Completely Improvised Survivor

Background Traditional game design theory often positions games as fundamentally different from so-called “linear” media forms. But games and play are integral to screen cultures more generally. Reality television in particular is heavily oriented around competition and audience interaction. Completely Improvised uses live comedy as a lens to examine the appeal and problems of reality tv, asking: how can we use game design and play to deepen our understanding of reality television? Contribution Completely Improvised Survivor is a live comedy gameshow that debuted at Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Wilson is Lead Game Designer and Co-Producer on the project, in collaboration with Melissa McGlensey and award-nominated Australian theatre company Soothplayers. Staged as a 50-minute unscripted parody of the hugely influential television show Survivor, the show has five trained improvisers act out fictional contestants. The line between fiction and reality is blurred as the actors compete, in character, at a series of strategic games in order to avoid elimination and ultimately win the audience’s vote. The aim is to interrogate the tropes of reality tv while also illuminating the sophisticated game design logic at the heart of contemporary screen culture. Significance Completely Improvised Survivor debuted to packed audiences as a ten-show run at the 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, one of the three largest and most prestigious comedy festivals in the world. The show was assigned a competitive placement at the festival hub venue, Trades Hall. Australian publication Theatre People gave the show five of five stars, writing: “The Melbourne improv community should be proud of this show and how it was created […] Absolutely fantastic show.”