Do You like book Truth In Comedy: The Manual For Improvisation (1994)?
I didn't know much about improv but that is only part of the reason I read this book. In reading this book, I thought I might find some methods for improving communication in general. I found this to be true! It gave me a new perspective at understanding why some things are funny and in turn gave me some ideas on how to modify my own conversations to build better communication and integrate humor. There are simple building blocks for building conversations such as the 'Yes and...', not asking questions and tying in something that happened in the conversation 10 minutes ago. Also, being careful about being too 'jokey' -- I have a corny sense of humor so sometimes my 'jokes' come off as a little too canned and lame. With this book it has given me a few clues and guidance on how to use improv in my daily life.Maybe only 50% of the book really addressed the ideas I was most interested in. It's light on detail but it's honestly give me a lot to work with.
—Clayton
This seems like a good introduction to the concept of improv.I'm outside the general improv community. My personal feeling is that a lot of times people kind of try too hard to "sell" improv as a legitimate art form (which I think it is). I can understand why that is, but I think it does often distract a little from the more practical material in this book, and even just in casual conversations with people.I've read other reviews that say there's just too darn much name-dropping in the book. I can't disagree with that. I also found it irritating that it leans so heavily on the concept of "the Harold." Clearly most of the techniques described in the book are useful for all manner of improv situations. I think both of these pitfalls stem from the authors' desire to honor their (fairly) recently (at time of their writing) deceased colleague.But if you go into this book with eyes open on those fronts, you will get a very workable introduction to the basic premise, and a lot of the techniques, of the craft.
—Daniel
This is a good refresher/re-awakener for improvisers of all experience levels, and it's also extremely helpful for a lesson that kind of goes missing a lot of times in rehearsals, practices, classes, and the like -- the why?. Sometimes a game or exercise seems so abstracted from the main principle that it's difficult to get to the lesson. So it's helpful to get to see the forest through the trees and vice versa. It clarifies and reveals some components of what still is, thankfully, the blessed mystery of improvisation.That being said, it is no substitute for a class, because reading this, I nod my head in agreement, I feel implicated, I take notes, and I recall things that come up in rehearsals and practices galore. But reading it only makes me think I can wrap my mind around improv in theory. Practice, though, is a whole other thing. That's the only way to learn, really, is to keep doing it. Don't come away from this thinking it'll cause improvement so much as reinforce (some) groundwork, presuming the groundwork is there. I'll suck just about as much next rehearsal as I did beforehand, and perhaps pray that some of this will stick as applied knowledge, not just acquired knowledge, which almost never happens.Outside of that, it's a mercifully quick read that also reads like a psychotic religious pamphlet. Lots of exclamation points and over-excited asides about the laws of psychics and spiritual interconnectedness. That on top of the name-dropping can get sort of irritating. The hagiographic attitude it takes toward Mike Myers and Chris Farley was quite a surprise as well.
—Mike
