Improvising Better: A Guide for the Working Improviser

by Jimmy Carrane, Liz Allen

Improvising Better is an easy to read self-help book created with the new generation of improviser in mind. Its written for todays performers, looking for a quick fix to their performance problems. This book is a fast read with long-lasting results. Jimmy Carrane and Liz Allen have improvised, taught, and directed in Chicago for over thirty years combined, and have either seen or experienced the most common problems facing improvisers today. Improvising Better will give you simple tools for repairing your improvisation through original and enhanced exercises. This book addresses the improviser as a whole, including how offstage issues affect onstage performance. Speaking candidly about this very personal art form, Carrane and Allen offer common-sense solutions, some tough love, and a little inspiration along the way. Whether you are a beginner or a veteran, Improvising Better will catapult you to the next level in your career as a working improviser.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor

80 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2006

Reviews

[Todd H. McCauley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books on improv that I’ve read. It’s short, sweet and to the point. It’s like drinking a shot of energy. This book could be read by anyone, BUT I think it’s best for experienced improvisers who already have a lay of improv land. This book is nice t a primer on improv rather it’s a shot of adrenaline that refocuses you.

Thanks Jimmy and Liz, I needed this.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat little book; good tips.

"If you're up there just talking and not connecting, you're not improvising, you're masturbating." - pg 42

[Tara Mcdonough · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fast read! Clocking in at 70 pages, I zoomed through it in an evening.

Despite its brevity, this is a good book. I feel like it's more for experienced improv instructors than for your average improvisor-in-training, who's reading everything he can get his hands on in pursuit of his craft ... but since I'm much more the former than the latter, I can't fault it for that. And this is a book I'll go back to, I suspect -- it's got some good exercises for getting out of performance ruts and habits.

(This book has been on my shelf for a while; a friend asked to borrow it, and I figured I'd probably better read it first! Glad I did.)

[Otto · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a reference than a book you sit down and read, but helpful none the less. It's a book you should look at after a bad show, or a practice you feel you weren't up to par about, and see what trap you fell into. Of the 18 chapters, I probably had done all 18 of the main problems listed. And I probably will do them again. Doesn't revolutionize how anybody will look at improv, but I don't think that was ever really the point. Will probably return to it often to look at specific pieces, but unlikely to read all the way through ever again.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and got some good tips out of it, but it was a astoundingly short. I bet after taking the blank pages at chapter breaks out, it's about 40 pages. This book is very practical, with an "if this is your problem, try this" format. I was hoping for a little deeper understanding of those problems, but it doesn't spend much time exploring the underlying philosophy. I have been enjoying Mick Napier's Improvise a lot, which covers a lot of the same concepts but gets deeper into the "why" of things. If I could only pick one of the two to improve my improv, I would choose Napier's.

[Kimberly Hirsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book targeted at solving very specific problems improvisers have. It would be great as a reference when you need an idea for how to break out of an improv rut. It is also a great tool for teachers/coaches, as it is packed with exercises to help classes and teams solve problems.

[Ben Rameaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many time in improvisation we're told to "keep it simple." This book, to my delight, followed that mantra. Easy to follow and understand with excellent exercises, a great break down of typical Improv problems, and all done with great tone. A perfect follow-up to Mick Napier's Improvise.

[Ed Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice, short, concise, and to the point. Lots of good tips and exercises for improv.

[Corina Anghel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book, it's written rather like a brochure with quick solutions to the most common threats and issues an improviser can face on stage or in his career in general.

[Sarah Ackerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for any improviser looking to get out of their own head. Quick read with some easy to implement exercises.