling group of performers
- actorOne who portrays characters
- performerOne who entertains audiences
- thespianTheatrical performer
mime · pantomimist · clown · busker · playback · commedia · stock character · physical theater
Fast, complex jazz style
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- scatImprovised vocal jazz
- jam sessionInformal improvisational music gathering
- compingImprovised chordal accompaniment
riff · solo · licks · standards · chord changes · groove · syncopation · woodshedding
Hasty informal drawing
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
- callbackFollow-up audition invitation
- gameOrganized play or sport
- heighteningIncreasing in degree
walk-on · short-form · long-form · Harold · suggestion · audience · edit · initiation
Vocal drum imitation
- cypherEncoded communication method
- flowUnbroken forward movement
- battleArmed military engagement
- a cappellaSinging without instruments
sampling · turntablism · instrumental · cadenza · modulation · ornament · variation · noodling
unscripted
Not pre-written
- ad-libUnscripted speech or remark
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- unrehearsedNot practiced beforehand
on-the-spot · offhand · freestyle · instinctive · intuitive · unplanned · adaptable · quick-thinking · reactive · flexible
ensemble
Unified group or outfit
- troupeTraveling group of performers
- actorOne who portrays characters
- performerOne who entertains audiences
thespian · mime · pantomimist · clown · busker · playback · commedia · stock character · physical theater · blocking
bebop
Fast, complex jazz style
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- scatImprovised vocal jazz
- jam sessionInformal improvisational music gathering
comping · riff · solo · licks · standards · chord changes · groove · syncopation · woodshedding · gig
sketch
Hasty informal drawing
heightening · walk-on · short-form · long-form · Harold · suggestion · audience · edit · initiation · premise
beatbox
Vocal drum imitation
a cappella · sampling · turntablism · instrumental · cadenza · modulation · ornament · variation · noodling
improvisersscriptwriters
Authors of film dialogue
planners · rehearsers · memorizers · readers · sight-readers
improvisersformalists
Prioritizers of style, structure
literalists · automatons · conformists · traditionalists · purists
improvisersinterpreters
Oral language mediators
executors · reproducers · imitators · copyists · transcribers
- improvised comedyUnplanned comedic performance
- improvised explosive deviceCrude weapon from everyday materials
- improvised dialogueUnscripted spoken exchange