Days and Nights at the Second City: A Memoir, With Notes on Staging Review Theatre

Rating:
Summary: An important perspective on an important topic
Review: Bernie Sahlins was producer and sometime director of Second City for the first 25 years.

The first part of the book is a memoir of his days at the theatre. I enjoyed this enormously as I know a lot of the people to whom he refers, but I wonder if somebody without this familiarity would get quite as much.

The second part consists of his notes on putting together sketches and shows. While this is not a comprehensive guide, much of what he has to say here has not appeared in the other key improv books. I think anybody building sketch material from an improvisational base would do well to pay attention. You don't have to agree with everything he says to learn from him. All in all, very much worth your attention.

Rating:
Summary: An important perspective on an important topic
Review: Bernie Sahlins was producer and sometime director of Second City for the first 25 years.

The first part of the book is a memoir of his days at the theatre. I enjoyed this enormously as I know a lot of the people to whom he refers, but I wonder if somebody without this familiarity would get quite as much.

The second part consists of his notes on putting together sketches and shows. While this is not a comprehensive guide, much of what he has to say here has not appeared in the other key improv books. I think anybody building sketch material from an improvisational base would do well to pay attention. You don't have to agree with everything he says to learn from him. All in all, very much worth your attention.