Long-Form Improvisation & The Art Of Zen: A Manual For Advanced Performers Review

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(More customer reviews)As a teacher of theatre and improv myself (and someone who has read well over 20 books devoted to improv short and long form) I really like the approach this author has taken to long-form improv. Instead of over complicating it, he distills it into essentially 4 "Prime Directives" and then explains how to apply these to long form. He also applies some of the concepts of Zen and martial arts to the art form in a surprisingly convincing way. In addition he gives advice to those people who might fill the role of coach or director for an improv team/cast and how to approach that role. This book is only 55 pages long and is a really quick read, but it is also packed with great ideas and is well written. Well worth the $10 he is charging for the book.

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If you're already an improviser, even if you're just starting out, this is the book for you. This book merges basic improvisation techniques with Zen philosophy in order to create a new way of performing scenes and shows. Based on decades of work with the art form, Jason R. Chin strips away pretense and creates a simple, yet elegant method of improvising longer, more rich scenes and characters. A powerful tool for the advanced improviser and a wonderful book for the beginner, Zen and the Art of Long-form Improvisation is a welcome addition to your improv library.

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Guru: My Days with Del Close Review

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(More customer reviews)What impressed me most about this book was not Griggs' compelling portrayal of Del Close (although I loved it), nor the way that it filled in gaps in Close's biography that I only had to guess at before. What I liked most about it was Griggs' descriptions of what it's like to be an improviser in the scene; taking classes, being in ensembles and learning from giants. I certainly can relate, and that's what helped make this book such an essential read for me. This book is a must for disciples of Close. It's funny, touching, wonderfully human, highly informative. It made me feel like I had gotten to know Close well. After reading this book, I truly wish I had that honor.

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Impro for Storytellers (Theatre Arts (Routledge Paperback)) Review

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(More customer reviews)Keith Johnstone's earlier work, IMPRO, has influenced and will continue to influence the way acting and improvisation for the theatre are taught. IMPRO is a book not only about theatre and improv, but about teaching and human interaction, loaded with insights making that book highly suitable for the general reader.
This follow-up is more specialized: a handbook for putting IMPRO into practice, including detailed improv structures for performance and for rehearsal, and chapters on how to teach these games. Sample run lists and notes from performances impart Johnstone's experiences, trials and errors over many years teaching in several countries. The book is exhaustive and beautifully written, but for the general reader, IMPRO is more appropriate.
One disappointment about the book is some sloppy copy-editing. It is rife with typos, of the sort that are not picked out by a computer spell-checker since the typos form actual words.
The title IMPRO FOR STORYTELLERS is, as Tim Sheppard pointed out below, potentially misleading. This is not a book that will help a solo performer generate material, though some of the exercises within can be translated for that purpose. Johnstone's concern is that improv not be restricted to a form of "light entertainment" (think "Who's Line Is It Anyway?"), but as a way of generating narrative and using it to explore human relationships.

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Impro for Storytellers is the follow-up to Keith Johnstone's classic Impro, one of the best-selling books ever published on improvisation.Impro for Storytellers aims to take jealous and self-obsessed beginners and teach them to play games with good nature and to fail gracefully.

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Improv Yourself: Business Spontaneity at the Speed of Thought Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a business book that's readable, useful and funny!
What a nice change. Joe Keefe offers you ways to bring some humor and life to your business meetings --and get better results to boot. I started using some of Joe's improv exercises to start our weekly meeting. The president of the organization complimented me for bringing energy and excitement to the meetings. (In truth, it wasn't me it was the improvs!) I love Joe's rule: Listen, agree, add and accept. We do some of the games at home as well. The kids love performing and it is helping them to exercise their imaginations and think quickly on their feet. This is a great book to help you think about the importance of having humor in all aspects of your life and it offers sound advice on how to get it.

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Discover your improvisational skills for a more productive, more dynamic work life
Whether we know it or not, most of us use our improvisational skills every day in the workplace when we deal with clients and colleagues. Improv Yourself shows the reader in clear detail how to use and hone improvisational skills for better business interactions and a more productive work environment. Business expert and all-around funny guy Joe Keefe offers expert guidance on nurturing our improvisational skills to help us think on our feet, deal with customers, interact with team members, present new ideas, and brainstorm. Full of humor, wit, and expert business insight, Improv Yourself is like nothing else on the business shelf (could you tell I just made that up?).

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Musical Improv Comedy: Creating Songs in the Moment Review

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(More customer reviews)I teach Children's Comedy Theatre in North Hollywood. We have been doing improvised singing for a long time and I've always wanted a nice easy resource to use when teaching people how to create a song on the spot. This book is it. Not only is it VERY simple to follow and an excellent source of information, it also contains a CD that will be a fixture in my teaching for ages to come. If anyone has ever improvised a song, played music, or just wanted to be able to think quicker on their feet, this is the book for you.


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The best comedy improv singers know every trick in this book, a great addition to any performer's library. Clear, everydaylanguage explains each element of an improvised song. Simple building blocks are combined with performance tips to raise a performer'smusical improvisation to its highest level. The included CD, featuring cast members from ImprovOlympic West's hilarious Opening Night, TheImprovised Musical, provides * examples * exercises * practice accompaniments

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