Improvisation: The Guide is a bible for all teachers, actors and improvisors. It is a practical, hands-on feast of ideas, exercises and scene-work. Drama teachers at primary, secondary and university levels have found this book invaluable. The techniques have been used for corporate workshops, drama in education and professional actor training. Improvisation processes ignite spontaneity, develop lateral thinking, encourage teamwork and release the potential artist in us all.

An inspiring, hands-on guide to narrative improvisation, by the co-creator and director of the Olivier Award-winning improv show Showstopper! The Improvised Musical. Improvisation is a craft that anyone can learn. When freed from endless rules and rigid approaches and allowed to relax, react instinctively and work seamlessly as a group, improvisers can spontaneously create performances that thrill audiences with their liveness. Drawing on the author’s extensive experience teaching and performing around the world, Improv Beyond Rules is a fresh and exciting re-examination of the whole field of improvisation. Starting with the fundamental principles that work for all forms of improvised performance and the common traps improvisers fall into it goes on to explore the elements of narrative improvisation, where performers create a story without any predetermined structure: * The Moment: How to be authentically in the moment by listening and responding to your fellow performers, accepting their suggestions (not necessarily by always saying yes ) and committing to whatever happens next. * The Scene: How to connect moments together to build a compelling scene and keep it moving forward; why there’s no such thing as a mistake; understanding and working with audiences. * The Story: How to link scenes to…

The Improvisation Book: How to Conduct Successful Improvisation Sessions The “Improvisation Book” takes the teacher step-by-step through a series of graded improvisation exercises. It also contains a unique set of 96 Improvisation Cards. Drawn at random these cards determine Character and Scenario. The endless combinations ensure that the teacher never need run dry!

Absolutely Everything** You Need to Know about Teaching and Performing Improv is your personal guide to learning how to perform short-form improvisation consistently and successfully. Every challenge, every activity, and every rule presented in the book is rooted in 20 years of teaching performers from all skill levels. Material has been hand-picked to include only the activities that have consistently proven successful at overcoming the common pitfalls that can plague the improviser-in-training. Utilizing methods that are simple, easy to understand, and very, very fun, you will learn how to develop a program that allows one to maintain high expectations and create a professional looking product while still maintaining the informal revelry of game playing and humor. Simply put, by using this book, one should be able to success- fully mount any kind of short-form improv – be it corporate or student, single-team or festival, pre-professional or veteran – to the sound of riotous laughter and thunderous applause.

As part of the ever-growing, increasingly popular Drama Games series, Jessica Swale returns with another dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book, packed with dozens of drama games that can be used in the process of devising theatre. The games will be invaluable to directors and theatre companies at all levels who are creating new pieces of theatre from scratch and need lively, dynamic games to fire the imagination. They will particularly appeal to school, youth theatre and community groups where devising is a growing trend – and a core element of the drama curriculum. Written with clear instructions on How to Play, notes on the Aim of the Game, and illuminating examples from professional productions, the games cover every aspect of the devising process and develop all the skills required: generating ideas, creating characters and scenarios, using stimuli, structuring the piece, and creating an ensemble.

Tom Smith took his first improv class in 1985, and has been performing and teaching it ever since. He founded Walla Walla Theatresports in 1988 and has taught hundreds of improv workshops and classes, from Creede, Colorado to Dresden and Mosbach, Germany. He has performed with numerous long and short form groups, including Arkansas Toothpick Extravaganza, Seattle Theatresports, and Crooked Mirror. Official page

Acting on Impulse is a new approach to the art of improvising. Carol Hazenfield combines new theory with practical exercises and a unique understanding of the rewards and challenges faced by performers. This in-depth look at improv is written in a conversational style with an easy blend of humor and passion. Acting on Impulse seeks to challenge the status quo (and slay some sacred cows) in the pursuit of dynamic, spontaneous theater. Part One teaches players to perform truthfully from their instincts, emphasizing physical and emotional work as the basis for vibrant interactions. Part Two presents practical, accessible guidelines for narrative, character development, environments, group scenes, genre work and long-form improvisation. Readers will also learn the essentials of spontaneous acting through the use of objectives and tactics. A special chapter on how to make scenes work takes the mystery out of improv mastery. Instructors will appreciate the Appendix for Teachers, which offers tips on class design, constructive note-giving and additional exercises.

We all want good scenes. But it seems the harder we work, the less likely we are to stumble towards them. Improvising Now offers techniques, tricks, and secrets used by professionals to make the act of improvising easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable onstage. You’ll discover easy tools to navigate some of the more stressful parts of scene work, including: • Starting scenes • Discovering the character dynamic • Playing patterns and Game of the Scene • Heightening your own ideas • Mental blocks to discovery • Navigating group scenes • Second beats and structure • Tips for intermediate/expert improvisers This book also provides an insider’s look at the business of comedy. From producing your own independent improv shows to getting hired by a paying comedy theatre. Work less, play more. Enjoy whatever Now you’re in.

Thoughts on the life of an improv performer and now to not go nuts while doing what you love.

Teaching Improv: The Essential Handbook: Your step-by-step guide to teaching short form improv (Enseñar improvisación: el manual esencial: su guía paso a paso para enseñar improvisación en formato breve) Do you want to teach improv, but don’t know where to start? Are you looking for ways to structure improv games into effective lesson plans? Introducing Teaching Improv: The Essential Handbook, a new resource packed with 16 step-by-step lesson plans that will take the stress out of planning your improv classes. We’ve done the hard work for you, by organizing today’s best improv games into fun, skill-based lessons that your students will absolutely love. More importantly, you’ll see them grow into confident and creative performers. This resource was created by the same award-winning publisher of Teaching Drama: The Essential Handbook, a #1 best-seller on Amazon which has sold over 35,000 copies and has been translated into 5 languages. Go beyond improv games. With this book you’ll get: 16 detailed, full-proof lesson plans that cover the “9 rules of improv” Notes on how to introduce improv concepts in clear, concise language Over 114 improv games and activities Reflection and journaling exercises after each lesson Homework handouts and YouTube video links to deepen…