Performing Arts, Improvisation, and Resistance:

The Political-Pedagogical Proposal of Improvisational Theater

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33871/21750769.2026.22.1.10870

Keywords:

Improvisational theater, Impro system, Critical pedagogy, Performance, Improvisation

Abstract

This theoretical essay was guided by the objective of analyzing Keith Johnstone's systematized improvisational theater as a performance oriented toward resistance against oppression, a concept initially conceived by its founder, but apparently unknown to its contemporary practitioners. From a decolonial perspective, the original proposal of the Impro System is historically contextualized and reinvigorated as an innovative aesthetic, an epistemological guideline, a pedagogical practice, and a political action. The argumentative outline of the essay covers performance theories, critical pedagogy, storytelling, and spontaneous dramaturgy, themes that align with a reflective and critical perspective on theatrical improvisation.

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Author Biography

José Luis Felicio dos Santos de Carvalho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

José Luis Felicio Carvalho – em arte, Zeca Carvalho – é pesquisador, ator, improvisador, diretor teatral e Professor Titular na Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Bacharel em Artes Cênicas (UNIRIO), Bacharel em Administração (UFRJ), Mestre e Doutor em Administração (PUC-Rio), Zeca desenvolveu seu Pós-Doutoramento no Centro de Estudos de Teatro da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa (CET/UL).

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Published

2026-07-03

How to Cite

Felicio dos Santos de Carvalho, J. L. (2026). Performing Arts, Improvisation, and Resistance: : The Political-Pedagogical Proposal of Improvisational Theater. O Mosaico, 22(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.33871/21750769.2026.22.1.10870

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 1 (2026): Revista O Mosaico No. 30

Section

Em Fluxo

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