The Ultimate Improv Book: A Complete Guide to Comedy Improvisation

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Summary: The improv bible
Review: ANYONE and EVERYONE involved with the Canadian improv games should own this book. Teams who are just starting out, teachers who are thinking of starting a team, and players who have been improvising for years can all benefit from the information. Great skill-developing games, lists of characteristics, genres, and so on to help teams practise, and conprehensive descriptions of each game. Outlines dos and don't of improv. I love this book more than life itself.

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Summary: A complete curriculum in 24 class-length units
Review: Edward Nevraumont and Nicholas Hanson's Ultimate Improv Book provides a complete curriculum in 24 class-length units, covering the basics of improvisational skills, comedy basics, and improv work. Games and skits lend to honing skills as well as putting on productions.

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Summary: Who is this book for?
Review: I had thought that this book would be a good guide for beginner or experience improvisors to improve their skills; however the book is written with advice on how to start an improv team at a high school and has a great deal of focus on competiting in the Canadian Improv Games (two areas i was just not intersted in). The chapters are very short and try to drop in every improv term without going into depth on any. The book does have a nice list of exercises and suggestions at the end, but many again focus on performating them with younger improvisors and some descriptions weren't complete enough to attempt to use them.

This book would probably be most helpful to someone who is already very familiar with improv and who wants to teach it to high school students. But for the sake of those you are teaching, seek out more complete references like those by Viola Spolin.

Rating:
Summary: Good for beginners but...
Review: If you are interested in becoming a "player" or coach with an improv team or troupe - this book is all you will ever need. It is organized for easy action and understanding. It is almost always hands-on, explains each technique with real-life examples and never misses the mark. It is like buying a teacher's manual and includes an awesome training schedule and system for whipping any group into a great improv team. I highly recommend this book. I have used it to take 2 teams to the Canadian Improv Games national finals in Ottawa! Buy it!