Este trimestre no he encontrado novedades en el mundo de la impro. Así que he decidido rescatar un libro que se publicó el pasado noviembre de improvisación aplicada: Improv Unleashed Por otro lado, este trimestre hemos aprovechado y añadido 18 nuevas referencias al listado de libros de impro. A destacar entra las incorporaciones Funniest One in the Room (Kim Howard Johnson), un repaso al ambiente de The Second City y en especial Del Close. ¿Has leído alguno? ¿Cual destacarías este mes? Novedad del trimestre: Improv Unleashed Nuevos en el listado: Además, se han añadido al listado de libros de impro los siguientes: ¿Alguna recomendación?

To speak of The Second City is to speak of one of the most influential centers for contemporary comedy and improvisational theater. Since its founding in Chicago, the institution has served as a theater, school, company, creative laboratory, and professional platform for performers, writers, and directors. Artists such as Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Bill Murray, and many others have passed through its stages and classrooms. The body of literature concerning The Second City is extensive, yet quite diverse. It includes books that reconstruct the troupe’s history, manuals explaining specific improvisation principles, accounts from former members, memoirs by comedians, and works that apply improvisation concepts to business, education, or leadership. This guide aims to organize this material and explain the contribution of each work, situating them within a specific tradition and helping readers decide where to begin.

This quarter saw the release of two new books in the world of improv: a sequel and a self-published work. In addition, we can congratulate Status magazine this quarter on its 15th anniversary of writing about improv. Furthermore, we’ve taken the opportunity to add nine new titles to our list of improv books this quarter. Among the additions, Improvisation for Speech and Theater, based on the teachings of Josephine Raciti Forsberg and compiled posthumously by her daughter, is particularly noteworthy. Have you read any of them? Which one would you highlight this month? New this quarter: Big Book of Warmups / Mastering Improv The first new release is an 800-page book dedicated to warm-up exercises for both your classes and improv shows. This collection of over 650 exercises is the second part of The Big Book of Improv Games from Defiant Monkey people: Karen L Eichler & Adrew M. Spragge. And they have said a third is comming… Canadian improviser Drew McCreadie presents a work for experienced improvisers who want to take their improv to the next level. News on the booklist: In addition, the following books have been added to the list of improv books:

Improvisational theater as a performance art form has a relatively recent history in Brazil. It began to gain traction in 2001 with the premiere of Jogando no Quintal in São Paulo, a clown-based production directed by Marcio Ballas, which paved the way for a more visible improv movement in the country. From there, improv spread to Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, where the International Festival of Improv Theater (FIMPRO) was held in 2008. In Brazil, although its arrival was late, improv’s reception was fruitful because its language resonated with performance practices already closely linked to play, humor, direct audience interaction, and live invention. It has also appeared on television (also with Ballas). Authors and Books In its short history, the Brazilian improv scene has not yet reached the same density as in other countries with more established circuits. Even so, its bibliography shows a comprehensive combination of practice, theory, pedagogy, and history, making the country a very interesting publishing hub for anyone wanting to study improvisation in Portuguese and from its own perspectives. Most of the books are only available in Brazilian Portuguese, but some have been translated into Spanish and/or English. Augusto Boal Author of Games for Actors…

At the start of this year, Feña Ortalli presented her third book, an essay on his perspective of improv and how he teaches it. On another note, this quarter we’ve added 13 new items to our improv book list. Of particular note are a couple of guides on ComedySportz and longform. Have you read any of them? Which one would you highlight this month? New this quarter: In Theory (Feña Ortalli) An essay on the technique and theory of improvisation. Feña doesn’t shy away from controversy, employing her direct style, which we’ve already seen in Status editorials and her previous essays. Published simultaneously in Spanish and English. News on the booklist: In addition, the following books have been added to the list of improv books:

Descubre la vida de Charna Halpern, cofundadora de iOTheater en Chicago, junto a del Close, y su obra: La Verdad en la Comedia, Art by Comitee

La Impro llegó a Argentina en 1988, encuentra el libro que narra su historia y los publicados por sus reconocidos autores: Omar Galván, Feña Ortalli, Pau Farías, Hernan Gené y Jorge Holovatuck.

Este noviembre salió un libro imprescindible. Hernán Gené es un gran profesor y un gran payaso, su sensibilidad es reconocida por su alumnado y reconocida en Europa y América Latina. Y ahora nos abre las puertas de sus enseñanzas a través de su libro “Clown e improvisación”. Por otro lado, este trimestre hemos aprovechado y añadido 13 nuevas referencias al listado de libros de impro. En esta ocasión hay un equilibrio entre libros de impro y teatro y otros de impro aplicada. Aprovechamos para mencionar que salió una nueva edición en 2023 del clásico Something Wonderful Right Away, que relata los inicios de The Second City (y The Compass). Ya hemos actualizado la ficha. También mencionar que el podcast Improvshine ha comenzado a entrevistar autores de libros de impro en su segunda temporada: Kenn Adams (How to improvise a full-lenght play). Iremos siguiendo sus recomendaciones y entrevistas. Novedad del trimestre: Clown e Improvisación (Hernán Gené) Manual de pedagogía clownesca desde la perspectiva de este gran clown y profesor de payasos, como construir el clown a través de ejercicios de improvisación para el aula. 200 páginas con montones de juegos escénicos de posibilidades inagotables que nos trae nuevamente la Editorial Mulato….

Si acabas de aterrizar en la impro, aquí encontrarás los básicos imprescindibles que ponen los fundamentos: Viola Spolin, Will Hines, Del Close y Charna Halpern, Bill Arnett, Jill Bernard… y en español IMPRO y Match de Impro.

This quarter we noticed few new releases, however, there was some activity in the improv book sector. We’ve added just three new titles to the improv bookstore (and updated a few editions). Colombian improviser Gigio Giraldo brings us Canovaccio, and we’d also like to mention that there was a crowdfunding campaign in Brazil (now closed) for the launch of the book Improvisaçao Descomplicada by Luiz Felipe Martins. If you’ve read them, leave a comment with your opinion, and if you know of any interesting titles that are missing (or that you’re going to publish), share them here so everyone knows. New release this quarter: Canovaccio (Gigio Giraldo) Based on historical research and the author’s practical experience, this book reflects on and compiles the available knowledge about the different ways of approaching learning and performing improvisation. It also provides a brief overview of the history of improv in Colombia. New to the list: The following have also been added to the list of improv books: