Improv Handbook

Tom Salinsky is the co-founder (with Deborah Frances-White) of The Spontaneity Shop. He and Deborah have performed improvisation for the Royal Court, the RSC Summer Season, the Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Festival, and at the Bloomsbury Theatre. They have toured the world and performed at many comedy festivals by invitation. They teach at RADA, The Actors Centre, The National Youth Theatre, and many other colleges and institutions, as well as their own successful workshop program.Deborah Frances-White is a stand-up comedian best known for her BBC Radio 4 show Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice. She’s performed comedy around the world including The Edinburgh Festival, The Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Roadshow and The London Storytelling Festival. Her book Off the Mic, co-authored with Marsha Shandur, was published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama in 2015.

Co-founders of the London-based improvisational theater company The Spontaneity Shop, Salinsky and Frances-White provide a wonderful addition to the growing literature on theatrical improvisation. The book can serve as both a scholarly resource, since it covers the history of improvisation from its beginnings to the present, and a practical guide, for the beginner and advanced improviser... The authors include interviews with ten leading international improvisers, and they conclude with an appendix that details many of the most common improvisational games used in academic and professional settings. This book is a must for institutions supporting theater and performance programs. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers, all levels.

• ContentsForeword by Mike McShane Introduction to the Second Edition Introduction Section One: What Is Improvisation? 1.1 What Was Improvisation? Antiquity Viola Spolin Keith Johnstone ImprovOlympic The Spontaneity Shop 1.2 Improvisation in Performance Keith Johnstone and Competitive Improvisation Del Close and the Harold Improvisation On TV Intermission: “Two Stories” #1 “From Innovation to Art Form” #2 “Two Stories” Section Two: How to Improvise 2.1 How to Use This Section 2.2 Teaching and Learning 2.3 Spontaneity Pointing at Things What are you doing? 2.4 Saying Yes 2.5 What Comes Next The Importance of Platforms Lengths of Platforms Keeping Promises Providing Feedback The Right Trouble for The Right Hero Solving Problems Join The Dots Committees Endings The Magic Formula? 2.6 Status Introducing The Concepts What is status? Status Off-Stage Still Heads Status Ladders High Status Competitions Happy High Status 2.7 Go Through an Unusual Door Everything for a Reason Making Assumptions Strategies for Breaking the Routine Variations The CJ Sweep Tilting 2.8 Working Together Word at a Time Standing Wave Master/Servant Dubbing Over-Confessing Other Games 2.9 Being Changed Status Switch Speaking in Tongues 2.10 More on Masters and Servants The Chair Game Fingersnaps Master/Servant Double Header 2.11 Twitching, Topping and Paper-flicking 2.12 Playing Characters What is a Character? Changing the Body Hilarious Geisha Characters From a Hat Shoe Shops Opposite, Arbitrary, Extreme Characters with Depth Characters with Dimension What do you Want? 2.13 You Can’t Learn Mime from a Book Fixed Points Popping Making Noises 2.14 Control Freak Hypnotist magician Sandy Carroll 2.15 Finding the Game in the Scene 2.16 Continue or Thank You 2.17 Agree, agree, agree When Harry Met Sally Photo Albums 2.18 Playing Games Three Word Sentences Questions Only Good Games Dumb But Fun Never Play Freak Show Games Difficult and Easy Games 2.19 Final Thoughts PROBLEM: Wimps PROBLEM: Joker PROBLEM: Yes-sayer PROBLEM: Shiner PROBLEM: Random PROBLEM: Hard worker Gorilla Directing vs. Micetro Directing How to be Directed Final Words to Students at The End of a Workshop or Series of Workshops Intermission: THE RULES AND WHY THERE AREN’T ANY... Never Ask a Question Know the Other Person Never Argue, Always Agree Avoid Transaction Scenes Start in the Middle Scripted vs. Improvised Comedy How to Improvise a Scene That Incorporates All This Advice Section Three: How to Improvise in Public 3.1 Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway 3.2 Starting a Company 3.3 Nuts and Bolts What show? What name? Frequency of Shows Rehearsal Space Finding a Venue Other People’s Shows Fliers and Posters Internet Press Selling Tickets Starting the Show Music and Lights Ending Scenes Getting Suggestions Using Audience Members Ending the Show The Next Show Festivals Intermission: THE PARADOX OF IMPROVISATION Section Four: Making Improvisation Pay 4.1 Performing? 4.2 Teaching Workshops 4.3 Corporate Entertainment 4.4 Corporate Training 4.5 Corporate Events 4.6 How to Get Corporate Work Intermission: WOMEN IN IMPROV Section Five: Talking to Improvisers 5.1 Keith Johnstone—The Innovator 5.2 Neil Mullarkey—The Comedy Store Player 5.3 Randy Dixon—The Synthesizer 5.4 Jonathan Pitts—The Impresario 5.5 Charna Halpern—The Keeper of the Harold 5.6 Mick Napier—Power Improviser 5.7 Dan O’Connor—West Coast Legend 5.8 Patti Stiles—Our Teacher 5.9 David Fenton—Theatresports MC Down Under 5.10 Tobias Menzies—The Actor 5.11 Jeffrey Sweet—Illegitimate Grandfather of American improv 5.12 Dylan Emery—Starter of Showstopper 5.13 Paul Rogan—An English Actor and Improviser in LA 5.14 Mike McShane—Transatlantic Improviser and Actor 5.15 Tom Salinsky discusses the improv show Voices in Your Head and its spin-offs with Deborah Frances-White Afterword Appendix One: GAMES Good Games Animal Expert Death In A Minute Dubbing Fight For Your Number Handbag Hat Game It’s Tuesday Laugh And Leave No S The Removalists Sexy Smelly Stupid Small Voice Speak In One Voice Speed Dating Twins Typewriter Dumb But Fun Backwards Scene Clap Switcheroo Da Doo Ron Ron ID Cards Inner Monologue Panel Paper chase Pillars Sound Effects Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Never Play Die Entrances And Exits Freeze Tag Genre Rollercoaster Et Al. Sign Language Translation Superheroes Warm-Up Games Bibbity Bibbity Bop Big Booty Electric Company Fling Shoo-ey Greetings I Am, I Am, I Am, I’ll Take More Stories Like That Sevens Spotlight Yes Let’s/Nope You Appendix Two: SYLLABUS DAY ONE: Spontaneity DAY TWO: Status DAY THREE: Working Together DAY FOUR: Telling Stories DAY FIVE: Being Changed DAY SIX: Defining DAY SEVEN: Failure DAY EIGHT: Characters Glossary of Terms Thanks Bibliography