Pirate Robot Ninja: An Improv Fable

by Billy Merritt, Will Hines

As an improv comedian: are you a pirate, robot or ninja? Know your type so you can appreciate your strengths while also focusing on what you have left to learn. This book is 200 pages of lessons, exercises and metaphors designed by two teachers and performers from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatres in New York and Los Angeles. Also, it's written as a fable where you are an "improv seeker" in an mysterious dojo hidden in the mountains. That's pretty fun! “Billy and Will love to do the ‘make’em ups’ and they’re quite good at it as well. I would read this book…if I could read.” - Rob Riggle (Daily Show, US Marine Corps)

Genres: Comedy

194 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 24, 2019

Reviews

[Will Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I co-wrote this book with Billy. Our goals included: make improv seem as fun as it does when you’re taking a class with Billy, turn the sometimes brutal act of self-assessment into a fun game, and make an improv book that is fun to read. My entirely biased opinion is that we did it!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

second person is a very bold writing choice, and one I didn't love. However, the takeaway is valuable enough that the stylistic choice doesn't matter. I like having a new way to view my improv tendencies and a new shorthand to communicate what could be changed to make scenes work better. I'm excited to work using this knowledge!

[Guy Winterbotham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice straight forward framework for remembering the mechanics of a scene. A good book to read after your mind has been overloaded with classes of differing opinions.

[Erik Tanouye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this from Amazon.

[Kitty Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who are you.... Pirate robot or ninja?

Loved being able to recognize myself in the types described... pirate hand down....but seeing the robot style and their strengths and knowing the flaws of a pirate.... Listen connect and go with the flow.... Exercises good but have to do them to feel them....so they can become part of improv skills .

Am a newbie to improv but this book given some pictures to inspire me.

Improv is like free hand drawing. Emotions are the colours, but we only go draw one line at the time.... Then it is my playbuddies turn.... The better I listen to my buddy the more the picture becomes clear, robots and pirates can become ninja.

[Cyborg]

Read all the Will Hines books about improv if you're new to doing improv comedy. He explains things in a simple and interesting and funny way. This book is great and goofy. Communicated foundational ideas like emotion and grounding and finding the game of a scene in the form of a weird fable. We are all robots or pirates in some ways.

[Erika Boeing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great quick read with some awesome examples and practice exercises at the back that have been good for me. Good for early to intermediate improvisers to help conceptualize and solidify some of the basics. Will definitely be revisiting the chapters and exercises as I grow in my improv journey!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great improv book! The fable was a fun way of illustrating their theories and concepts. I enjoyed that aspect more than I thought I would. I especially liked the few pages that dealt with Ironic Detachment, which can be so detrimental to doing good improv. A quick read as well.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended by my improv teacher, this fable drilled home a number of valuable ideas. The writing style is cutesy but it works in breaking up the information in digestible sections.

[Tom Guida · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fable analogy is a bit hokey but it's a very good way to teach technical skills in a non-technical way.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly useful and interesting approach to improv. I love the philosophy of kindness

[Alex Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly light read, but has an interesting taxonomy of Improvisers and helps to think in broad categories about team members and about one's own gaps.

[Sara G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, quick, and useful read for the nerds. I got it from the library but might need a personal copy for reference.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading for long form improvisers

[William Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s kind of weird to read this after the end of the improv scene as we know it. There’s a huge chance The Scene will never recover to its days, pre-COVID. The lack of care that the heads of various improv theaters have put into their respective communities is indicative that it was on its last legs anyway. There are two pages dedicated to the “Sour Veteran” who is the kind of person who has major problems with their local theater. Would these two writers have edited out this character if they had known their leaders were about to force their employees to start a GoFundMe to acquire lost wages due to immediate termination? Who knows?

Whatever the case, the book provided a nostalgic retrospective into the fun days of my improv education. The writers note that this text is for advanced improvisers, but all of the lessons were pretty basic. It was a nice refresher. Perhaps once a vaccine is mass-produced, these two Williams can find a way to make their own theater, one that is thoroughly appreciative of the work people put in. Perhaps then there’ll be no “Sour Veterans”.

Edit 12/13/22: They did.