On both sides of the stage improv-comedy’s popularity has increased exponentially throughout the 1980s and ’90s and into the new millennium. Presto! An original song is created out of thin air. With nothing but a suggestion from the audience, daring young improvisers working without a net or a script create hilarious characters, sketches, and songs. Thrilled by the danger, the immediacy, and the virtuosity of improv-comedy, spectators laugh and cheer. American improv-comedy burst onto the scene in the 1950s with Chicago’s the Compass Players (best known for the brilliant comedy duo Mike Nichols and Elaine May) and the Second City, which launched the careers of many popular comedians, including Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and Mike Myers. Chicago continues to be a mecca for young performers who travel from faraway places to study improv. At the same time, the techniques of Chicago improv have infiltrated classrooms, workshops, rehearsals, and comedy clubs across North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Improv’s influence is increasingly evident in contemporary films and in interactive entertainment on the internet. Drawing on the experiences of working improvisers, Whose Improv Is It Anyway? provides a never-before-published account of developments beyond Second City’s mainstream approach to the genre….

It all began in a converted Chinese laundry on Chicago’s north side on a cold December night in 1959. No one could have known that by the next century, The Second City would have established itself as the premier comedy institution in the world. Taking its act north, The Second City would build a second permanent home in Toronto where it would create the Emmy-Award winning television series “SCTV.” Pioneering the use of improvisation in developing talent and creating satiric revue comedy, The Second City has become – in the words of the New York Times – “A Comedy Empire.” The Second City Almanac of Improvisation – like the theatre itself – is a collection of diverse ideas, viewpoints, and memories, written by a vast array of teachers, actors, and directors who all got their start at the legendary comedy theatre. Fred Willard recalls his introduction to The Second City style in the mid-Sixties; Tim Kazurinsky gives a hilarious visual demonstration on the art of object work; “Saturday Night Live” star Tina Fey talks about re-improvising material as a mode of writing revue comedy; noted director Mick Napier takes on the thorny debate between long-form improvisation and short-form improvisation. Anne…

Process: An Improviser’s Journey Process: An Improviser’s Journey is an invaluable resource for mastering improv. Author, teacher, and improviser Michael Gellman was given a mission by famed improv coach Del Close: “[T]o create improvised one-act plays of literary quality from scratch.” Already steeped in the world of improvisation, he took it upon himself to do this, in the form of a class for other improvisers in which they would build the skills necessary to execute such a seemingly tall order. Scruggs and Gellman’s book, modeled after Stanislavski’s timeless An Actor Prepares, follows a fictional young actor taking Gellman’s real-life class. Scruggs and Gellman introduce readers to Geoff, who has just moved to Chicago to pursue acting. He undergoes the standard trials of audition and rejection before he takes the advice of a fellow actor and turns to improv classes at Second City. At first, Geoff thinks improvisation is about laughs and loosening up, but he soon learns that it is a powerful tool as well as an end in itself. Through Geoff’s eyes, the book introduces readers to key tenets of improvisation: concentration, visualization, focus, object work, being in the moment, and the crucial “yes, and.” His experiences with the…

A Subversive’s Guide to Improvisation: Moving Beyond “Yes, And” Hey, improvisers, you can do whatever you want. In A Subversive’s Guide to Improvisation, Razowsky throws conventional improv wisdom on its head by giving you a unique take on how to create masterful improv scenes. He describes how his life philosophy and improv methodology have evolved on his journey from struggling actor to one of the world’s most respected improvisers and coaches. The challenge for most improvisers is sticking to “the rules” and believing “Yes, and” is the magic formula for a successful scene. Characters meander and travel from a state of fluidity to a mess of frustration and ask, “How did I go wrong?” A Subversive’s Guide to Improvisation provides methods and exercises that teach you to connect to your partner and the scene without worrying about responding with “yes, and.” Over 30 groundbreaking exercises will teach you how to: * Freely express your feelings. * Focus on the present. * Ask questions. * Say “no” to energize your scene. * Start a scene without establishing who, what, and where. David Razowsky studied, performed, taught, and directed at Second City with Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, and Michael Keegan-Key, among others….

Something Wonderful Right Away: An Oral History of the Second City and the Compass Players Prominent alumni (Mike Nichols, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, among others) bring theatrical improvisation to life, with all the vitality, the power and the exuberance – the satire and spontaneity – that they made famous and that launched their careers. “An important book about the most important American theatrical endeavor since the Group Theatre. Plus, it’s fun to read”. – David Mamet

The Art of Chicago Improv: Short Cuts to Long-form Improvisation Improvisational theatre revolutionized American comedy and Chicago was its home. That city not only nurtured so much of the best work done; it also spawned many different styles that traveled around the country and the world. Experienced improv artist Rob Kozlowski trained at Chicago’s Second City and knows firsthand what improv really is and what it can achieve. He tells all in this account of the first 50 years of the Chicago improv scene. Kozlowski traces the history of improvisational acting in Chicago from the days of Viola Spolin to the appearance of the Compass, Second City, and today’s practitioners. In between, he takes a detailed look at Charna Halpern and the ImprovOlympic “revolution,” Del Close and the development of a long-form improvisation called the Harold, and all that followed. Kozlowski also provides a guide to improv troupes seeking a style that’s just right for them, with detailed descriptions of specific productions and discussions of the implications of pursuing certain improv techniques. His interviews with Annoyance Theater founder Mick Napier, ImprovOlympic veteran Noah Gregoropoulos, and ImprovOlympic’s Training Center Director Liz Allen reveal the challenges and joys of long-form improvisation and…