Often when people discuss improv, they're really discussing comedy. These people discuss shows like Whose Line Is It Anyways? or Saturday Night Live, and while either of these shows is improvised, it doesn't begin to encompass all the fluid aspects of improv or comedy. The evidence will not convince many of these people, strangers to the art form, that improvisation is much more serious than simply telling jokes. Those who practice and perform, the insiders, learn that this branch of the performing arts is much bigger than humor. Insiders recognize that there is humor in the reality, in the honesty, in the connectivity of a scene or a story, but these people know that improvisation is an interprofessional discipline and beneficial on a personal and collective level. Improvisational theater is a branch of the performing arts that focuses on acting. and the performance created the moment it is performed, without any script or written preparation1. The art originated as a tool used to train actors and actresses to prepare for any unexpected mistakes during stage performances. The first examples of improvisation are said to have taken place during Plautus' performances around 200 BC in Rome?. Thereafter, the tradition continued informally in theaters and performances until the 19th century - although theater had been heavily inhibited by the Catholic Church for many of these centuries - when Italian masked performers, known as Commedia dell'arte, stimulated an improvisation movement. , through their performances based on wide-ranging scenarios or sketches provided to them by spectators on the streets. Although the Commedia dell'arte may have initiated widespread teaching of improvisation, despite this, it was still considered t...... middle of paper ....... The Funniest One in the Room, the Lives and Legends by Del Close. Chicago, Illinois.: Chicago Review Press, 2008.Meer, Laurie Frederik. 2007. “Reproduction Theater in Cuba: The Politics of Improvisation and Free Expression.” TDR: The Drama Review 51, no. 4:106-120. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed 6 February 2014). Pagano, Christopher J. 2012. “Exploring the Therapist's Use of the Self: Enactment, Improvisation, and Affect in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.” American Journal Of Psychotherapy 66, no. 3: 205-226. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 9, 2014). Shochet, Robert, Julie King, Rachel Levine, et al. 2013. “Thinking on Your Feet: An Improvisation Course to Improve Students' Confidence and Responsiveness in the Medical Interview.” Primary Care Education 24, no. 2: 119-124. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 8, 2014).