A Study On The Creation

Stan Lai has his own process and special technique for theatre improvisation. His improvisation combines the performance, playwriting and a way that is different from other forms of improvisation. Traditional improvisation is performed by the actors according to a given situation or principle that only affects what the actors do on the stage. Stan Lai’s process includes not only the improvisation on the stage but also the playwright’s creation and director’s process. The improvisation performed by the actors is only a part of the whole process. Stan Lai’s improvisation has its own unique course, aesthetic meaning and philosophical foundation.There are five main parts of this dissertation discussing Stan Lai’s improvisation technique. The first part introduces this subject. The second and third parts are about the details of the improvisation process. They include how to establish the stage character, how to settle on the situation of the story, how to develop the playwriting, and how to direct the whole play created through the improvisation. The unique style of Stan Lai’s improvisation is created through this process. Multi-improvisation, the uniqueness of Stan Lai’s style and its special creative motivations are the main characteristics of his improvisation. “Multi-improvisation” defines a certain used by Stan Lai. Generally, there are three main types of improvisation: inspired improvisation, limited improvisation, and multi-improvisation. Stan Lai’s technique belongs to the third type. But the unique style of Stan Lai’s improvisation process also involves the re-creation of prior improvisations. This re-creation stage in the process of improvisation makes Stan Lai’s improvisation different from other improvisation techniques. The last main trait of Stan Lai’s improvisation process is how the character’ motivations are developed, which is explained very clearly in his book, Stan Lai’s Study in Originality.The fourth part of this dissertation discusses the aesthetic meaning and philosophical foundation of Stan Lai’s improvisation technique, including Taoist philosophy, psychological principles and aesthetic analysis. His focus on the essential elements, involving a natural style with fewer words for richer meanings, reflects Taoist philosophy. His use of the mind of the actor in also involves psychological principle. And the naturalness of performance on the stage relates Stan Lai’s improvisation to aesthetic theories of art.Stan Lai expressed his opinion about improvisation an article, Create Something out of Nothing about Improvisation, published in the periodical China Theatre. This article explains how to do improvisation and how to instruct the actors. So there are many parts of this dissertation that explore this article to discuss and analyze Stan Lai’s improvisation process.The last part of this dissertation compares Stan Lai’s improvisation technique with other styles of improvisation, including Italian commedia dell’ arte of in the 17 th century, to give the historical context for Stan Lai’s contribution to theatre today. This contribution includes three aspects. One is that Stan Lai combines the more stable style of the eastern theatre tradition and the changing style of the western play. Another aspect is his unification of traditional and modern playwriting techniques. The last aspect is how Stan Lai continues to developtraditional performance elements of improvisation with each new show he creates.