"Derek Bailey's Improvisation, originally published in 1980, and here updated and extended with new interviews and photographs, is the first book to deal with the nature of improvisation in all its forms--Indian music, flamenco, baroque, organ music, rock, jazz, contemporary, and "free" music. By drawing on conversations with some of today's seminal improvisers--including John Zorn, Jerry Garcia, Steve Howe, Steve Lacy, Lionel Salter, Earle Brown,...

The authors, both executives at Chicago's The Second City, present their insights and perspective on how to apply the seven elements of improv comedy in both professional and personal situations.

The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual is a comprehensive guide to the UCB style of long-form comedy improvisation. Written by UCB founding members Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh, the manual covers everything from the basics of two-person scene work (with a heavy emphasis on finding "the game" of the scene), to the complexities of working within an ensemble to perform long-form structures, such as "The Harold" and "The...

When Benjamin Franklin embarked for France in 1776, he well understood that he was taking the greatest gamble of his career. The colonies were without money, munitions, gunpowder, or common cause. Amid great secrecy, Franklin was dispatched to Paris to solicit aid. He was seventy years old, without any diplomatic training, and possessed of the most rudimentary French. The eight-year posting serves not only as his most vital service to his country--it...

Young people and improvisational theater should be a natural combination-so why do we so rarely find this combo in today's classrooms? According to Elizabeth Swados-playwright, director, composer, poet, author of children's books and of an acclaimed family memoir-improvisational theater is the perfect creative outlet for junior-high and high-school students . . . if only they can be given the tools and the guidance to make the most of this natural...

When seventeen-year-old Zelda is chosen for an elite team at a prestigious improvisation camp, it is a big step toward achieving her dreams, but first she must survive her teammates' sexism and coach's cruelty.

"Through 46 daily exercises which make up a complete 6-week course, you will keep your artistic skills sharp and your imagination fertile by doing one drawing a day. Each spread in the book features a beautiful drawing by one of 8 professional illustrators, with a description and comments by the illustrator as well as a companion exercise. Each exercise includes suggestions for various mediums or mixed-media solutions, advice on how to approach and...