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Harold is a structure used in longform improvisational theatre. Developed by Del Close and brought to fruition through Close's collaboration with Charna Halpern, the Harold has become the signature form of Chicago's iO Theater and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and Los Angeles. It is now performed by improv troupes and teams across the world. The Committee, a San Francisco improv group, performed the first Harold in Concord, California in 1967. They were invited to a high school and decided to do their improvisations on the war in Vietnam. On the way home in a Volkswagen Bus, they were discussing the performance, when one of them asked what they should call it. Allaudin (Bill) Mathieu called out "Harold",〔 which was a joking reference to a line from ''A Hard Day's Night'' where a reporter asks George Harrison what he calls his haircut and he answers "Arthur". Close later remarked that he wished he had chosen a better name.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Del Close )〕 When The Committee disbanded in 1972, improv company Improvisation, Inc. was the only company in America continuing to perform Close's "original" Harold: a 45-minute free-form piece that would seamlessly move from one "Harold technique" to another. In 1976, two former I-Inc performers, Michael Bossier and John Elk, formed Spaghetti Jam, performing in San Francisco's The Old Spaghetti Factory through 1983. Spaghetti Jam performed Harolds while also turning Spolin games and Harold techniques into stand-alone performance pieces (i.e., shortform improv). Close and Halpern's 1994 book ''Truth in Comedy'' is the definitive text on the form. It describes a "training wheels Harold" as three acts (or "beats"), each with three scenes and a group segment. With each beat, the three scenes return. By the end of the piece, the three scenes have converged. ==Structure== A typical Harold is 25 to 40 minutes. Given three unrelated scenes A, B, and C, the structure follows: * Opening * Scenes A1, B1, C1 * Group Game * Scenes A2, B2, C2 * Group Game * Scenes A3, B3, C3 (Note: In the final set of scenes, not all three will always return. Players are encouraged to call back the most interesting scenes and characters from the Harold, and also to intertwine them.) Close called this a 3x3 structure, using it to give improvisers a sense of organization to help them through their first Harolds. He was clear that the format was theirs to use. Departures were not only allowed but were considered important steps in developing a group's ability to Harold. He expressed this in his book ''Truth in Comedy'', noting that "the first rule is: there are no rules." In performing Harolds, content and the need to develop an organic commentary on the suggestion trump predetermined structures. Various Harold structures use different sets of guidelines such as the 3x3 format. Another guideline might be whether players stay as the first character they create or can play multiple characters, or that the ending is a group scene. Yet another guideline could be that everyone knows each other and scene partnerships may change from the first to second and second to third layers. The loose structure allows for the creative bursts necessary for the Harold. Using an audience suggestion, players explore their relationship to the topic as a starting point. The scenes progressively evolve as the exploration continues to an ending point. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harold (improvisation)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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