Shared mental models in improvisational theatre

This article presents our currents findings from an empirical study of the cognition employed by performers in improvisational theatre. Improvised theatrical performance is an activity in which one or more individuals create a dramatic or comedic performance in real-time and is an interesting example of creative, real-time, collaborative problem solving. Unlike other forms of creative problem solving, improvisers are constrained from explicitly coordinating with the other improvisers on stage or revising their decisions after the fact. This article focuses on the means by which a group of improvisers converge on a shared understanding (i.e. a shared mental model) of what a scene is about and how it should proceed. We present our findings on how improvisers build shared mental models during a performance and discuss our applications of these findings to the design and development of improvisational intelligent agents.