Improvisation, or creative dramatics, has come to be regarded as a learning tool in English instruction. This study provides a comparative history of informal drama as it developed in England and the United States from 1910 to 1975. Pivotal writers on improvisation were identified, compared, and contrasted, analyzing their goals and practices. Many similarities were found, but there was no evidence that the pivotal writers in the two countries had any direct influence on each other until the Anglo-American Conference at Dartmouth in 1966. The study found that the English Ministry of Education has played a more positive part in advancing the cause of creative dramatics methods to English teachers than its United States counterpart, the United States Office of Education. (RL)