Presentation given by Dr. Brigitte Biehl-Missal, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK

1. Improvisational Theatre
in Management Education:
Exploring Arts-based Approaches
Dr. Brigitte Biehl-Missal
bbb@aber.ac.uk
Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK
Visiting Researcher

2. background
enhance student experience !
facilitate effective learning outcomes
enable different ways of learning and
understanding

3. arts-based approaches
• changes in society  more spontaneous ways
of managing
• trend in management education
• “The MFA is the New MBA . . . An arts degree
is now perhaps the hottest credential in the
world of business.” (Pink 2004, HBR)

4. arts-based approaches
• use of poetry, drama, sculpture, drawing …
• be creative, make sense, improvise

5. arts-based approaches
• cross-fertilization of arts and leadership
(Adler 2006)

6. theatre and management
• organizations as theatre (Mangham & Overington 1987;
Goffman 1959)
• manager as an artist
• jazz metaphor for organizing / leadership

7. theatre and management
• overlap between managerial skills and
histrionic skills
• performative components
• management as a performing art

8. improv theatre
• improvised text and action
• props and settings not determined
• active audience

9. learning ‘experience’
• theatre = aesthetic situation
• liminal state (Turner, 1974)
• ‘betwixt and between’

10. improv theatre exercise
• provide a ‘fun’ learning experience for
students
• better understand theoretical concepts by
elaborating on different aspects of theory
• practice and enhance theatrical skills.

11. freeze tag
• two actors engage in a scene based on
physical positions suggested by the audience
(kneeling, hands on hips, etc.). As the actors
begin to move about and create a dialogue,
another actor can “freeze” the action. He or
she then assumes the physical position of one
of the actors on stage and then unfreezes the
scene and redirects the action by creating a
new scene. (Moshavi 2001)

12. „yes and-ing“
• accept ideas developed by others and build on
the, ensuring that verbal interaction is on-
going
• refrain from judging one’s own and others’
ideas, active listening, and thinking without
criteria (e.g., being open to various
interpretations of an idea, concept, or word)

13. Case: marketing ethics
• “You are the marketing manager for a small
firm that makes kitchen appliances. While
conducting field tests, you discover a design
flaw in one of your best-selling ovens that
could potentially cause harm to a small
number of customers. However, a product
recall is likely to bankrupt your company,
leaving all of the employees (including you)
jobless. What would you do?”

14. CEO PR/Marketing Manager
CEO Customer
CEO Production
Manager

15. 

16. explore ethical concepts
CEO Customer

17. further implications
• evaluation
• preparation
spontaneous side of improv theatre is
overemphasized!

18. further implications
• teaching international groups
- psychological barriers
- physical demeanour
- language
- art is challenging – but it’s worth it!

19. literature
• Adler, N.J. (2008), ‘The art of global leadership: designing options
worthy of choosing’, in Barry, D. and Hansen, H. (eds.), New Approaches in
Management and Organization, London: Sage, 95–96.
• Aylesworth, A. (2008), ‘Improving Case Discussion With an Improv Mind-
Set’, Journal of Marketing Education, Vol. 30, No. 2: 106–115.
• Biehl, B. (2007), Business is Showbusiness. Wie Topmanager sich vor
Publikum inszenieren. Frankfurt: Campus.
• Goffman, E. (1959), The presentation of self in everyday life, London:
Allen Lane.
• Mangham, I.L. and Overington, M.A. (1987) Organizations as Theatre: A
Social Psychology of Dramatic Appearances. Chichester: Wiley.
• Moshavi, D. (2001), ‘"Yes and...": Introducing Improvisational Theatre
Techniques to the Management Classroom’, Journal of Management
Education, Vol. 25, No. 4: 437–449.
• Weick, K. E. (1998), Improvisation as a mindset for organizational
analysis, Organization Science, Vol. 9, No. 5: 543–555.