Downright Upright

improvisorsimprovisor:

“Dave Morris just asked the question, “If you had to recommend one book about improv to someone, what book would it be?” I could never answer with one, because each improvisor is different. If they are shy, Impro-Johnstone; if they are bold, Truth in Comedy-Halpern/Close/Johnson; if they are brash or revolutionary, Improvise-Napier; if they are all shapes and wiggles or music, Freeplay-Nachmanovitch; if they love history, Something Wonderful Right Away-Sweet or Compass-Coleman; if they are woman’s studies majors, Whose Improv Is It Anyway-Seham; if they want to use it for business, Improvise This!-Cox/Detmar/Bergren or Jill & Patrick’s Small Book of Improv for Business-Short/Bernard; if the front half of their scenes look like shit, Improv For Everyone-Taveras; if they’re starting coaching, Improvising Better-Allen/Carrane; if they’re directing or need a director, Directing Improv-Ronen; if they if they speak French, 300 exercices d’improvisation-Tournier; if they need to get in good trouble, Interactive Acting-Wirth; if I wish Keith were here to talk to them, Impro for Storytellers-Johnstone; if they are working on one-acts, Process-Gellman/Scruggs and How to Improvise a Full-Length Play-Adams; if I need them to understand the gravitas, Improvisation for the Theatre-Spolin, if they need exercises, Group Improvisation-Gwinn, if there was more I wanted to say to them but the clock was not my friend, Jill Bernard’s Small Cute Book of Improv.”