First published by curated Italian authors on the subject, carried out by the Improvvvisart cooperative. A text dedicated to the world of Improvvisazione Teatrale, first volume of the collana “I colori dell’Improvvisazione”, realized with the contribution of the greatest Italian teachers and with the support of the Associazione Nazionale Improteatro. The collana intends to offer testimony and give merit to the path of the growth and maturation of the modern concept of Improvvisazione Teatrale in Italia. L’improvvisazione oggi è in fermento, in continual evolution, in crescita. There are always numbers of the school, the company, the spettacoli, the national rade, and the festival in Italy. The first volume goes directly to the “cuore” of the improvised theater: the creative atmosphere, the environment, the persona, the relationship and the rhythm of an improvised story. The authors of this volume are: Mari Rinaldi (Teatribù – Milano), Luca Gnerucci (Teatro a Molla – Bologna), Daniele Marcori (Qfc Teatro – Rome), Tiziano Storti and Susanna Cantelmo (Verba Volant – Rome).

Become great at performing long-form improv! We skip the basics and get into advanced topics like: being truly present, being authentic, dealing with difficult performers, being actually funny (!) and the rarely discussed but essential skill of being healthy. This book was written by a long-time teacher and performer from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre based on his years of teaching and directing people to improvise. Even FAMOUS PEOPLE have studied with him!

In this richly reported, scene-driven narrative, Sam Wasson charts the meteoric rise of improv from its unlikely beginnings in McCarthy-era Chicago. We witness the chance meeting between Mike Nichols and Elaine May, hang out at the after-hours bar where Dan Aykroyd hosted friends like John Belushi, Bill Murray, and Gilda Radner, and go behind the scenes of cultural landmarks from The Graduate to The Colbert Report. Along the way, we befriend pioneers such as Harold Ramis, Chevy Chase, Steve Carell, Amy Poehler, Alan Arkin, Tina Fey, Judd Apatow, and many others. Wasson shows why improv deserves to be considered the great American art form of the last half century.

As an improv comedian: are you a pirate, robot or ninja? Know your type so you can appreciate your strengths while also focusing on what you have left to learn. This book is 200 pages of lessons, exercises and metaphors designed by two teachers and performers from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatres in New York and Los Angeles. Also, it’s written as a fable where you are an “improv seeker” in an mysterious dojo hidden in the mountains. That’s pretty fun! “Billy and Will love to do the ‘make’em ups’ and they’re quite good at it as well. I would read this book…if I could read.” – Rob Riggle (Daily Show, US Marine Corps)

“Mick has been the catalyst for the most messed-up, funny, smart, low-budget, loud, subversive, hilarious, mind-expanding improv shows of his time.”. Bob Odenkirk, star of “Better Call Saul”. In this follow-up to his highly regarded book “Improvise. Scene from the Inside Out” globally acclaimed improviser, director, and instructor Mick Napier focuses on the complexities and theories of long form improvisation. This extended form of improvisation invites performers to be inspired for at least thirty minutes by a single suggestion as they push their creativity to the limit. Napier taps into more than 30 years of experience and distills his tools for success into practical, engaging lessons: – The art of introductions and edits – Different approaches to openers – Pros and cons of the back line – Why it’s okay to be funny – Finding the dominant energy – Sustaining a strong character

The Inner Game of Improv: 5 Steps to Getting Bigger in Your Improv Career Do you think that to get a bigger career in improv you have to run off to one more class or one more show? If so, you may be running in the wrong direction. If you want to have a bigger career in improv and you can quite figure out why you’re stuck, you may need to search inside for the answers. In this straight-forward, easy-to-read book, improv teacher Jimmy Carrane, co-author of Improving Better, author of Improv Therapy and host of the Improv Nerd podcast, has identified five things that often prevent improvisers from having a bigger career: perfectionism, resentments (and expectations), low self-esteem, playing small, and not taking care of yourself. Carrane combines real-world advice and practical tools with personal stories from his more than 30 years of teaching and performing at Second City, iO Chicago and The Annoyance Theatre to help you recognize and let go of each of these character traits so you can get more opportunities and make the most out of your improv career.

Improv Therapy: How to get out of your own way to become a better improviser Have you ever wanted to hide or kill yourself after doing a bad improv show? Have you thought you were crazy for feeling fear before, during or after a show? Do you judge your fellow improvisers on stage? Do you want to experience more joy in improvising? Improv Therapy is an honest and insightful book about the things improvisers don’t want to discuss: their feelings. Improvisation is as much about technique as it is what’s inside your head. Improv Therapy takes a look at the improviser’s mind and what blocks improvisers on stage, and gives them practical advice to overcome their issues so they can become the improviser they always dreamed of being. Written by Jimmy Carrane, host of the Improv Nerd podcast and co-author of Improvising Better: A Guide for the Working Improviser. He teaches his award-winning Art Of Slow Comedy improv classes in Chicago.

This collection of Applied Improvisation stories and strategies draws back the curtain on an exciting, innovative, growing field of practice and research that is changing the way people lead, create, and collaborate. Applied Improvisation is the umbrella term widely used to denote the application of improvised theatre’s theories, tenets, games, techniques, and exercises beyond conventional theatre spaces, to foster the growth and/or development of flexible structures, new mindsets, and a range of inter and intra-personal skills required in today’s volatile and uncertain world. This edited collection offers one of the first surveys of the range of practice, featuring 12 in-depth case studies by leading Applied Improvisation practitioners and a foreword by Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson. The contributors in this anthology are professional Applied Improvisation facilitators working in sectors as diverse as business, social science, theatre, education, law, and government. All have experienced the power of improvisation, have a driving need to share those experiences, and are united in the belief that improvisation can positively transform just about all human activity. Each contributor describes their practice, integrates feedback from clients, and includes a workbook component outlining some of the exercises used in their case study to give facilitators and students…

Business professionals often overlook a crucial tool for thriving in today’s fast-paced environment: improvisation. In Getting to “Yes And”, veteran improv performer, university professor, CEO, and consultant Bob Kulhan unveils a form of mental agility with applications far beyond the entertainment value of comedy troupes. He shows how improv techniques can create more productive meetings, swifter decisions, stronger collaboration, positive conflict resolution, mindfulness, and more.

What is the big deal about improv? It’s fun. It strengthens our imagination, promotes self-confidence, increases spontaneity, promotes teamwork, and it’s magic: it creates something out of nothing. 101 IMPROV GAMES FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS contains the basics: what improv is all about and how to do it, special instructions for how to teach improv to children, plus more advanced training on how to use your voice and body in ways you haven’t thought of before. It has helpful hints for creating scenes and environments out of thin air. All this plus 101 games with simple instructions, from easy warm-up games to over-the-top crowd pleasers such as Fairy Tales, Bizarre Games, On Your Toes and Narrative Games. This is the tenth in the Hunter House SmartFun activity books series, and the first one for adults as well as children. The book is a great resource for educators as well as for the professional actor or the layperson working with improv for fun. The book contains lively illustrations and is easy to use. Improv is about creating something out of nothing, but a really good improviser can create something great out of nothing. This book shows you how.