"An Invitation for Disaster"—Embracing the 'Double Failure' of Improvisation

Stephanie Hill
2014 Critical Studies in Improvisation  
In this paper I consider the representational and relational aesthetics of 'improvisational moments,' a term I am using to encompass both the moments of encounter between improvisers and audience members and the art that arises from these encounters. These moments cannot help but be evaluated—both relationally and representationally—by all stakeholders. From such an evaluation, a judgement of whether or not these improvisational moments have succeeded or failed almost certainly arises. An
more » ... ation of failure in improvisation is of interest due to the likelihood that many (if not all) improvising artists have encountered improvisational moments which they have judged failures. Because there are two areas of expectation by which improvisational moments can be judged, those being in terms of representational and relational aesthetic standards, improvisational moments can be said to 'doubly fail.' This paper demonstrates that ultimately this 'double failure' can be 'doubly generative' of new creative products.
doi:10.21083/csieci.v9i2.2731 fatcat:egju3vibjnezpmh4enhv5jd2oq