Improv For Everyone: A step-by-step guide to create awesome improv scenes

by Greg Tavares

Offering a complete collection of techniques, tips, and practical exercises from 25 years of experience, Improv For Everyone will give you step-by-step methods to create awesome scenes. This is the book for the improviser who loves improv and wants improv to love you back. You could try to figure improv on your own, or you could just read this book.

Genres: Comedy, Nonfiction

262 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2012

Reviews

[Gervais Hagerty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! Greg has been my improv teacher for years. He is so passionate about his art. And he's hilarious. I started taking improv classes just for fun, but now that I'm a full-time writer, I've learned that improv is a great way to hone skills for writing dialogue and developing characters.

[Genie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tiresome. Boring and repetitive improv "exercises." Didn't finish.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author knows his stuff, but I don't think this book was for me. Most of the stuff I've read here has been covered in acting/improv books/classes I've read/taken. (Apparently none of those taught me anything about how to responsibly use slashes.) I appreciate the focus on doing the important work at the top of the scene, though - that's something that other books don't emphasize enough. (And I dig the "noodles and sauce" metaphor, though some of the other metaphors and invented jargon muddle the author's message.)

If you have a grasp of the foundations of improv but feel like your scenes are frequently aimless/confusing/messy, pick this book up and use what resonates with you. If you've taken a bunch of improv and acting classes and have studied related books, I'm not sure you'll get anything new here.

[Dan Richter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greg Taveres fokussiert vor allem auf das Training des Impro-Schauspielers. Impro ist eine Kunst und ein Handwerk, das wir immer wieder neu lernen müssen.
Taveres bedient sich bei allen Traditionen: Spolin, Johnstone, Strasberg, Close. Es geht ihm nicht um einen bestimmten Stil (Kurz- oder Langform), sondern um die Fähigkeit des Improvisierers, in die Szene und in seine Figur einzutauchen und dabei spontan Packendes zu erschaffen.
Er entfernt sich dabei oft angenehm vom herkömmlichen Jargon, findet neue Bilder.
Gute Übungen für den Einzel-Spieler und die Gruppe runden das Buch ab.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have found myself in the strange position of coaching Chinese college students in improv (in English) after many years of not performing or taking classes. I think there are a lot of useful exercises I can bring to my students to help guide me and help me guide them. I already know the noodles/sauce analogy will be helpful.