Improvention is a festival dedicated to the art of Improvisation.

The festival includes theatre shows, workshops and conference sessions held over 8 days in Canberra, ACT, Australia.

The 2012 Improvention will be held from Saturday 30 June to Sunday 8 July 2012. Further information on the festival venues can be found at 'Where is Improvention?'

Performances

The program of performances features a mixture of traditional short-form improvised theatre (such as that seen in TheatresportsTM and Whose Line is it Anyway?) and an eclectic mix of the most exciting new works of unscripted theatre in Australia and internationally.

Previous editions of Improvention have included unscripted theatre shows such as Inspired by Strindberg (by Sweden’s Per Gottfredsson), Spoken (by US improviser Randy Rixon), Rock Opera (by Australia’s Tim Redmond), What would Shakespeare do? (by Australia’s Jenny Lovell) and Canberra’s own The Displaced.

The Performance Program also houses the Canberra Impro Challenge which is in its eighth year in 2012.

Workshops

Workshops are held daily by leading Australian and international improvisers and theatre practitioners. These workshops vary in content from an insight into a particular improvisational skill such as characterisation, the examination of an improvised theatre performance format, to an exploration of other theatre forms or methods that can be utilised in unscripted theatre such as puppetry and mime.

Conference

Improvention also includes presentations and forum discussions of Improvisation and Unscripted Theatre as an art form from leading instigators in the field and the greater arts community. Improvention's conference section also explores the wider applications of Improvisation as a tool to promote positive behaviours, improve communication skills and foster creativity.