A paper-and-pencil measure of role-playing ability was first constructed and then submitted to a variety of validational studies. This role-playing ability measure was designed as a skills-based instrument. Items were chosen for the proposed Role-playing Ability (RPA) scale on the basis of categories of skills theoretically relevant to role-playing ability. Items were selected according to judgments of experts, item analyses of responses from students, and performance ratings in an Improvisational Situations Test (1ST), a test developed especially for the present research. The process of item selection provided a 34-item Role-playing Ability (RPA) scale. This RPA was then demonstrated to have both convergent and divergent validity.