Netprov is "networked, improvised literature"
or collaborative literary improvisations performed on the internet. The word netprov is a
portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together. of "networked" and "improv" as in
improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...
. Netprov is considered a genre of
electronic literature
Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or Generative literature, algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature ar ...
.
Background
Netprov is explicitly related to
improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...
, and also has a lot in common with
live action role-playing games. Rob Wittig, one of netprov's originators, was also involved in ''Invisible Seattle'', a novel created in the early 1980s by a group of "literary workers" who gathered stories from Seattle residents, in part using an early online
bulletin board system
A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running list of BBS software, software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user perfor ...
.
An early example of netprov was Rob Wittig's ''Grace, Wit, and Charm'' (2011), which centred around a fictional company that offered services to people who wanted help making their online avatars more successful. Participants took the roles of workers in the company and clients writing in to request services, and the netprov was performed in online writing, in weekly theatre performances and streaming.
While many netprovs are mostly playful, like
#1WkNoTech, some offer powerful political critique, such as ''Occupy MLA'', a netprov held during the
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...
conference in 2011. ''I Work for the Web'' is another example that critiques the exploitation of online gig workers.
Scholarship
Netprov is included in many discussions of
electronic literature
Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or Generative literature, algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature ar ...
. Lyle Skains describes netprov as "online, collaborative, real-time, carnivalesque performances".
Scott Rettberg notes that netprov is told in real-time, using social media, and are collaborative and interactive in the sense that readers can join in as participants.
Wittig and Marino have also contributed chapters about netprov to a number of scholarly anthologies on electronic literature.
Netprovs have also been taught at universities, both as a literary genre and as a classroom activity.
[{{Cite web , title=Syllabus , url=https://dma.criticalvideogamestudies.com/syllabus/ , access-date=2023-04-29 , website=Digital Media Aesthetics , language=en-US]
References
Genres of electronic literature
Improvisation
Internet culture