Improv ABC: The A-Z Guide to Kicking Butt At Improvisation Learn the basics. Master the fundamentals. Become an unstoppable improviser. Improv ABC is like an improv cheat sheet.Want to get better at improv but feel like you’re stuck in a rut? Does it seem like your teammates and improv idols are having more fun up there than you are? Do you spend a lot of time worrying if you’re even doing this right?We’ve all felt those feelings throughout our improv careers—it’s practically a right of passage. The issue is that improv teachers around the world all give the same advice. They’ll tell you “not worry so much” or “follow the fun.” It sounds good in the abstract, but when you have a show tonight you need something a little more actionable.Improv ABC is for improvisers who want a swift kick in the butt. It’s for those of us who crave simple and straightforward tips and tricks about improv’s most important concepts. Inside, you’ll find: And there are, obviously, 22 other letters, and they stand for things too. Big important improv things. The things we all need to master to become unstoppable. From beginners to veteran performers, the best improvisers never…

Improvisational comedy has exploded over the last several decades. But the short, game-based version of improv―as seen on shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?―is of little help when it comes to successfully pulling off long-form improvisation. Long-form provides exciting new challenges and opportunities for improvisational performers that go beyond comedy. It demands an expanded skill set, careful preparation, and genuine courage. Drawing on author Jo McGinley’s more than thirty years of experience onstage and in the classroom, Going Long provides a clear and practical framework for both beginning and experienced improvisers. It includes mental exercises specifically developed for long-form work, best practices for rehearsals and collaboration, techniques for connecting with the audience, tips on crafting stories within specific genres, and principles for making in-the-moment decisions that support an overarching narrative..

In this book, or call it a tribute to mediocrity, I attempt to synthesize many concepts without lengthy and tedious theorizing (in my opinion). I base many of the ideas on my experiences acting and teaching students, what I’ve learned, what I’ve observed, and, of course, my professional life as a comedic actor and improviser, taking belly flops—sometimes literally—across countless stages, theaters, venues, parties, beach bars, private terraces, pubs, unlicensed beauty clinics, living rooms in private homes, caves, weddings, offices, curling rinks, courthouses, sewers, small hardware stores, and other improvised “stages” that defy description. DIVE INTO THE EXCITING WORLD OF THEATRICAL IMPROVISATION, LEARN, PLAY, GROW ARTISTICALLY, AND HAVE FUN! Damn, that sounds like an order, doesn’t it? Book Composition: Yes, the total sum is 100. David SimónComedic actor, improviser, teacher of theatrical improvisation and monologues since 2014, drinking beer since 1991. (Sabadell 1973), a place so exciting that even the cacti yawn, epicenter of very ordinary events. I don’t celebrate my birthday, I suffer through it. I’m a terrible yodeler (I’m forbidden from going near the Alps). My weight on the moon is 13.23 kilos. I like cats, toucans, and jazz. I’m an improv teacher with no complaints filed against…

New book by Feña Ortalli. And no, this time is not about football. 190 pages of technical and theoretical exploration of different concepts in improvised theatre.

Dejo en manos de los lectores y lectoras todo de lo que aprendí durante cuarenta años de docencia dando talleres de clown y de teatro físico. Aquí están mis reflexiones sobre el arte de enseñar, mis métodos y, muy especialmente, todos los ejercicios que utilicé a lo largo de mi vida como maestro de payasos. No me he guardado nada. Este es un libro sobre el uso de la improvisación en los procesos de enseñanza del clown, en la pedagogía aplicada a la formación de intérpretes que quieran dedicarse al clown. También es una suerte de testamento. En paralelo a mi vida en los escenarios, desarrollé mi faceta de pedagogo. Fue un lento y prolongado proceso el que me llevó a crear mi propio lenguaje y estilo de enseñar. Como docente, busqué formar actores y actrices completos, capaces de revolucionar el mundo del teatro cuando menos lo esperamos. Me esforcé siempre por ampliar los horizontes para que así otros puedan llegar más lejos. El clown es un escalón más en esa ambiciosa formación. Hace ya más de cincuenta años que me dedico al teatro. Llevaba en él más de diez cuando descubrí el mundo del clown. Viví ese encuentro como…

El teatro de Robert Lepage. Una dramaturgia de la improvisación “Robert Lepage fue mi alumno en el Conservatorio de Arte Dramático. Era una esponja, lo absorbía todo en las clases y lo reutilizaba después en nuestros talleres libres, unas veladas mensuales en las que los alumnos presentaban escenas o números propios. No se perdía ninguna clase y siempre nos sorprendía con la originalidad y elegancia, por no decir el estilo, de sus intervenciones. Yo no podía adivinar en lo que se convertiría más adelante, pero detecté muy pronto que era un creador. Apoyándose en sus puntos fuertes y reconociendo sus debilidades, se reinventó a sí mismo por medio de un teatro en el que podía crecer y aportar nuevo material.”

You Can Teach Improv (Yes, You!): The Ultimate Guide to Class Planning, Skill Building, and Helping Every Student Leave With a Win Learn the secrets of improv teaching today! Whether you’re just starting out or leveling up, this book unlocks your inner instructor and helps you to deliver memorable, effective, and fun classes. You’ll learn to:

Comedy Acting for Theatre. The Art and Craft of Performing in Comedies Analysing why we laugh and what we laugh at, and describing how performers can elicit this response from their audience, this book enables actors to create memorable – and hilarious – performances. Rooted in performance and performance criticism,Sidney Homan and Brian Rhinehart provide a detailed explanation of how comedy works, along with advice on how to communicate comedy from the point of view of both the performer and the audience. Combining theory and performance, the authors analyse a variety of plays, both modern and classic. Playwrights featured include Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Christopher Durang, and Michael Frayn. Acting in Shakespeare’s comedies is also covered in depth.

Innovation At the Speed of Laughter: 8 Secrets to World Class Idea Generation Innovation at the Speed of Laughter explores the unexpected ways in which the tools of improvisational comedy can improve business performance. Combining his insights as a successful businessman with his expertise as a performer, John Sweeney reveals eight secrets to jump-starting workplace creativity and corporate ideation developed from the quirky, spontaneous art form of improvisation. The secrets include ‘Accepting All Ideas,’ ‘Deferring Judgment,’ and ‘Creating a Statusless Environment.’ Sweeney and the Brave New Workshop have used these secrets to help companies like General Mills, 3M Corporation, Hewllett-Packard, and Disney develop wonderfully uncommon ideas. Innovation at the Speed of Laughter will similarly help businesses, leaders, and individuals tap into their innovative potential–for creative expression as well as profitability.

Healing Improv: A Journey Through Grief to Laughter. In 2009 Bart Sumner’s life was shattered when his 10-year-old son, David, suffered a traumatic brain injury at football practice and died in his arms. Finding a way back to the road forward in a world where mourners are told “He’s in a better place” or to “Get over it” is a daunting and painful journey. He came to realize that the twenty-five plus years he spent as a performer and teacher of improvisational comedy was not only the key to his own survival, but also a powerful tool to help others mired in grief. Healing Improv: A Journey Through Grief to Laughter is an emotional and honest recounting of his family’s trek through grief to the founding of a nonprofit that provides no-cost Comedy Improv Grief Workshops for others suffering with loss. Mr. Sumner’s approach is unique in its application of improv comedy exercises to grief treatment. Healing Improv includes many of the improv games used at Healing Improv workshops so that others can also benefit from the curative, life affirming fun. Pairing these techniques with his family’s powerful and touching story of survival makes this book a strong ally to…