Not all improv is the same. Inside Improvisation explores, compares and clarifies in detail the main methods of theatrical improvisation, from the Chicago method improv and Harold, to Keith Johnstone’s impro and Theatresports, and everything of significance in-between. Referencing modern scientific theory and 100+ research papers, Inside Improvisation uses the science behind improvisation, to explain how it works and how to become a much better improvisor. Topics include: how the brain works while improvising; presence and mindfulness; fear, anxiety and the freedom to succeed; leveraging the unconscious; group mind; how scenes actually work – metapragmatics and scene progression; why and how improvisation is funny; using alcohol, drugs and stimulants; acting and theatre theory applied to improvisation; and much much more.

Keith Johnstone entered the Royal Court Theatre as a new playwright in 1956: a decade later he emerged as a groundbreaking director and teacher of improvisation. His decisive book Impro (1979), described Johnstone’s unique system of training: weaving together theories and techniques to encourage spontaneous, collaborative creation using the intuition and imagination of the actors. Johnstone has since become world-renowned, inspiring theatre greats and beginners alike; and his work continues to influence practice within and beyond the traditional theatre. Theresa Robbins Dudeck is the first author to rigorously examine Johnstone’s life and career using a combination of archival documents – many from Johnstone’s personal collection – participant observation, and interviews with Johnstone, his colleagues and former students. Keith Johnstone: A Critical Biography is a fascinating journey through the physical spaces that have served as Johnstone’s transformative classrooms, and into the conceptual spaces which inform his radical pedagogy and approach to artistic work.

Blake Snyder, one of Hollywood’s most successful screenwriters, delivers a snappy, funny, and frank painting of the backstage of the film industry. Save the cat! refers to one of his infallible theories to make ideas more attractive and any script more satisfactory and, above all, sellable. But, above all, save the cat! shows the tools that every screenwriter is obliged to master if he wants to sell his work.

Once in a generation a woman comes along who changes everything. Tina Fey is not that woman, but she met that woman once and acted weird around her. Before 30 Rock, Mean Girls and ‘Sarah Palin’, Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV. She has seen both these dreams come true. At last, Tina Fey’s story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon – from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence. Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve all suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.

Improvisation teachers have long known that the human mind could be trained to be effortlessly spontaneous and intuitive. Drinko explores what these improvisation teachers knew about improvisation’s effects on consciousness and cognition and compares these theories to current findings in cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy.

T.J. and David are internationally known, award-winning, master improvisers from Chicago’s legendary scene. This in-depth look at the techniques, principles, theory and ideas behind what they do is both authoritative and entertaining. Since their early years playing the iO (formerly Improv Olympic) and the Second City mainstage theater (where David won a Joseph Jefferson award for best actor in a revue), TJ and Dave have been performing for over fifty years combined – fifteen as a team. David worked with improvisation guru Del Close, in development of theThe Harold, the preeminent longform theatrical structure, and both are multi-award winning actors.

A straightforward, often humorous workbook approach to comedy writing as creative problem-solving. In it, veteran Hollywood comedy writer John Vorhaus offers his tools of the trade to writers, comics, and anyone else who wants to be funny. Among these indispensable tools are Clash of Context, Tension and Release, The Law of Comic Opposites, The Wildly Inappropriate Response, and The Myth of the Last Great Idea. Readers will learn that comedy = truth and pain (the essence of the comic situation), that fear is the biggest roadblock to comedy (kill the ferocious editor within and rich, useful comic ideas will flow), and much more.

Games for Actors and Non-Actors is the classic and bestselling book by the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal. It sets out the principles and practice of Boal’s revolutionary method, showing how theatre can be used to transform and liberate everyone – actors and non-actors alike! This new third English edition includes recently uncovered interviews and essays from the 1970s, some of which featured in the earliest Portuguese edition of this book, and a new essay by the theatre director Sergio de Carvalho, which looks at Boal’s work in the context of Brazilian theatre and politics over the past fifty years. This is a vital handbook for theatre makers and activists of all kinds who want to deepen their understanding of the theory and practice of Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. It is also an excellent introduction for those new to the system.

You’re an actor. You know you’re going to have to do it sometime, but the very thought chills your blood, makes your palms go sweaty, and your voice squeak. It’s improvisation – and for many actors it’s a nightmare. Greg Atkins, a member of South Coast Repertory and unabashed improviser, takes the fear out of improv. This friendly, informative book looks at the reasons many actors hate improvisation, while quietly reinforcing the reasons improv is a vital part of acting and of theatre. He offers sensible (and fun!) exercises that can be used by teachers or by actors, to build up the mental agility that is so much a part of improvisation, and that should be part of every actor’s arsenal.

Long-Form Improv: The Complete Guide to Creating Characters, Sustaining Scenes, and Performing Extraordinary Harolds (Ben Hauck) Long-Form Improv deftly teaches the wildly popular form of improvisation that is so foundational to the comedy stylings of many of today’s top actors and thriving comedians. Crammed with innovative ideas for conceptualizing improvised scencework and finding the game of the scene, this crisply written manual covers techniques for experienced improvisers, curious actors, and even non-actors.